Episode 20: Android

Ben & David examine Google’s 2005 purchase of Android for a
rumored $50M, undeniably one of the best technology acquisitions
of all time. But will it top the list of these tough graders?
Tune in to find out. 


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Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentry

Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25


   




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Topics covered include: 

Welcome new listeners! We quickly review the show format for
newbies. 

Community spotlight: Patagonia on a Budget from community
member Matt Morgante (@mattm on Slack)

Andy Rubin’s career trajectory and what made him “born to
start Android"

The undeniable “cool factor” of the Danger Sidekick in the
early/mid-2000’s, including fans such as  Larry Page, Sergey
Brin and… Turtle from Entourage 

Android’s original ambition to build an operating system for…
 digital cameras

WebTV founder Steve Perlman is  pretty much the best
friend ever 

Google’s own perspective on Android as their “best deal ever"

The Android team’s reaction to Steve Jobs unveiling the
iPhone in January 2007, and redesigning the initial launch
hardware 

Announcing Android and—equally importantly—the Open Handset
Alliance (“OHA”)

The much-talked-about "mobile holy wars", between Android’s
“open” platform and Apple’s “closed” platform 

The less-talked-about US carrier wars with the iPhone +
AT&T in one camp, and everyone else in the Google / OHA camp
(including “Droid Does”)

A quirk of history: HTC at one point acquires a majority
share in Beats, resulting a short-lived period of
 Beats-branded Android phones (still available on Amazon!)

The real battleground for Google in the mobile platform wars:
the economics of “default search” (briefly known thanks to the
 Oracle/Java lawsuit against Google) 

Google’s detour into smartphone hardware with the acquisition
(and subsequent divestiture) of Motorola 

The “fork-ability” of Android via the Android Open Source
Project (versus “Google Android”), and the rise of Xiaomi,
Cyanogen, Kindle Fire and other platforms

The ecosystem economics of the Android business for
Google 

“Defensive” versus “offensive” acquisitions, and protecting
Google’s core search business 

Could (or would) Google have built an Android-like platform
without acquiring Android the company (or having Andy Rubin)?

Framing the technology world’s shift to mobile within
(surprise) Ben Thompson’s Aggregation Theory

The current “moving up the stack” of the competitive playing
field as the mobile landscape matures 

Grading: Android versus Instagram?



  Followups: 


 Waze launches Carpool in the Bay Area.  Much
consternation ensues on the Uber board.



  Hot Takes: 


The iPhone 7 (and AirPods) announcement 



  The Carve Out: 


Ben:  Business Adventures by John Brooks, Bill Gates’
favorite business book

David: Ezra Edelman's fantastic 5-part ESPN documentary on
O.J. Simpson, O.J.: Made in America

None this week… coverage of Instagram Stories to come next
time!