Computerworld

Tip of the Hat: Will smartphone failure slow Google's 'Internet of Things' plans?

A look at whether Google's unsuccessful move into smartphones is a harbinger of things to come for its smart homes and robotics efforts
  • Mike Bucken (Computerworld (US))
  • 30 January, 2014 20:04

Google is moving aggressively -- and paying billions of dollars for the technology and talent needed -- to create smart home and robotics businesses even as it acknowledges its failure to succeed in the smartphone business.

Google Wednesday said it had agreed to sell its Motorola smartphone unit to Lenovo for just under $3 billion, less than two years after it acquired the operation for $12.5 billion.

In a blog post explaining the move, Google CEO Larry Page said the company's other hardware efforts -- smart homes technology, robotics and wearable technology -- won't be affected by the same of the Motorola unit.

A Computerworld Tip of the Hat to Bloomberg Businessweek's Joshua Brustein for his astute, early comparison of Google's failed smartphone and current Internet of Things efforts in a post dubbed: Google Failed at Smartphones. Can It Really Build Smart Homes and Robots? The conclusion: It's uncertain whether Google can pull off its moves into the new markets.

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