So next time your kid asks you, “Mummy, where do Nexuses come from?” you’ll have an answer.
The Nexus program is what Google uses to raise the bar for hardware manufacturers. It’s gotta run the latest and greatest version of Android, and it’s gotta run it well. Every year around Christmas time, Google picks a hardware manufacturer to make the next Nexus phone. They then have about nine months to build it. Interesting. We knew that Google works closely with whomever is building their next Nexus, but it sounds like Google is calling the shots even more than we thought. It would appear that they say what they need, and then manufacturers climb over each other and bid to build the thing.
You might be wondering if Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility will give Motorola a leg up. Google says no, they will have to bid to build it just like everyone else. Hooray for competition!
On the call there was also a lot of mention of in-home devices, which was a surprise since the purchase was for Motorola Mobility (Moto’s mobile devision), specifically. Motorola’s CEO Sanjay Jha said, “There is a great convergence between the mobile world and the content that enters the home through the set-top boxes.” Could this mean Motorola will play a key role in the evolution of Google TV? Time will tell.
You might wonder why Google just blew $US12.5 billion on Motorola if they aren’t going to be the next Nexus factory. The answer lies not only in the 17,000+ patents Motorola already owns, but also in the thousands more that Moto has “in-process”. Google wouldn’t say exactly how they’ll leverage those against the many lawsuits that have been levelled against them, but they did say that they feel this acquisition will better protect them.
So, will the next next Nexus be made by Moto? Well, the last rumours still point to Samsung, which would make two in a row for the big S, following last year’s Nexus S, but you know how these rumours go, and there may yet be a Moto surprise for us all.
Andrew
Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 7:50 AMIf Moto is releasing unskinned stock Android phones it doesn’t matter who gets the Nexus baton each year. ALL Motorola phones will be effective Nexus phones and the name itself will become worthless. The only thing you can say is “hey, this phone is the highest hardware spec that Android currently supports.. you know, like the one Moto released last month”
Ollie
Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 12:47 PMI don’t know why people bash Moto, I’ve been running a Defy since they were released and have not had one single drama with it yet.
My wife’s XT-5 is a pain in the butt, but that’s cos it’s on Vodafone, not because of the hardware or software.
Peter
Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 6:02 PMA few Telstra updates and dealing with the local Telstra Shop seems to be rather problematic, but my former housemate likes her Quench.
salmonpie
Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 8:37 PMAs long as they “Don’t do evil” with these patents then I’m happy. Someone really needs to wind Apple’s neck in a bit.
Dave
Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 9:26 PMmaybe it will be Apple or MS. God knows both company’s could use a bit of droid
Steve
Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 11:19 PMPretty sure we all knew that the Nexus phones were essentially consumer-ready prototypes with all the technologies one could expect the following year.
wardski
Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at 10:17 AMI wouldn’t say the Nexus S was a consumer ready prototype with tech 12 months ahead of its time. The only thing the Nexus S offered over the Samsung Galaxy S, was NFC – and has it really taken off????
If it was really 12 months ahead, it would have been the first dual core handset..
If Samsung gets the Nexus Prime, I would suggest it will be nothing more than the Galaxy S II, but with ICSandwich (and NFC of course)