X Phone/ News

併購摩托羅拉之後，谷歌終於有能力可以自行開發設計智慧型手機，與蘋果正面交鋒。購併之後，谷歌重新整頓摩托羅拉組織結構，裁員4,000人，近日更宣布，以23.5億美元的價格，將摩托羅拉的電視機上盒業務出售給電線設備製造商Arris集團。
根據《華爾街日報》報導，目前摩托羅拉的策略有兩項重點，一是開發由無線通訊公司Verizon負責銷售的手機，例如Droid智慧型手機；二是開發X Phone。而且，X Phone完成後，將開發X Tablet。

不 過，目前摩托羅拉工程師遭遇了某些難題。工程師希望這支智慧型手機的功能能夠優於蘋果iPhone，特別是照相與相片軟體，例如可拍全景照片、色彩更飽和 等。但是這些功能設計會太消耗電力。此外，原本摩托羅拉希望設計可彎曲的螢幕，並採用抗壓性高的陶瓷材質，但這些構想目前也面臨了生產與供應鏈管理的問 題。

若這款X Phone開發成功，不論對摩托羅拉或谷歌而言，都是關鍵性的里程碑。
根據市場調查機構IDC的研究，2012年前三季摩托羅拉在安卓手機的市佔率僅有4％，三星為40.3％、宏達電為6.9％、索尼為6.4％。這款X Phone將可大幅提高摩托羅拉的市佔率。


對於谷歌而言，未來難題在於如何與其他安卓手機製造商保持關係，摩托羅拉是否會比其他廠商獲得谷歌更多的「獨家條件」？目前谷歌的安卓團隊仍與摩托 羅拉保持一定距離，根據消息指出，谷歌創辦人賴瑞‧佩吉（Larry Page）並未要求谷歌的安卓團隊支援摩托羅拉，摩托羅拉也並未獲得最新版的安卓軟體內容。

然而，這樣平和的關係能維持多久，誰都無法掛保證。（吳凱琳編譯）
【新聞來源】The Wall Street Journal

Google's biggest hits and misses of 2012 PCWorld (blog) Google is easily the most prolific of the major technology companies, as it proved in dramatic fashion in 2012. We saw an augmented reality headset, cool new Nexus hardware, clever new Web services, and even a few terrible, terrible ideas. Throughout ... See all stories on this topic »

Amazon, Google on collision course in 2013 Chicago Tribune SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - When Amazon.com Inc CEO Jeff Bezos got word of a project at Google Inc to scan and digitize product catalogs a decade ago, the seeds of a burgeoning rivalry were planted. The news was a "wake-up" call to Bezos, an early ... See all stories on this topic »

Google and Bing Launch Competing Online 'Santa Trackers' TIME He may see you when you're sleeping and know when you're awake, but Santa probably doesn't have his own web apps to keep tabs on you. The Google Santa Tracker lets you follow Santa and his reindeer-powered sleigh as he delivers presents around ... See all stories on this topic »

LG brings sharper picture of its 2013 Google TV lineup, coming to CES in January Engadget After hinting in a Japanese press release that it'll out a bevy of new Google TV offerings in 2013, LG has firmed up the details, saying it'll launch seven new models at CES next January. Those include 42-, 57-, 50-, 55- and 60-inch models from the ... See all stories on this topic »

MARKET PULSE-Google, Apple, Vimpelcom, Yum Brands Reuters GOOGLE INC, Friday close $715.63. ** APPLE INC, Friday close $519.33, up 0.4 pct premarket. The world's biggest search engine is working with recently acquired Motorola on a handset codenamed "X-phone", aimed at grabbing market share from Apple ... See all stories on this topic »

Google's Festive Happy Holidays Logo For 2012 Search Engine Land Google is featuring a Google logo, aka Doodle, for the holiday season this morning. The logo is incredibly happy and festive, with lots of colors and Christmas like characters and activities within the logo that makes up the letters in Google's name ... See all stories on this topic » Search Engine Land

Google: With Or Without The 'X-Phone' Has A More Sustainable Business Model ... Seeking Alpha When it comes to the tech industry, Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL) have dominated the news of 2012 and will mostly likely continue the trend into the future. In large part, Apple is more in the public eye due to the love affair both investors and ... See all stories on this topic »

LG 2013 Google TV line can be controlled like Siri and Wii NBCNews.com In 2012 LG began selling Google HDTV with just two models. For 2013 LG's Google TV lineup updates and expands with two series (GA 7900 and GA 6400) consisting of seven models in five screen sizes. Major new features include a second generation ... See all stories on this topic »

Italian court overturns Google executives' privacy convictions PCWorld A Milan appeals court Friday overturned the conviction of three Google managers for violating Italy's privacy laws by allowing the posting of a video showing the bullying of a handicapped student. google law. The executives—Senior Vice President David ... See all stories on this topic »

Google and Motorola Working on New 'X Phone,' but Details Scant PC Magazine Team Google – technically, Team Motorola within Team Google – is apparently working a new smartphone that's designed to up the ante against hotshot smartphone competitor Apple. The problem? It's apparently taking a bit longer than expected for Google ... See all stories on this topic »

Battle of the Santa trackers: Google takes on NORAD Los Angeles Times Looking for an online Santa tracker? You've got options. For the last several years, Google's partnership with longtime Santa tracker NORAD dominated the Santa-tracking market. But this year, NORAD and Google went their separate ways. Now they offering ... See all stories on this topic »

Ireland is cool for Google as its data servers like the weather The Guardian The country's mist, rain and chilly air have all become selling points: Google and other multinationals say that the Irish weather is now one of the main attractions for global computer and online corporations setting up data centres in the Republic ... See all stories on this topic » The Guardian

It's Becoming Abundantly Clear That Google Doesn't Want To Share Android ... Business Insider Google assured its Android hardware partners like Samsung, HTC, LG, and so many others that Android would remain an equal-opportunity platform, one where everyone will get a shot at making a hero phone. Motorola would be run as a separate entity, ... See all stories on this topic » Business Insider

Did Motorola Mobility Only Cost Google $1.5 Billion? Forbes We know what the headline number that Google paid for Motorola Mobility was: that's $12.5 billion. But it's possible for us to dig a little deeper and see what the real net cost is as well. And that net cost might have been as low as $1.5 billion ... See all stories on this topic »

It's A Facebook And Google World On Apple's App Store, Poke Hits #1 A Day ... TechCrunch Make no mistake about it, the big companies like Facebook and Google are going to have the best holiday season ever thanks to Apple and iOS. It's very rare to see utility or social apps hold the top free app spot like Google Maps has over the past week ... See all stories on this topic » TechCrunch

Now Google even watches what you buy offline WND.com (London Daily Mail) Just when you thought Google couldn't target you with more specific advertising – based on your web surfing – it's going one step further. The search giant now intends to use data uploaded by retailers about consumers' offline ... See all stories on this topic »

Tips for using the coolest features of new Google Maps for iPhone Los Angeles Times Google Maps recently made its long awaited return to the iPhone, and although it's received positive reviews, finding some of the apps' coolest features can be a bit difficult. That's why earlier this week, Google released a tip sheet explaining ... See all stories on this topic »

Google Designing 'X Phone' to Rival Apple, Samsung Wall Street Journal Engineers at Motorola are hard at work on a sophisticated handset—known internally as the "X phone"—but the Google Inc. unit is running into some obstacles in its effort to provide more potent competition for Apple Inc., said people familiar with the ... See all stories on this topic »

The Weekly Good: Google's "Director Of Giving" Discusses Global Concerns And ... TechCrunch At the beginning of the month, we told you about a new $23 million fund started by Google called the “Global Impact Awards,” and it was the first that I had heard of the role of “Director of Giving” at the company. This was intriguing, and I had a ... See all stories on this topic » TechCrunch

Facebook, Google dip their toes in sale of physical goods San Jose Mercury News Google (GOOG) and Facebook made their names by helping people find information or friends online. But in recent weeks the two rivals have made some surprising moves in a different direction -- the business of selling and delivering goods. Facebook is ... See all stories on this topic »

Italian Appeals Court Acquits 3 Google Executives in Privacy Case New York Times PARIS — An appeals court in Milan on Friday overturned the conviction of three Google executives on charges of violating Italian privacy laws, in a decision that the company hailed as a victory for Internet freedom. See all stories on this topic »

Google working on 'X-phone' to take on rivals, says report NBCNews.com (blog) Google is working with recently acquired Motorola on a handset codenamed "X-phone", aimed at grabbing market share from Apple and Samsung, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. Google acquired Motorola in May for $12.5 ... See all stories on this topic »

Google Reportedly Developing Flagship Android Phone and Tablet IGN Google is currently developing it's own flagship devices to take on the iPhone and iPad, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. Leveraging its acquisition of Motorola from earlier this year, the two companies are hard at work on a pair ... See all stories on this topic »

Google and Motorola tighten their smartphone ties ZDNet Licensing operating systems to hardware partners is a tricky business. Google's announcement this week that it plans to buy Motorola Mobility is a tacit admission that the partnership thing just isn't working out for them. Android might be selling lots ... See all stories on this topic »

Google finds its design voice on iOS The Next Web (blog) But Google doesn't just make apps for Android and the web. It also makes them for Apple's iOS — 25 different apps at last count. That's more apps than Apple offers on its own store. Unfortunately, when it comes to design on the iPhone and iPad, its ... See all stories on this topic » The Next Web (blog)

Google Tests Personalized Search Of Purchases, Tickets, Dinner Reservations ... Forbes The search giant previously added a feature for people to search for their flights from Google.com just by typing “my flights” into Google. This brings up the user's flight departure and arrival times as well as other data such as the gate and whether ... See all stories on this topic »