Google's purchase of Motorola Mobility made a lot of headlines this morning, with everyone asking what this will mean for Android phones. But that leaves a very important issue almost untouched: what the deal will mean for HDTVs and home theaters.
Besides phones, Motorola Mobility also develops set-top boxes and DVRs. You can't go to Best Buy and pick them up, but if you get a digital cable box from any cable provider, there's a good chance it will be running on Motorola hardware. That means, as cable companies get new set-top boxes in, they won't just run on Motorola hardware. They'll run on Google hardware and software.
Google hasn't forgotten about its smart entertainment technology, Google TV. While we haven't seen a new Google TV product this year, the company will likely announce a new version of the software in the next few months. With Motorola Mobility, there's a good chance we might see it appear in cable boxes. Google is getting a set-top box division with a massive and automatic install base, and the company would be foolish not to exploit it to increase market share of its own products.
In a blog post announcing the deal, Google chief Larry Page acknowledged that Motorola is "a market leader in the home devices and video solutions business. With the transition to Internet Protocol, we are excited to work together with Motorola and the industry to support our partners and cooperate with them to accelerate innovation in this space," he said. During a later conference call, Page said Google will work with cable and telecom companies on that effort.
We probably won't see Google TV set-top boxes this year, but January's Consumer Electronics Show might include the announcement of a whole new wave of cable boxes featuring the latest version of Google's software. While Google and Motorola Mobility probably won't show off any products besides Google TV itself, cable companies will start to show off their newest feature: Google TV built into the box, offered at a premium to digital cable customers.
The Motorola Mobility buyout won't just mean Google TV built into cable boxes, though. Google has other software and services that would mesh well with digital cable services and Motorola's set-top boxes. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter have made a big impact on HDTVs and Blu-ray players, with several connected devices offering direct interaction, letting users keep track of their friends on their HDTVs. Google+ has picked up a lot of users, and with Motorola thrown into the mix, we could start to see Google's social network get support through cable providers.
Even without Google TV and Google+ breaking onto Motorola boxes, Google's purchase will probably result in more Android integration with digital cable companies. Time Warner Cable's iOS app could see an Android equivalent, and Comcast and Verizon might see similar Android smartphone control of set-top boxes. With Google owning both the set-top box development process and the Android operating system, there would be no reason for it not to develop something that could locally control a cable box or set a DVR from far away.
They might not be advertised on TV with surreal commercials involving cyborgs, but Motorola set-top boxes are a big deal for digital cable companies. Now that Google owns the company that made that box, you might see a lot more Google on your HDTV in the coming months.
For more, see Why Google is Buying Motorola Mobility and Android Partners 'Welcome' Google-Motorola Deal. Seriously?