

Google makes $1.70/year per Android device. Apple earned $575. - beatle
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/04/02/asymco-google-makes-only-1-70-a-year-per-android-device/?iid=SF_F_River

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aaronpk
Google does not make hardware. This doesn't show what HTC makes for example.
This is comparing apples to ....wait.

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waldes
It seems obvious (to me) that one should buy an Android as Apple makes that
money from you, the customer. Invest in Apple stock.

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bond
Is Google selling all android devices out there?...

Yeah, right...

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beatle
here's a great comment from the original article:

 _My take is that Android is an unmitigated disaster for Google. It could go
down in history as an historic error as great or greater than IBM's failure to
secure the IP of MSDos and the x86 chip, giving away the PC market to
Microsoft and Intel.

Look at what happened. Google were sitting pretty in a special relationship
with Apple: with Schmidt on the Apple board and Page a friend of SJ and being
mentored by him. Google benefitted hugely. Google was the default search
engine and Google the default maps

They betrayed SJ, stabbed him in the back "Et tu Brute"? They appear to have
used insider knowledge of the iPhone to secretly switch the Android from a
Blackberry to iPhone look alike, allegedly stealing IP wholesale from Oracle,
Microsoft and of course Apple and created a mortal enemy of SJ who, quite
naturally declared nuclear war on these treacherous ......s. But far from
benefitting Google shareholders, Android is a money pit sucking the lifeblood
out of Google.

Google have invested countless billions in Android, even more billions in
buying that other money pit Motorola, have enmeshed themselves in the most
humungously expensive global litigation mess imaginable, being sued by three
of the richest and most successful companies on the planet. They are facing
death by a thousand cuts, with unimaginably large legal fees, damages, licence
fees and compensation, to say nothing of destroying Google's reputation as the
"Good" "Do No Evil" company, turning it into into the most sordid, hacker,
privacy and IP robber of all time and the probability of facing serious anti-
trust investigations by the US and EU.

And all for what? 80% of their mobile revenue comes from their mortal enemy
Apple, who will leave no stone unturned to stick in and twist the knife and
will doubtless use Siri to undermine and exploit Google search and Google
maps, hiding the vital user information that Google need, depriving them of
the advertising revenue which is their whole raison d'être.

Remember: this is just $1.70 of revenue (NOT PROFITS) per user. It means that
Google are running massive losses on every Android device, while Microsoft are
earning net profits from the licensing to Android OEMs amounting to more than
5 times as much as Google's revenue. To make matters worse, Amazon have
castrated Google's revenue by forking Android cutting off their revenue
stream. Samsung and other OEMs may do the same.

But the real sword of Damocles for Android is Apple's world wide legal battle
to stop them using Apple IP. This campaign is still at an early stage, given
the snails pace of litigation, but is beginning to show signs of real
progress. Bit by bit Apple is degrading Android stripping it of the user
satisfaction of iOS's look and feel. Perhaps the most significant Apple
victory is the recent ruling by Judge Posner upholding the largest part of
Apple's touchscreen heuristics ('949) patent in their case against Motorola.
Winning this patent case against Motorola could be a turning point, stripping
Android of its iPhone gestures, and turning Motorola to stinking, rotting
carcase around Google's neck.

What is most amazing about Motorola and to a lesser extent Samsung is that
their principle defence case against Apple and Microsoft consists of
attempting to abuse essential patents protected by FRAND, which is likely to
bring crashing upon their heads (and of Google who have publicly supported
their underhand tactics) the wrath of the EU and US anti-trut bodies. Bear in
mind that the EU can fine all three companies 3 times their annual turnover
for such gross and barefaced violations. Google now have few friends in Europe
and the knives are circling. Perhaps it is soon going to be "Et tu Brute" time
for Google. Revenge is sweet, as they say!_

