Googorola won't be magically immune from litigation. Just this week, Apple just launched a new lawsuit against Motorola and another targeting the Galaxy Nexus which is really about Android 4, rather than any of Samsung's hardware.
What the Googorola merger will do is increase tensions between Google and its OEM partners which Motorola is competing with. If Google gives Motorola special access to Android development, Samsung could threaten to pull an Amazon, fork Android, strip out all the Google services, sell the search bar to Bing, and take half of Android's user base with it. If Google doesn't give Motorola special access, then what the hell was the point of dropping $6 billion big ones on it?
In many ways, this partnership is a lot like Microsoft and Nokia. That move also threatens the enthusiasm of non-Nokia OEMs. Here are the differences:
1. Microsoft paid far less for a far larger prize.
2. Nokia wasn't making any Windows phones, while Motorola was already heavily invested in Android.
3. A special partnership is less scary to a competing OEM than an outright acquisition.
4. With its tiny market footprint, Microsoft has a lot less to lose if they do alienate other OEMs. Android already has a strong market presence.
"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event." — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.
