<story><title>Google Is Close to Buying HTC Assets to Bolster Hardware</title><url>https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-20/google-is-said-close-to-buying-htc-assets-to-bolster-hardware</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>gorbachev</author><text>I think this is a good deal for nobody but those HTC engineers Google is going to hire, at least short term.&lt;p&gt;The $330M price is so low none of the HTC investors are going to make any money on it. HTC&amp;#x27;s mobile phone business has been unprofitable for years and Google won&amp;#x27;t make any money on it either.&lt;p&gt;Who knows maybe Google is planning on using the HTC business unit as a sort of an R&amp;amp;D lab for Android hardware, with no real plan on making it a traditionally profitable business.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>drzaiusapelord</author><text>Considering the recent Pixels were made by HTC, I think Google just wants to cut out the middle man and have its own phone hardware business for the Pixel. This allows them to compete with Apple by having an official flagship and by being able to produce this flagship without the added cost of another company&amp;#x27;s profits and the whims of cellphone OEMs too focused on their own branded products, and all the inefficiencies that brings.&lt;p&gt;HTC has everything Google needs for an in-house Pixel from soup to nuts and they&amp;#x27;re hurting for money. Its a happy coincidence HTC is collapsing right when Google is getting serious about launching its own branded flagship phones.&lt;p&gt;I also suspect aggressive moves like this mean that Samsung is probably going to pull the trigger on a full Tizen move and eventually stop producing android phones. The Pixel is aimed right at Galaxy buyers. I&amp;#x27;m skeptical this is just a coincidence. The agreement that Nexus was kinda, sorta a developer&amp;#x27;s phone and will always be hobbled by mid-range camera, battery, and storage seems to have ended with the Pixel line.&lt;p&gt;I just received a Pixel after my 6P died and its about the closest to iPhone quality I&amp;#x27;ve seen on an Android device. Its clearly a serious attempt by Google to have a proper branded flagship.</text></comment>
<story><title>Google Is Close to Buying HTC Assets to Bolster Hardware</title><url>https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-20/google-is-said-close-to-buying-htc-assets-to-bolster-hardware</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>gorbachev</author><text>I think this is a good deal for nobody but those HTC engineers Google is going to hire, at least short term.&lt;p&gt;The $330M price is so low none of the HTC investors are going to make any money on it. HTC&amp;#x27;s mobile phone business has been unprofitable for years and Google won&amp;#x27;t make any money on it either.&lt;p&gt;Who knows maybe Google is planning on using the HTC business unit as a sort of an R&amp;amp;D lab for Android hardware, with no real plan on making it a traditionally profitable business.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>gorbachev</author><text>Evan Blass claims Google is acquiring some engineering assets of HTC, and that HTC will retain the brand name.&lt;p&gt;That seems to support my hypothesis about the R&amp;amp;D lab.&lt;p&gt;source: &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;twitter.com&amp;#x2F;evleaks&amp;#x2F;status&amp;#x2F;910458246082826240&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;twitter.com&amp;#x2F;evleaks&amp;#x2F;status&amp;#x2F;910458246082826240&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>