Google should have also bought Motorola’s video assets

I keep seeing tons of press around Google and what it plans to do with Motorola in terms of Android. I had an epiphany today that the real value of Motorola’s assets to Google is in the IPTV space. It’s a shame they only bought Motorola Mobility.

There are really only three “types” of handsets left in the mobile industry.
1) iPhone and iOS
2) Android based phones (Motorola and the other manufacturers)
3) Very simple and basic “non-smart” phones

Android has a decent share of the mobile handset market, but I can’t come up with any plausible story that points to Google crushing Apple. It’s a “me, too” play. The consumption of web services is what the game is about, and locating and placing the information in the hands of the consumer in a timely fashion. Apple has this figured out from a usability and complete package standpoint. Android is more open and allows developers to keep more of their license fees than the Apple ecosystem, but it’s still a fast-follower.

No, I think the real story here is TV. Think of all of the Set Top Boxes (STB) that Motorola controls. We all know that it’s just a matter of time before bandwidth is capable of streaming every bit of HD content you could want into your home. I think we are already there, it’s more of a content provider and licensing issue at this point. (YouTube)

What if there is something in the Motorola portfolio of patents, along with the ecosystem of STB distribution that would give Google a huge new playground for search and advertising? What if you could tag video with hotspots that allow you to purchase what is on the screen during a movie? Or give alternatives to what you see on the screen?

Could this be what Steve Jobs was so furious at Google about? Could Google combine it’s vast power in SEO, AdWords, search, YouTube, etc with the Google patent portfolio and one up Apple?

Forget handsets… My bet is on video. Except that Google didn’t buy that portfolio.