Google may have its back against the wall and needs the new Moto X phone to be a big success. They are planning to invest $500M just in marketing the new phone (more than Apple or Samsung). This may be motivated by the fact that Samsung is capturing up to 95% of the profits from the Android ecosystem since it owns the “last mile” where consumers lay down cash for devices. Samsung has recently invested further in their Tizen mobile operating system to keep their options open and solidify their bargaining power against Google (a nice 5 forces example of tapered integration). Google’s battle to remain relevant in the Android ecosystem is a nice update to the mini case posted earlier here on Google’s $12.5B acquisition of Motorola Mobility. Also, based on this review, it appears that they may have created some of the vertical integration value. Here is a demo video for the Moto X.

Contributed by Russ Coff