"Motorola, which has bet the farm on Android, needs to differentiate more aggressively via software and services, or it runs the risk of being lost in the sea of Android phones that are emerging every day. What it needs is unique and better Android user experiences. So far, any attempts to build a UI and interesting new apps haven’t come to fruition. The company recently shut down its push service, Blur, because of poor usage and a bad user experience.
What Motorola needs is folks with true web and social networking skills to develop interfaces based on what it already has: a solid push infrastructure. The 280 North team helps add fresh blood to Motorola and gives the phone maker access to talented programmers, who can in turn help the company build on top of Android OS. This 'acq-hire' type deal is definitely a good one for its investors, who invested $250,000 in the company."
