If you were to look deep within Bloomberg’s lengthy recap of Google’s recent Motorola acquisition, you would notice that Motorola wasn’t the only company Google acquired throughout the whole process. Google also purchased the San Francisco industrial design studio, Mike and Maaike, who can be credited for designing the G1, Google’s first Android phone, and the Android Smartphone 1 (pictured above – a device that was used internally for testing the Android OS).

Not only has the bay area designer helped Google in the past, they also helped in designing Microsoft’s X-Box 360 and has worked closely with companies such as Belkin, Steelcase, Incase, Dupont, Ironkey, and the City of San Francisco. This is clearly a move to help Google get a leg up on their competitors and should prove to be beneficial when it comes to product design. Motorola’s new CEO, Dennis Woodside, spoke with Bloomberg and had this to say about the acquisition. “Google has always been interested in hardware. The natural next step is for us to get even more serious and to really go for it.” Good for you Google. Not that I dislike Motorola’s overlying design behind the DROID line, I just think it’s time to change things up a bit.

Head over to Mike and Maiike’s website to see some of the other projects they have dabbled in. You will notice a minimalistic look across most of their design that could bode well for future Android design.

source: Bloomberg
via: The Next Web