In a rather seemingly interesting move mobile device manufacturer Motorola has decided to remove Google’s locations services from their mobile devices in favor of those from Skyhook.  Motorola states that they are proudly become the “first Android device maker to abandon Google for its location services.”  The device maker is set to add Skyhook’s GPS, WiFi and cellular location to the “vast majority” of its phone models, like the Motorola Milestone.  This news apparently has developers giddy as the Skyhook technology is hardcoded into the OS which means every single app can reap the benefits.

It is still unclear why Motorola would want to distance itself from Google like this by using Skyhook’s technology to power all of the GPS, WiFi and cellular location for their mobile devices.  It will be interesting to see what sorts of apps developers will be able to come up with now that they will have access to all of this GPS technology.  I am sure there are some really cool features that they will be able to add to many different apps.

Also, it would be intriguing to see how consumers react to Motorola’s Android devices when they are lacking the familiar Google technology.  Many consumers have become accustomed to these various technologies so it will be interesting to see how they react to the new Motorola devices.  Ultimately if smartphone consumers do like the way that these features function on these various new Motorola phones it would be pretty hard for the mobile device manufacturer to continue making these devices.  While I think this could be a good thing for the Android market and really push device makers to enhance their products like the Motorola Cliq and include new features when new devices are released I will be sitting back and seeing just how good Skyhook’s technology really is first.

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