Google’s short-term goals for its Motorola smartphone division are two-fold: clear the rubble on the runway and build for the future. 

When it comes to runway, Google is still dealing with the product pipeline that it inherited from Motorola when the acquisition received final approval by regulatory bodies way back in February 2012. Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference this week, Google chief financial officer Patrick Pichette said Google still has to deal with 18 months of product pipeline that it has to “drain right now.” 

That product pipeline was on full display in September when the latest Droid Razr devices were released. The reaction to the Droid Razr HD, Razr Maxx HD and the Razr M was a universal yawn, with all three devices seen as no more than iterative updates to the aging Razr series as Google continues to liquidate Motorola’s existing design and assets. 

(See also The New Motoroloa: Google's Hardware Division Steps Into The Future.)

Even the next new smartphones that will soon come out of Motorola are not anything to write home about. Pichette seems well aware of that fact, calling them, “not really to the standards that what Google would say is 'wow' — innovative, transformative,” according to a report from The Verge. 

Essentially, Google has to clear away years of Motorola mediocrity, past and future, before it can really build a device that will stand out as the quintessential Android smartphone. 

That is where Guy Kawasaki comes in.

Kawasaki Joins Google To Advise Motorola

Guy Kawasaki – venture capitalist, publisher and early Apple evangelist – loves Android. We learned this in December, and heard more details when he sat down with ReadWrite editor-in-chief Dan Lyons for a ReadWrite Mix event in San Francisco last December. The revelation that Kawasaki, such a staunch Apple advocate for so long, was an Android fanboy was shocking to many people in the pro-iPhone camp. 

(See also Shock And Awe: Apple Legend Guy Kawasaki has Become A Hardcore Android Fan.)

Apparently, his devotion to Android runs deeper than he originally let on.

Kawasaki tweeted on Wednesday that he will be joining Google as an advisor to Motorola. Kawasaki will focus on “product design, user interface, marketing, and social media,” according to a post on his Facebook page.

“Motorola reminds me of the Apple of 1998: a pioneer in its market segment, engineering-driven, and ripe for innovation. I believe that great products can change everything. For example, the creation of the iMac G3 (the Macs that came in colors such as Bondi, Strawberry, Blueberry, Lime, and Grape) was a pivotal event for Apple,” Kawasaki wrote. 

What's Next For Motorola?

Between Pichette and Kawasaki, we're getting a pretty good idea of the direction of Motorola under Google’s stewardship:

1. The first thing that needs to be done is to clear the pipeline.
2. The next is to employ smart designers and idea people like Kawasaki to create transformative products under the Motorola name. Will that be the mysterious “Motorola X” that Google has supposedly been working on?

If we date Motorola's 18 months of product pipeline from the time when the acquisition was approved by the U.S. Department Of Justice, Google still has nearly six months or so worth of Motorola supply chain to suffer through. It would not come as a surprise to see at least one more iteration of the Razr series from MotoGoo before we we find out what Motorola-under-Google really has up its sleeve. 

After all this time, it had better be something that will make us all say "Wow!"

Top image: Motorola Droid Razr M by Dan Rowinski

I was preparing for our Wednesday night ReadWrite Mix event with Guy Kawasaki by reading his latest book, APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur — How to Publish a Book, when I came across something strange — an offhand remark about how “real men use Android.”

This struck me as odd, because Kawasaki is probably best known as a former Apple evangelist, a relentless promoter whose work in the 1980s helped create what’s known today as the cult of Mac.

It’s especially weird because in the world of Apple fanboys there is no greater evil than Google’s Android operating system. The late Steve Jobs vowed to wage “thermonuclear war” against Android, which he considered a ripoff of Apple’s ideas.

Apple’s snobby fanbloggers sneer at Android as an ugly, stupid, low-class knockoff used only by people who have no taste or who can’t afford Apple products.

But guess what? Kawasaki really is a passionate Android fan.

Think Different — Think Android

Kawasaki switched to Android about a year ago and today uses no Apple mobile products. “People are kind of amazed, but I don’t use any iOS products, none at all,” he says. “I fell in love with Android on the smartphone, and then I got a Nexus 7 and started using Android on the tablet as well. To me the great irony is that Apple’s slogan was `Think Different,’ but today if you think different you’re looking at Android.”

Kawasaki likes the 7-inch Nexus tablet size and wasn’t tempted to switch to an iPad Mini when Apple finally came out with it in October. “If there was something compelling about the Mini I would switch in a second, but what’s compelling? Why switch?” he says.

Kawasaki switched to an Android phone so that he could get on a 4G LTE network. “Apple touts itself as the leading edge of smartphones, so why was it still running on a network that was 10 to 20 times slower?”

With the iPhone 5, Apple finally has come out with support for 4G LTE networks, but Kawasaki says he’s not going back. “I won’t switch now, because I think Android is better,” he says.

What's In Your Pocket?

His first Android phone was a Motorola Droid Razr Maxx, but he’s now using a Samsung Galaxy S3.

What does he like about Android? Things like support for NFC (near field communication), true multitasking and the ability to see all of his apps in alphabetical order.

“Another thing I like with Android is they don’t have some stupid proprietary cable. I can go to any hotel front desk and if I’ve forgotten my cable they always have a micro-USB around. I can use my Nexus 7 and it’s on the same cable as my Samsung Galaxy S3. What a concept! A standard cable,” Kawasaki says.

Full disclosure: Kawasaki has done some work with Samsung, and the Korean company helped sponsor his last book, What The Plus!: Google+ for the Rest of Us.

But he insists that is not what caused him to switch allegiance to Android. After all, he can buy any phone or tablet he wants. He’s not using Android because it’s cheaper, or because he gets demo units for free. He’s not getting paid to use Android or to promote Android in the press.

He simply, honestly, likes Android better.

Three Out Of Four Smartphone Buyers Agree

He’s not alone. Android now has 75% market share in smartphones, and is quickly gobbling up share in tablets as well. Apple fans can sneer all they want.

The funny thing is that in the past few years I’ve made a similar journey from iPhone to Android. Just like Kawasaki, I’m now on a Samsung Galaxy S3, and before that I was using a Motorola Razr Maxx.

Strangest of all, you know who recommended the Razr Maxx to me? Steve Wozniak, aka Woz, the co-founder of Apple and king of Apple fanboys. Woz says he still prefers his iPhone but as you can see below, he is also a bit of an Android fan.

No doubt you've heard of Guy Kawasaki. He first became famous as an Apple evangelist. In fact he's the guy who more or less invented the idea of brand evangelism. Since then he's published 11 books, including the best-selling Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions, and launched a website, Alltop, that's a kind of online magazine rack. In addition to all that, Guy is a fantastic person, a terrific storyteller with lots of experience and wisdom. Several years ago, when my novel, Options: The Secret Life Of Steve Jobs, came out, Guy hosted an event at the Computer History Museum where we got on stage together and told tales about Apple.

Now Guy has a book coming out, called APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur - How to Publish a Book, and to celebrate this sacred event I've invited him to come up to San Francisco and let me grill him on stage for a while. The fun happens next week -- Wednesday Dec. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Say Space at 180 Townsend Street in San Francisco.

You can register for the event here. 

We'll talk about the new book, about the concept of enchantment (which comes up again in the new book), about startups in Silicon Valley and probably about Apple, because I don't think Guy goes anywhere without people asking him about Apple. 

We'll have free drinks and snacks, a lively Q&A where you can ask Guy questions, and lots of schmoozing. Our last event, in November, was a total blast with a great audience, and we're hoping to have even more fun this time.

Again, you have to register in advance. Hope to see you.