Google Acquires Motorola Mobility to 'Supercharge' Android

Image via CrunchBase

August is normally a slow news month, but not today. Google announced Monday that it will acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in order to "supercharge" its Android mobile operating system and build up its patent portfolio.

In a blog post championing the acquisition, Google chief Larry Page insisted the acquisition will not change Google's commitment to keeping Android open. "We will run Motorola as a separate business," he wrote. "Many hardware partners have contributed to Android’s success and we look forward to continuing to work with all of them to deliver outstanding user experiences."

Andy Rubin, senior vice president of mobile at Google, echoed those sentiments. "We expect that this combination will enable us to break new ground for the Android ecosystem. However, our vision for Android is unchanged and Google remains firmly committed to Android as an open platform and a vibrant open source community," Rubin said in a statement. "We will continue to work with all of our valued Android partners to develop and distribute innovative Android-powered devices."

Perhaps more important to Google's bottom line will be the acquisition of Motorola Mobility's patent portfolio. "Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies," Page wrote.

Earlier this month, Google accused Apple, Microsoft, and other tech giants of trying to "strangle" Android with its coordinated patent purchases and pledged to "intensely" defend its mobile OS through patent purchases of its own and opposition to what it considers anti-competitive patent bids.

Last month, a consortium of tech rivals purchased 6,000 wireless technology patents held by Nortel, which Google had said it wanted to buy. Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, Research in Motion, and Sony joined forces to purchase the patents, which cover wireless, wireless  4G, data networking, optical, voice, Internet, service provider,  semiconductors, and other patent portfolios. Microsoft and Apple also teamed up to purchase patents from Novell, along with Oracle and EMC.

Page said Motorola's 2008 decision to "bet big" and make Android the sole operating system across all of its smartphone devices "is one of many reasons that there is a natural fit between our two companies."

"We believe that their mobile business is on an upward trajectory and poised for explosive growth," Page wrote. "The combination of Google and Motorola will not only supercharge Android, but will also enhance competition and offer consumers accelerating innovation, greater choice, and wonderful user experiences."

"We have shared a productive partnership with Google to advance the Android platform, and now through this combination we will be able to do even more to innovate and deliver outstanding mobility solutions across our mobile devices and home businesses," said Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility.

Google said it hopes to close the deal by the end of 2011 or early 2012, pending regulatory approval.

Stay tuned for more details.

Sony’s Android Honeycomb Tablet Luanch Scheme Is A Little Odd

Sony held a little press junket in the US the other day to introduce the US to their upcoming Android Honeycomb tablets. The Japanese tech giant did the same thing in April but in Japan only. At the US event Sony didn’t let the press have alone time with their 9.4-inch S1 or dual-5.5-inch S2 tablets, but they did talk a bit about how they will launch the two different tablets in the US.
The Son S1 and S2 won’t be released the same way as you would think, a Wi-Fi only model and a mobile broadband model aren’t coming for both models. According to Allthingsd reporter Ina Fried Sony will be launching the dual-screen S2 as a 4G HSPA+ tablet only and the 9.4-inch S2 will be offered in Wi-Fi only models. AT&T Wireless announced earlier this week that they would be getting exclusive rights to offer the HSPA+ Sony S2 on their network.
The plan to offer the two tablets in the fashion just described isn’t prudent. Ideally both tablets would be available with mobile broadband and without it as well. Not every buyer wants to be tied to a carrier just to buy a tablet. I hope that Sony fixes this oddity before or shortly after the S1 and S2 are released, it would be what’s best for consumer choice.