Google acquires Motorola Mobility for $12.5bn

That should please their Android partners

[olias]

Google moving into developing their own smartphones and tablets it would appear.

[bbc.co.uk...]

[jecasc]

Well, I liked my Motorola Milestone 2. But I definitely will not get a Milestone 3 when Motorola is owned by Google.

[scooterdude]

Well whadya know, that cash mountain is getting spent, on Bricks and mortar business,

That bakery is no longer so fanciful or far off now :)

[Leosghost]

The wrath of Jobs and Ballmer cometh.

[viggen]

...in my austrian newspaper it says Google bought Motorola because of the many relevant patent that Motorola owns, in order to protect their Android property...

[albo]

Resistance is futile

[martinibuster]

From the NYTimes [dealbook.nytimes.com]:

While the acquisition will move Google directly into the telecommunications hardware business, Larry Page, Google’s chief executive, said in a blog post that “this acquisition will not change our commitment to run Android as an open platform. Motorola will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. We will run Motorola as a separate business.”

As viggen said, it was done to protect Android because Apple and Microsoft had teamed up against Android by purchasing patents in a bid to keep the technology closed source.

Is the world a better place with an open source Android mobile platform? Or are consumers better served by crippling an open source solution and paying Apple and Microsoft for their closed systems?

I have been modifying what I own since I was old enough to wield a screwdriver to a Tonka truck. I would never purchase an Apple product because Apple is a tyrant when it comes to how their products are used.

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

Google just became the new fish in deep waters, I can see them being circled already. You can add this to the list of things I didn't want from Google and it's always best to be exactly what your customers want you to be, not what you think they'll want. Search results, Google, pure search results without extras please. It's what made you.

The Google blog says that Page wants this in order to strengthen the Google portfolio of patents. I suppose there is some great legal battle on the horizon to gain full control of our mobile use.

[J_RaD]

am I the only one that got a sick feeling in my stomach?

[Staffa]

From a Dutch news site :

Motorola owns some 17,000 patents and has requests for 7,500 more, pending.

[ChanandlerBong]

Google's problem is that buying Motorola leaves its other Android partners potentially high and dry. Will they get the same early access to the latest versions of Android? Will Motorola get that little bit extra when it comes to smartphone features?

And it puts a question mark over Google's new boss Larry Page. Does he have no better use for the company's cash than buying a fickle hardware business? Is Google losing corporate focus?

[bbc.co.uk ]

[vik_c]

This kind of reminds me of playing Monopoly in my childhood, trading sites, building properties and waiting for other players to land on them :)

[Webwork]

"Patent Trolls Gone Wild!"

Not coming soon to a video store near you.

[graeme_p]

Google has got a patent portfolio much bigger than the Nortel one, in which they participated enough to kindly drive up the price.

They also have a captive mobile phone maker, which gives them a chance to push Android harder, but is likely to alienate others (remember how Nokia's rising stake in Symbian pretty much killed it?), but given the choices (Windows phone) they may still go with Android.

This might give others, such as Mozilla, a look in.

[Tonearm]

Resistance is futile

+1 (get it?)

[Robert Charlton]

"Patent Trolls Gone Wild!"

Not coming soon to a video store near you.

I wouldn't bet against the genre. As soon as I saw the thread title, I thought "patent trolls".

For an entertaining and chilling Public Radio hour, which makes it clear why all the big players are of necessity buying a lot of companies, check out the audio link I posted here....

When Patents Attack! - "This American Life"
http://www.webmasterworld.com/webmaster_business_issues/4346070.htm [webmasterworld.com]

It's basically a mutually assured destruction defensive strategy.

[kevina]

I prefer Google investing in hardware rather than copying sucessful websites and favor its versions in searches.

I am really happy with this deal.

And I expect Microsoft to buy Nokia.

Other phone producers maybe will move to Meego?

[Edge]

I think Google is out of their league on this one - Google is not and never has been a great consumer (customer service) company.

[graeme_p]

If I were Google, I would keep most of the patents and perhaps some R & D, and sell the rest of it (with a generous licensing agreements on the retained patents).

[Stevo]

Google be doing a CYA event...Microsoft and Apple may have cause but purchasing a few thousand patents will sure fix that! :-) Rock on Google! You guys should buy Sprint, bundle packages with free Motorola Smartphones Sprint service to little or not cost..power everything with Google pay ads. 3 to 5 years Microsoft and Apple will be out of business...just some food for thought? FREE everything powered by Google ads...you are in prime position to roll this out and dominate! I just gave you trillion dollar idea for free...

[Hugene]

This is pure and simple direct response to the Nortel pattent auction. G got burned on that one, loosing out on 6000 patents that will surelly be used agints them.

Well now they have 17 000 new patents and counting to defend Android, which will get attacked on all sides, you can bet on it.

The physical phone business is pretty much worthless, with the amount of serious competition here is.

Good move for G.