Motorola Mobility sold to Google along with 17,000 mobile patents

Well that was a quick resolution. Google have solved threats late last week by Motorola to sue other Android partners over patent issues by dishing out an over 60% premium on its share price to acquire the whole lot.

Specifically, the search giant and rapidly upcoming mobile phone OS player from Mountain View shelled out $12.5 billion for Motorola Mobility, the mobile branch of the once-great electronics organisation. A few years ago, Motorola split into Mobility, which focused on mobile phone hardware and software, and Motorola Solutions, which handles everything else – which covers pretty much every electronics application you can imagine.

“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” wrote Google’s CEO Larry Page. “I am confident that these great experiences will create huge value for shareholders.”

Of course it is wildly beneficial for Google to have a handset arm, even if it is running it largely independently. By far and away the biggest benefit, however, will be the astonishing 17,000 patents that Mobility brings with it (and another alleged 7,500 pending), blowing the 6,000 patents Apple, Microsoft, RIM and others bought from Nortel for $4.5 billion seem like a drop in the ocean (at least Google got an operating phone manufacturer too).

Meanwhile the regulators are, predictably, already looking into the deal.

You might also like...

Comments

Contribute

Why not write for us? Or you could submit an event or a user group in your area. Alternatively just tell us what you think!

Our tools

We've got automatic conversion tools to convert C# to VB.NET, VB.NET to C#. Also you can compress javascript and compress css and generate sql connection strings.

“Engineers are all basically high-functioning autistics who have no idea how normal people do stuff.” - Cory Doctorow