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Google is buying Motorola for $12.5 billion

Name: Google is buying Motorola for $12.5 billion
Brand: Google
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Abe Olandres August 15, 2011 · 1 min read

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This is big news! Google is buying Motorola Mobility, the mobile phone division of Motorola for an estimated $12.5 billion.

Motorola was one of the first handset manufacturers to use Android in their handsets and has been somewhat successful in the US market.

In an announcement over at the Google blog, Google CEO Larry Page writes:

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. I am confident that these great experiences will create huge value for shareholders.

I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.

We should be seeing a dedicated Google+Motorola Android phone very soon. This will also mean the next Google Nexus phone will be a Motorola handset and we will say goodbye to HTC and Sammy or LG as a potential carrier.

This is also probably the reason why that come-back to the Philippine market has been put on indefinite delay.

The other division, Motorola Solutions, will be retained by the company (we featured some of their products here before).

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

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78 Comments

RJ · 15 years ago

Probably this is the reason why Samsung hired Steve Kondik.

daniel · 15 years ago

naghihintay ako magmura ung samsung phones tapos biglang binili ng Google ung Motorola… another year of wait to wait and see ano ang difference ng android phones made by google and made by samsung :)

jomar · 15 years ago

Wow it’s going to be Google/Motorola vs Apple vs Nokia/Microsoft vs Samsung

Anonymous · 15 years ago

why is everyone here celebrating?
didn’t you know before this buying business by el-Goog, Motorola almost killed the Android ecosystem by trying to sue other Manufacturers over their infringed patents

Motorola the Android killer.. well almost..

Mikhail · 15 years ago

“This will also mean the next Google Nexus phone will be a Motorola handset and we will say goodbye to HTC and Sammy or LG as a potential carrier.”

Sir Abe, any other article to support this statement? I’d be happy to see the next Nexus with Motorola, better build quality compared to Samsung.

Mikhail · 15 years ago

But here’s one:

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/rubin-motorola-won-t-be-automatic-nexus-brand-991933

fboi · 15 years ago

*GOOGLERS
*MOTOROLANS
???sound painfully cheap.

goodha · 15 years ago

with this deal, their next phone will be nicknamed:

MoGo
GoMo
MotoGoo
GooMoto

lol.

vinz · 15 years ago

wat about

Moogle…
Gootorola..LOL

Mikhail · 15 years ago

Google Mo! LOL

William T · 15 years ago

It’s a smart move from Google. $12B might seem expensive, but I think the patents alone would be worth that much, if the Nortel patents will be used as yardstick. The Motorola patents will also more likely refers to handsets and the like, unlike Nortel’s which I think will be more on networks.

Eventually, I could see Google selling the handset part of the business and keeping the patents, with a perpetual license to whoever buy the handset business.

Now, Google could dare all comers to sue them… except maybe Oracle…

Mat · 15 years ago

“We should be seeing a dedicated Google+Motorola Android phone very soon. This will also mean the next Google Nexus phone will be a Motorola handset and we will say goodbye to HTC and Sammy or LG as a potential carrier.”

This statement may be inaccurate as seen on CNN Money:

http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/15/technology/google_motorola/index.htm?hpt=hp_bn1

Notably:
“In fact, Motorola will be so separate from Google that it will have to bid to become the maker of the Nexus device, the flagship Android smartphone that comes out annually during the winter holiday season. Google receives bids and proposals from various handset manufacturers to make the device, and the company said Motorola will not automatically win the rights to make the next Nexus phone.”

Other companies will still be able to bid for the rights to create the next NEXUS phone.

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 15 years ago

@mat – of course Google will say that, lest they scare off all other partners.

Mat · 15 years ago

It may be good business sense for Google to say that, but its also good business sense to keep their word.

We dont know how bidding for rights to create the Nexus phone is like, but taking a look at other good bidding practices, companies and partners will know if something shady is happening. Checks and balances actually work. Also, its good business sense to take money in rather than recycling it within (e.g. taking money from Samsung/HTC/Whoever vs. Motorola)

Seeing that some companies have more cash that Motorola (Motorola is number 8 in market share among major manufacturers in Q2), having a fair bidding process also favor Google.

To sum it up, while it is possible for Motorola to get the rights to create the next Nexus phone, it’s not a fair assumption that it will automatically happen. Especially if the companies in question have released statements that say so.

Mike · 15 years ago

Wise move by GOOGLE because Android is now #1 mobile OS. Meaning more business opportunities for them both software and hardware. However, when it comes to hardware innovations, super amoled +, SOC processors & every other parts of smartphone are being produced by Asian manufacturers (Samsung, LG, HTC). So, the best & brightest in technology is now in Asia.

Edz · 15 years ago

soobrang pasabog tong ginawa ng google, hehe its all about patent war HTC, Samsung, LG, SE reacted about Google-Motorola acquisition

ronsterrr · 15 years ago

next question is, how will Google use those patents to counter Apple, Microsoft, and Oracle?

And the plot thickens…

razorous · 15 years ago

And here it is.

Motorola DEFY+ | http://bit.ly/qzQav5

In the same day, Google buy Motorola Mobility and Motorola Mobility launch DEFY+ smartphoneâ€¦

Paul · 15 years ago

Dell is going to buy Samsung (News) |
http:/ /bit.ly/j kelng

bolero · 15 years ago

Have a Motorola Droid and I hate it.

ganar dinero · 15 years ago

I’m inclined to think that in spite of Google claiming that the acquisition was forced by MS and Apple (which is probably true to a degree), Moto Mobility’s reference to suing other Android OEMs may have done a whole lot in pushing Google over the line.

As they say, the greatest threat is the one that lies within. Page is incredibly smart. There’s no way on earth Google would let anyone even consider the possibility of Android vs. Android litigation. That would result in Android’s colossal downfall. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Sanjay Jha played this card to expedite sealing the deal. That would be very brilliant of him.

Business-wise, I don’t think this was the best of moves for Google at all. From a lifetime’s worth of business experience, such moves have often created so much segregation and anger. Things have certainly become very interesting.

sylv3rblade · 15 years ago

From a business standpoint, I think Google lead Apple-soft into buying Nortel’s patent folio. Tapos they bought out Motorola which clearly is a bigger stash.. lol

Iyan Sommerset · 15 years ago

I hope this isn’t going to negatively impact the Android experience for non-Motorola Android phones/devices.

ty · 15 years ago

I don’t think so. Nagbebenefit din ang google sa ibang mobile companies.

Wakocoke · 15 years ago

Google is buying Motorola Mobility for its 17,000 patents. To fend off patent trolls *cough MS Apple cough*

jonjon · 15 years ago

No matter how the other manufacturers hail it as a good news for Android, it does in fact make them uncomfortable w/ this google’s latest move.

buti si sammy may Bada OS na pang fall back. LOL!

cy the man · 15 years ago

will there be motoblur or motoblur no more? anyways, it will be good for future motorola users for sure updates. =)

roiji · 15 years ago

if Motorola wanted to, it can eat everyone else in patents.

http://androidandme.com/2011/08/news/patent-wars-could-motorola-kill-android-from-the-inside-out/

roiji · 15 years ago

LG, Samsung, HTC, ang mas lugi dito…
I wonder if Google will sue the 3 manufacturers of Android for Android. @_@

this could also mean that Motorola Mobility won’t release phones with WP7 anymore, as other rumors suggest..

this also means that Google’s target on patent portfolio isn’t Nortel (6k), nor InterDigital(9k), but Motorola Mobility’s (17k) [aside from the 1k patents that Google bought from IBM, and the 700 that they already owned]

I hope this will push through for the good of the consumers. I love Motorola.

lilboyblue · 15 years ago

i dont think google would be suing other droid manufacturers. google made the android platform as an open platform. and in a recent statement by Andy Rubin, he said google would stay open and they’d be backing up all droid developers and phone manufacturers with regard to the patent issues.