Google this afternoon signed a deal to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5bn (£7.67bn) to send shockwaves through the burgeoning smart phone and tablet industry. Motorola, already a mainstay of Google Android OS, will now be Google’s flagship brand and compete alongside Samsung, HTC and others on Google’s side.
Larry Page, CEO of Google, said, “Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”
Motorola Mobility will continue to be run as a separate business and remains a licensee of Android meaning the OS will continue to stay open and available to all other handset manufacturers.
Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility, added, “This transaction offers significant value for Motorola Mobility’s stockholders and provides compelling new opportunities for our employees, customers, and partners around the world. 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.”
The move will also cause reverberations in the online gaming industry with so many companies now looking at mobile area that continues to grow at a phenomenal pace. Apple’s iOS is the platform that many firms favor. This move by Google will only serve to strengthen the already sturdy footing that Android finds itself on. Since launching in 2007 the platform has seen itself grow to the extent that it now activates 550,000 every day and it amounts to a total of 150m worldwide. That is something that can’t be ignored and as tablets also continue to grow it’s only a matter of time until Android takes over from the iPad in this area too.
