Kinda big news, the maker of the popular Droid smartphone, Motorola, is being purchased by Google. Apparently Google needs patents and Motorola has plenty. They also have made of of the best hardware platforms for Google’s Android smartphone software. Motorola owns something like 17,000 patents on mobile phones, and plenty more in the pipeline. Larry page, CEO of Google, stated that “Motorola has a strong patent portfolio, which will help protect Android.”
more from Google’s blog. http://googleblog.blogspot.com/
Since its launch in November 2007, Android has not only dramatically increased consumer choice but also improved the entire mobile experience for users. Today, more than 150 million Android devices have been activated worldwide—with over 550,000 devices now lit up every day—through a network of about 39 manufacturers and 231 carriers in 123 countries. Given Android’s phenomenal success, we are always looking for new ways to supercharge the Android ecosystem. That is why I am so excited today to announce that we have agreed to acquire Motorola.
Motorola has a history of over 80 years of innovation in communications technology and products, and in the development of intellectual property, which have helped drive the remarkable revolution in mobile computing we are all enjoying today. Its many industry milestones include the introduction of the world’s first portable cell phone nearly 30 years ago, and the StarTAC—the smallest and lightest phone on earth at time of launch. In 2007, Motorola was a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance that worked to make Android the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. I have loved my Motorola phones from the StarTAC era up to the current DROIDs.\
This is indeed big news, i think another reason for this purchase is Microsoft, Apple and Oracle buying the Nortel patents, some 6000 of them. see this article on Reuters for more info.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/11/us-nortel-patents-idUSTRE76A51Y20110711
This may be purely a defensive move by Google. Only time will tell for sure.