Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Google will acquire Motorola Mobility for $40.00 per share in cash, or a total of about $12.5 billion.
The acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business.
Android’s demand
Techaisle’s research show that SMB future intentions to procure Android based smart devices is rapidly increasing across the board. It is only savvy business practice for Google to vertically integrate and “supercharge” the OS with a premium platform brand under control – and reassurance that the presentation of Google services is “as intended.”
Notwithstanding such view, our research shows that OS type is a way less of a concern to SMBs than “overall cost” when seeking to deploy mobility oriented infrastructure. More importantly, a device to apps deployment integration [Apple iPhone App. style if you like] is only sought after by 31% of thr market – the vast majority preferring open browser access [like your sales rep traveling to a client and checking out her/his profile in your (salesforce.com) CRM through a smart phone loading a mobile browser].
The Battle for Patents
In the interest of protecting Android’s ecosystem, perhaps this acquisition makes sense. It has been a while since Android’s licensees have been sued by Apple on patent pending infringements [Samsung, HTC, etc.] and only a few days ago, a German court held a case in favor of Apple blocking sales of Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab 10.1 on patent infringements across Europe.
Through the acquisition of Motorola Mobility Inc., Google will boost its patents portfolio by around 25,000 [filed and in progress] inclusive of some key patents relative to the current litigation on Android OS infringements. This new delivery of patents by MMI will surely help balance the argument with Apple, most probably leading to a settlement, and now that is some way of protecting the ecosystem.