Crazy news just in—Google is acquiring the handset division of Motorola, Motorola Mobility, for $12.5 billion. This means Google could soon officially in the hardware business.
Could, because the deal has to pass regulatory scrutiny from governments around the world plus the eyeballs of Motorola's shareholders. But should that all clear, this is a big, big deal. From the press release (below), "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." HTC, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, LG and the other Android manufacturers must be quaking in their boots today. That said, despite offering 32 phones—21 of which have Android baked in—Nasdaq pegged Motorola with a paltry 3% market share as of the beginning of this year. Not exactly a commanding force. Then again, that was before Google was at the reins.
[Via: Gizmodo & Businesswire and TNW]
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