By Reuters is reporting from sources close to the matter that Google and Motorola will have their acquisition proposal approved by the United States Department of Justice and that the deal could be cleared as early as next week. It will allow Google to purchase Motorola for $12.5 billion. While Google will own Motorola, Motorola will continue to operate as a separate entity.
Google’s really in it for the patents that Motorola’s been successful with, as of late. Google originally stated that the acquisition would be key in their hopes to help Android OEM partners up against serious injunction lawsuits from competitors Microsoft and Apple.
Google has faced a long road to get to this point. With the opportunity to take control of a patent portfolio as big as Motorola’s, competitors and antitrust regulators carefully scrutinized this deal. Google’s approach to it all has gone a long way to ensuring those folks that they won’t abuse their power once they do gain control of the extremely lucrative portfolio.
The Mountain View company sent letters to the IEEE and other standards committees to reassure them that they won’t use the patents for evil and will only seek injunction if other parties seek injunction against Google and/or its partners. Read more about that here.
If the deal is approved, don’t expect much to change. Motorola will be Motorola and will push out devices like they have been. They’ll have a nice payday to make up for the quarter losses they’ve suffered and they won’t be getting preferential treatment from Google in terms of Android. Still, we’re happy to see that all of this will down. [Reuters]
Hrm, wonder what this means for Android besides backing off threatened losers like Apple. Unlocked bootloaders? Android Update Alliance actually being used?? Moto Nexus??? Nice moves, Goog. Let’s hope it benefits more than just the courtrooms, eh?
Exactly what I was thinking! Dare I say the Droid Nexus!!
Google nor Motorola can apply the Droid moniker to any phone that is licensed solely by Verizon. Evidenced by the fact their are Droid phones that are not produced by Motorola and that the Razr isn’t a Droid phone anywhere but Verizon. But it would be nice to see a Motorola produced Nexus phone.
Verizon licenses the Droid name from Lucasfilm, hence all Droids are VZ phones. Its also why the phones are named, “Droid … by Motorola” and not “Motorola Droid …”
The next sound i better hear is the sound of bootloaders unlocking, thats all i know!
Here’s hoping for a Motorola HD DVR running Google TV.
Now Google just has to buy T-Mobile and Android is set for life.
That’s good news to me.
I have been due for a new contract since November. I’ve been holding out. I may just wait for Moto to release its next phones.
It seems 4g is good and all but it eats batteries almost as quick as you can charge them. SERIOUS PROBLEM!
‘m beginning to give up hope that we will ever see a free range Android or nexus device ever again from Moto.
My next phone..and every one after that…may be a Google (Motorola) one.