Google completes takeover of Motorola Mobility
Google Tuesday finalized its $12.5 billion deal for Motorola Mobility, a key manufacturer of smartphones and other devices which puts the Internet giant in head-to-head competition with Apple. "The acquisition will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing," the California-based Internet giant said in a statement. "I'm happy to announce the deal has closed. Motorola is a great American tech company, with a track record of over 80 years of innovation," Google chief executive Larry Page said. "It's a great time to be in the mobile business, and I'm confident that the team at Motorola will be creating the next generation of mobile devices that will improve lives for years to come." The completion follows approval by Chinese, US and European regulators, amid concerns that Google would keep Android, a free operating system, out of the hands of competitors in the mobile device market. Conditions from China's Ministry of Commerce included Google keeping its Android software for gadgets such as smartphones and tablet computers free and open for at least five years. Regulators in the US and elsewhere have stressed that they will be watching to make sure that the Mountain View, California-based company does not use Motorola Mobility to obtain an unfair advantage in the market. Google will acquire 17,000 patents with the purchase of Motorola Mobility and has been strengthening its patent portfolio as the fight for dominance in the booming smartphone and tablet market increasingly involves lawsuits claiming infringement of patented technology. Apple and South Korea's Samsung, whose devices are powered by Google's Android software, are currently involved in lengthy and costly patent fights being waged on several continents. The Android system snagged 51 percent of the US mobile phone operating system market in the three months ending in March, according to comScore, while Apple's operating system had 30.7 percent. But in the global tablet market, Apple's iPad outmuscled its Android-powered rivals in early 2012, according to research firm IDC.
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