Google-Motorola deal under the microscope

Google has shelled out $12.5 billion in acquiring Motorola mobility, one of the founding members of the Open Handset Alliance and one of the leading Android mobile manufacturers. Money well spent? Well, for now it makes Google look good and apart from getting hardware in it's hut, Google now has rights over 17,000 patents which were owned by Motorola. So what does this deal mean to Google, Android and YOU, the consumer? Let's dig in.

1. All about Patents

The patent attacks over Android have been pretty brutal over the past few weeks; and after Google came all guns blazing against Microsoft and Apple for their claims over bogus patents, Googorola may seem like a desperate attempt by Google; maybe it is, but it's a good one. Larry Page said in the blog post,  "Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies."

2. The missing piece of the jigsaw
One thing Google lacked in it's ascent in the smartphone business was hardware, and now Google has pocketed that. But did Google actually need hardware? Well, like I said, the key here might be patents, but then if you own the world's most popular smartphone operating system, you might as well buy some hardware, put the OS on it and make some money out of it. You cannot justify $12.5bn on the basis of just patents, can you? Also, Google can now pair the latest developments in Android with the hardware it owns, optimizing it to the exact specs, giving the consumer the best experience.

3. The 'Others' 

So where does that leave the other members of OpenHandsetAlliance?
Even after the success of the Droid devices, Motorola hasn't really been able to boast about big numbers. Moto Xoom, the first Honeycomb device didn't do as well as expected. Motorola wasn't a big threat to the other Android partners in any way. Samsung, HTC, Sony Ericsson and LG welcomed the announcement. Here's what they said:

"We welcome today’s news, which demonstrates Google’s deep commitment to defending Android, its partners, and the ecosystem.” -J.K. Shin, President, Samsung, Mobile Communications Division

“I welcome Google‘s commitment to defending Android and its partners.” -Bert Nordberg, President & CEO, Sony Ericsson

“We welcome the news of today‘s acquisition, which demonstrates that Google is deeply committed to defending Android, its partners, and the entire ecosystem.” -Peter Chou, CEO, HTC Corp.

“We welcome Google‘s commitment to defending Android and its partners.” -Jong-Seok Park, President & CEO, LG Electronics

Remember how Google's Nexus phones are the first to get updates for Android? Let's just say every Motorola device from now on, will enjoy that benefit as well. I'm not saying Google will not produce Nexus devices for other players.

Page said "This acquisition will not change our commitment to run Android as an open platform. We will run Motorola as a separate business. Many hardware partners have contributed to Android’s success and we look forward to continuing to work with all of them to deliver outstanding user experiences."

All said and done, the patent wars just became more interesting now. Google seems to be in a better position to fight back. As far as smartphones are concerned; a good flagship Motorola Nexus device, and Google should be on it's way.