Google Buys Motorola For $12.5 Billion

Google announced it will buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, in a move that will give the Internet giant a presence in smartphone hardware and bring it thousands of new patents.


The Mountain View, Calif.-based company expects to complete the deal by late 2011 or early 2012 though the purchase may be subject to government approval. Motorola, one of the leading manufacturers of Android devices, will officially become an Google-only phone maker, despite CEO Sanjay Jha expressing interest in developing for Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform.

Google intends to run Motorola as a separate company that will continue to develop Android devices. Android will remain an open platform, allowing other companies to develop devices that run the platform.

But despite Android keeping its status as an open platform, Google’s new purchase makes the company a bit more like Apple.