Google buys Motorola cell arm for $12.

5billion
New York: Google will buy phone hardware maker, Motorola Mobility Holdings, for $12.5 billion to bolster adoption of its Android mobile software and compete with smartphone rival, Apple. In its biggest deal to date, Google said it would pay $40 per share in cash, a 63% premium to Motorola Mobilitys Friday closing price on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of Motorola Mobility, which focuses on smartphone and TV settop boxes, jumped 59% on Monday. Google, maker of the Android mobile phone operating system software, has been forging ahead in the smartphone market, but has been hampered by a lack of intellectual property in wireless telephony. Earlier in the month, fresh from losing a bid to buy thousands of patents from bankrupt Nortel, Google chief legal officer David Drummond blasted Microsoft, Apple, Oracle and other companies, accusing them of colluding to hamper the increasingly popular Android software by buying up patents. A source close to the deal said Google swooped in to buy Motorola Mobility after losing out on Nortels patents. It is much more than just a patent sale. It is obviously more than a strategy shift for Google that is very significant, the source said. The Motorola Mobility deal may represent a victory for activist investor Carl Icahn, Motorolas biggest shareholder. He has urged Motorola to consider splitting off its patent portfolio to cash in on surging interest in wireless technology. As of July, Icahn held an 11.36% stake in the company. Google, which plans to run Motorola Mobility as a separate business, said the deal will close by the end of 2011 or early in 2012, and requires regulatory approvals in the U.S., European Union and other areas, as well as the blessing of Motorola Mobilitys shareholders. REUTERS Deal can shake up smartphone sector New Delhi: Googles decision to spend $12.5 billion to acquire Motorola Mobility may have surprised industry watchers, but take a closer look at the game-changing decision and it all makes sense. Primarily, its a move aimed at saving the Android operating system (OS). Googles mobile OS currently has a market share of over 43%, according to Gartner. What the company lacks in its arsenal, however, is the requisite amount of patents that it can fall back upon in an industry slugfest. Besides, the deal has the potential to overturn quite a few apple carts in the smartphone industry. An end to patent wars? Almost every major player in the world of personal technology is embroiled in a patent suit; sometimes with multiple companies. In the current scenario of intellectual property, it is believed that a healthy portfolio of patents can go a long way in corporate battles against competitors. A large collection of patents means that businesses can countersue and force cross-licensing of technology, instead of paying royalties. Google has a weak patent portfolio when compared to competitors such as Apple, Microsoft and Nokia. After attacks on Android grew, it tried to buy patents from Nortel and Novell, but was thwarted by a group of companies. Incidentally, on both occasions, Microsoft and Apple were part of the winning group.

The deal with Motorola and consequently acquisition of over 12,000 patentswith another 7,000 in the pipelineis Googles way of restoring the balance of power. This was made clear by Larry Page, Google CEO, who wrote on the companys official blog: Our acquisition of Motorola will enable us to better protect Android from anticompetitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies. To sum it up, when all companies are equally strong there is less litigation and more cross licensing. Of course, acquisition of patents does not necessarily mean that Android will be protected from patent attacks. Florian Mueller, an intellectual property expert based in Europe, told TOI that Motorolas patents may not help the Google OS much. The fact that Apple and Microsoft sued Motorola anyway means that at least those companies werent threatened by the latters patents, he said. Consolidation of Android Currently, the Android ecosystem is rather fragmented. Google works on the operating system and releases it to manufacturers like Samsung, Motorola and HTC, who customize it before introducing handsets into market. With the acquisition of Motorola, Google will have hardware prowess to the control the entire ecosystem the way Apple does with its iOS and iPhone. Still, Google has assured its partners that they would continue to work closely with all licensees of Android. During a conference call with analysts, Larry Page said: We conceived of Android as an open-source OS, and it will stay that way. Motorola will stay as an Android OEM I have spoken with other Android licenses who share our enthusiasm about this partnership. Still, this does not rule out that Google will not use Motorola to better integrate Android with hardware to create model phones, asking other OEMs to eschew customizations and follow its lead. Will Microsoft buy Nokia? With Google, Apple, RIM and HP (which acquired Palm last year) now having hardware and software in place, there will be pressure on Microsoft to follow suit. Earlier this year, the company entered into agreement with Nokia, asking the Finnish giant to build Windows Phone 7 devices for it. It is possible that Googles latest move may prompt Microsoft to again consider acquisition of Nokia, if it is not already doing so. In fact, this is the sentiment at Wall Street: Nokia shares went up by over 10% after Googles announcement. Eldar Murtazin, a tech blogger who had reported the Nokia-Microsoft deal over a month before the tie-up was formally announced in February, has indicated that talks are already underway. Nokia could be sold in a few weeks. Price $27 billion for the whole company. Microsoft in a hurry, but want to pay much less, he tweeted on Monday. Jittery Android OEMs On the occasion of the announcement, Google took special care to allay partner fears. Android was born as an open source platform and it doesnt make sense for us to become a single OEM (original equipment manufacturer)... we want to go as broad as possible, said Andy Rubin, who heads the Android division at Google. This does not mean that all Android OEMs will look at the deal favourably. Samsung may start promoting its Bada OS more aggressively. HTC, too, has worked extensively on its customization called Sense and the company may spin that off into an entirely new operating software. Fearing an uncertain future, some of these OEMs may consider WebOS, the OS that powers HP smartphones and tablets. HP had in the past indicated that it is looking for hardware partners who are willing to make devices using WebOS.

THE DEAL SIZE $12.5b buy is Googles biggest so far WHY NOW Prop up Android software, checkmate its arch rival, Apple THE ROAD AHEAD Google plans to run Motorola Mobility as a separate business, but not earlier than early 2012 as nods are required

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Motorola India may benefit from Google takeover

Narayanan Krishnaswami TNN Bangalore: Googles takeover of Motorola Mobility is expected to impact the Indian operations of Motorola Mobility. While Google has stated that Motorola will be run as a separate company, changes for the latter are inevitable. Industry sources believe that the acquisition is good news for the companys Indian operations. Most of the work done in India revolves around mobile phone software, with a little more than half dedicated to the Android platform development. The remainder is work done on older phones, the so called feature phones or non-smartphones. Googles involvement should hasten the demise of the feature phone work over the next few years, accompanied by a corresponding increase in the Android work, some industry analysts believe. The India teams Android application development expertise would be a good fit for Googles strengths in cloud services. Others however are not as optimistic. They point out the delicate balancing act that Google has to play, keeping Android licencees like HTC and Samsung happy. Google has said that Motorola Mobility will be treated on par with HTC and Samsung. The acquisition also works out to the immediate benefit of these companies as Motorola was planning to sue them for violation of patent. However, analysts expect Motorola to get first crack at the new Android releases, as it did with Googles Honeycomb version of Android for its tablet. Google usually alternates between vendors when giving early access to new versions, but that is likely to change now. The acquisition is Googles confirmation of the theory that close hardware and software integration is essential in the world of the iPhone and the iPad. While most of the talk has centred around Motorolas massive patent repository 17,000 with 7,000 pending approval, the deal has other advantages for Google. Google TV, for example, is expected to benefit from Motorolas DVR expertise, allowing the company to install its platform on Motorolas set top boxes, gaining access to cable TV providers. Motorola also has enterprise credibility, and this may make Androids penetration of that market faster. Motorolas work in home automation devices the company acquired a Smart Home startup 4Home last year would also tie in neatly with Googles Project Tungsten, which aims to make the mobile phone the single interface to all things digital.

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Digital War Googles $12.5 billion takeover of Motorola has the potential to shake up the smartphone market. In the short term, the acquisition gives Google access to Motorolas treasure trove of over 17,000 phone technology patents and immunity against patent lawsuits. The game changer, however, could be Google vertically integrating its Android mobile software and Motorolas hardware to take on the iPhone.

Payback Time UK deputy PM Nick Clegg has said people convicted of riots and arson during last weeks violence in London will have to do community work in affected areas. They may also be made to meet those affected in the riots, to bring home the consequences of their actions. Worth emulating in India, where a similar scheme should cause those who run amok during riots and politically sponsored bandhs to rethink.

Nice Work Nasty men are 18% likelier to get fatter paychecks than jolly good fellows. Being disagreeable at work, says a study, also ups a blokes chances of promotions! Does that mean Mr Nice Guy must stop smiling and start snarling in office to impress his bosses and race up the career ladder? Good guy that he is, this gentleman will probably say the value of amiableness lies in itself. Nice.

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