Google To Buy Motorola Mobility
The biggest piece of tech news to emerge this week is that Google's plan to buy mobile phone manufacturer Motorola Mobility has been approved by the US Justice Department.
Google, owner of the Android operating system for mobile phones, said in August that it planned to purchase Motorola for its 17,000 patents and 7,500 patent applications. The deal, the largest in the company's history, will represent the internet giant's most signficant foray into the hardware business and will ensure that it can compete with rivals such as Apple, as well as provide further defence for litigation charges aimed at itself and Android phone manufacturers.
Google is currently being sued for patent infringement on several patents related to Java by Oracle, which is seeking up to $6 billion in damages.
The Google-Motorola deal wasn't the only major deal given the go ahead by the US Justice Department this week. They also approved an Apple-led consortium's purchase of a patents from bankrupt Canadian company Nortel Networks and signed off on Apple's purchase of patents formerly owned Novell. Google had previously failed to purchase Nortal's patents before it launched its move to buy Motorola.
What's your view on the acquisition and what it means for mobile technologies?
