google to buy motorola for $12.5b

ceo promises to 'supercharge android ecosystem'*
from dslreports: Google this morning made significant waves by announcing that the search giant would be buying Motorola's mobile division for $12.5 billion. "Motorola Mobility's total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies," said Google CEO Larry Page in a prepared statement posted to the company blog. "Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers." The deal will need to get past regulators, given it significantly overshadows Google's largest deal to date -- their 2008 acquisition of DoubleClick for $3.2 billion. The deal puts Google in a better position to compete with Apple by pushing them into the manufacturing game, but it also infuses Google with the 17,000 mobile phone patents currently held by Motorola Mobility.