Google’s senior vice-president of mobile Andy Rubin said its Motorola Mobility acquisition will not affect other Android OEMs and that they showed “enthusiastic support” for the deal.
Android will still remain an open platform, emphasised Rubin in a conference call with analysts, and added that this acquisition will not affect other Android OEMs.
The US$12.5bn acquisition of Motorola Mobility will also not affect Google’s Nexus strategy, where the company collaborates with a selected OEM to develop a flagship Android phone for the Christmas period. Other OEMs can still be selected to collaborate in this project.
The deal is set to help Google strengthen its patent portfolio. Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility, said the mobile manufacturer has more than 17,000 issued patents worldwide along with 7,500 patent applications which will support the Android ecosystem.
This portfolio will aid Google in its recent patent disputes, as it believes Android is “under threat” from other companies.
David Drummond, Google’s senior vice-president and chief legal officer, said he is aware the size of the transaction requires regulatory approval across the US, Europe and other regions. However, he is confident it will be approved as he believes Android has “clearly added competition, innovation and increased user choice.” He added that protecting that ecosystem is “pro-competitive almost by definition.” The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2011 or the start of 2012.
UPDATE: Statements from other Android OEMs have emerged which support Google’s Motorola acquisition. HTC, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG Electronics seem to welcome the deal, which they believe demonstrates Google’s commitment to “defending” Android, its partners and the ecosystem.
