Breaking News: Google buys Motorola Mobility for 12.5 Billion

Google has just bought Motorola Mobility for 12.5 Billion dollars. Motorola Mobility was launched early 2011 as a standalone company focusing on mobile devices, particularly smartphones and tablets. With this development, Google has put itself on equal footing with Apple, HP and RIM who make both the hardware and the software pertaining to their devices.

Larry Page, CEO of Google, said, “Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”

One big question for many of the Google Android device makers like Samsung, LG and HTC is how their relationship with Google/Motorola Mobility will evolve going forward. What advantage will Google phones built and designed in-house have over these other companies' models.

One likely scenario is that companies like Samsung, LG and HTC will double their commitment to competing mobile OS Windows Phone which they already build devices for.

Although, on Larry Page's Google + page, he quoted various supportive comments from many of these companies which we are listing below.

Quotes from Android partners

“We welcome today’s news, which demonstrates Google’s deep commitment to defending Android, its partners, and the ecosystem.”
– J.K. Shin
President, Samsung, Mobile Communications Division

“I welcome Google‘s commitment to defending Android and its partners.”
– Bert Nordberg
President & CEO, Sony Ericsson

“We welcome the news of today‘s acquisition, which demonstrates that Google is deeply committed to defending Android, its partners, and the entire ecosystem.”
– Peter Chou
CEO, HTC Corp.

“We welcome Google‘s commitment to defending Android and its partners.”
– Jong-Seok Park, Ph.D
President & CEO, LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company"

--Source, Google CEO Larry Page's Google + page

Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility, said, “This transaction offers significant value for Motorola Mobility’s stockholders and provides compelling new opportunities for our employees, customers, and partners around the world. We have shared a productive partnership with Google to advance the Android platform, and now through this combination we will be able to do even more to innovate and deliver outstanding mobility solutions across our mobile devices and home businesses.”

Buying Motorola Mobility, Google now secures a number of cellular, wireless and data network focused patents that will strengthen it in its competition. Google was set to buy Nortel's patents last month but lost out to a consortion composed of Apple, Microsost, RIM and others.

BrandZ- Apple unseats Google as World's Most Valuable Brand

Amazing product sales, high user demand and continued innovation and market success have boosted Apple Inc. beyond search ginat Google as World's Most Valuable Brand.

Registering a staggering 84 percent increase in value over the past year, Apple has emerged as the most valuable brand in the world, ending the four-year reign of Google at the top of the table in the sixth annual BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study.

Click to read more ...

Contest! Win an unlocked Google Nexus S smartphone

Here's your chance to win Google's latest hero phone. The Samsung-designed Nexus S is the only smartphone in the market with Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Powered by a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, 512MB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory, dual-cameras for video conferencing and the ability to read NFC (Near Field Communication) tags plus work as a mobile hotspot, the Nexus S is geared for the future.

Prizing from Best Buy Mobile, with the Nexus S available in 21 Best Buy Mobile locations across Canada or online at BestBuy.ca. Because the phone is available for any network, buyers can work with the impartial and informed Best Buy Mobile staff to pick the plan that’s best for them.

Read our review on the Google Nexus S

How to join the contest:

1) Visit our Facebook Page and click on the "Like" button on the page.

2) Follow @BBYCanada and  @CReviewer  on Twitter and retweet the message "I want to win that awesome Nexus S from @BBYCanada and @CReviewer!"

Good luck and thanks for joining!

Nexus S now on pre-order from Best Buy Canada

The Google Nexus S is certainly one of the most desirable handsets around and for many Canadians obtaining one required an eBay purchase or a trek South of the Border to an American Best Buy. Well, the handset that's expected to be with no less than five carriers in Canada (TELUS, Bell, Rogers, Mobilicity, Videotron and Wind Mobile,) is sort of available for pre-order from Best Buy Canada. There's nothing online, but if your trudge over to your favourite Best Buy and plunk down CAD $50, they'll put you on the list and holler at you when the units arrive.