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Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility has received a nod from authorities. The news was announced on the Google blog as well as in the release of a ruling by EU authorities and followed closely after by a similar announcement by the Department of Justice. Google had applied for regulatory approval in its purchase of mobile phone manufacturer Motorola Mobility in a deal that would cost Google $12.5 billion.
The DOJ however had to conduct its own investigations into fair competition practice and other regulatory requirements before the deal could be approved. This news has now paved the way for Google’s entry into the high-stakes hardware market with what many predict as Google branded devices. Motorola is currently the largest manufacturer of Android powered devices.
This news makes Google a key player in the mobile smart phone ecosystem alongside the likes of Apple and Samsung. Samsung will however be weary of this new development as their current signature devices, the Galaxy S and the Galaxy Tab both run Android and it would be challenging to now start competing with the very company that supplies the Operating system.
Apple on the other hand will be careful to note that with this acquisition comes a substantive arsenal of patents that Google will not be shy to flex in order to tame the competition. The news comes at a time when mobile phone manufacturers are embroiled in patent wars with each company suing the competition in order to forestall sales or ban the sale of the competitor’s devices in stronghold markets altogether. The deal will have to wait for further regulatory approval from other key markets such as India, Brazil and China before the conclusion of the matter.
