Google acquires Motorola Mobility

Well I didn't predict this one! It's no secret that Motorola are still feeling the pain of a $56 million Q2 net loss, but today, coming as a surprise to most people, Google announced on their blog that they will be acquiring Motorola Mobility.

So what does this mean for Motorola? Well at the moment we are not really sure. However, it is likely that Motorola will eventually become an Android only hardware manufacturer, therefore the overall mobile industry continues to evolve and in my opinion starts to become a lot clearer:

• Apple = iOS
• Motorola = Android
• Nokia = Windows Phone
• HP = WebOS
• RIM = BlackBerry OS
• Everyone Else = Android / Windows Phone / Other

The real question is what does this mean for companies like Sony Ericsson, Samsung and Toshiba? Can they continue to compete without a strategic partnership in place? Personally I am not so sure, however I expect to start hearing a lot of comments like "we have a strong relationship with both Google and Microsoft" and "we believe in customer choice". Unfortunately I think the reality is that these remaining vendors need to quickly pick a side if they are going to be able to compete.

So what does this mean for Google? I think Larry Page (Google CEO) said it best:

"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."

I think Google have been unimpressed with the hardware manufacturers efforts with Android and are now looking to take personal control (like Apple). The aim will be to "create amazing user experiences" that Google hopes will "supercharge" the rest of the Android hardware manufacturers to create more innovative products.

Overall I think this is a good strategy for Google and will benefit the consumer. My hope is that the Google / Motorola powerhouse will create better Android products, that as a result will drive more innovation and cheaper prices from the rest of the industry.

The other big win for Google is the patent portfolio owned by Motorola. Although I don't believe this was a driving factor in the purchasing decision, it will certainly become valuable when defending against lawsuits from Apple and the rest of the industry.

In conclusion the biggest shock for me is how under prepared the traditional mobile companies, such as Motorola, Nokia and Sony Ericsson have been in the wake of the iPhone. Even now several years later the only way they have been able to compete is to aggressively seek out tight relationships with software vendors, such as Google, Microsoft and Palm. I think if you were to roll back time five years and ask an analyst to predict the shape of the mobile industry today, they would not even get close.

For more information on the Motorola acquisition head over to the official Google blog.