Google Inc. agreed to acquire Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. for about $12.5 billion in cash, a deal that spells the end of independence for a venerable American company and reshapes the booming market for smartphones as computing shifts from the desktop to mobile devices. The deal gives Google—which has spurred widespread adoption of its Android mobile operating system by licensing it freely to mobile-phone makers —its own in-house hardware operation, potentially enabling it to challenge rival Apple Inc. on better terms, but it also raises questions for partners like HTC Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. with which Google will now compete.
Click for Full Text!
