With an agreement that surprised analysts and journalists, Google announced that it will transfer Motorola's mobile division to Lenovo, for $3 billion. The acquisition is expected to help Lenovo expand sales of new mobile phones outside China, under the Motorola brand which in this category is more internationally recognized. Thus, with this move, «opens» the door to markets in the US, Latin America, and also Europe.
On the other hand, Google will retain Motorola's patent portfolio and some research projects, such as the modular smartphone development platform Project Ara. Although the acquisition of Motorola cost the internet giant $12.5 billion, and the sale amount is considerably lower, Google justified its decision in its announcement by saying that “the smartphone market is very competitive».
With the sale of Motorola, Google is essentially withdrawing from the manufacturing of «smart» mobile phones, which means that from now on it will focus exclusively on improving its Android operating system for «smart» devices, as well as on the services that are integrated into it. However, in his statement to the BBC, a senior executive of the American company clarified that Google is not going to sell its other divisions that manufacture hardware, such as, for example, «smart» glasses.
The agreement between Google and Lenovo must get the “green light” both from the Chinese and the American authorities.
Source: kathimerini.gr
