Jordan Kahn

After a shocking announcement this morning from Google regarding a $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility, most are already discussing what this means for the future of Android. However, a report from WSJ claims their sources are reporting Motorola has an “unusually large” 20% reverse termination fee in place that would see Google paying $2.5 billion if the deal falls through.

The report claims this might be proof Motorola is worried the acquisition could be the subject of antitrust regulators who are already investigating Google for its ability to abuse its market lead. However, Google execs noted in a conference call with financial analysts this morning that they aren’t worried about the deal being seen as anti-competitive in nature.

Why would the deal fall through? The report points to potential legal hurdles in Washington, similar to those that allegedly stopped a Groupon acquisition from happening. Google is already the subject of an antitrust probe related to their purchase of ITA software, and continues to be in the middle of intense legal battles with rival smartphone makers.

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Google has made its decision to acquire Motorola Mobility public this morning, announcing the acquisition worth $12.5 billion via The Official Google Blog (that’s $40 per share, 60% higher than the company’s closing price as of Friday):

Today, more than 150 million Android devices have been activated worldwide—with over 550,000 devices now lit up every day—through a network of about 39 manufacturers and 231 carriers in 123 countries. Given Android’s phenomenal success, we are always looking for new ways to supercharge the Android ecosystem. That is why I am so excited today to announce that we have agreed to acquire Motorola.

This is obviously being looked at by most analysts as a move by Google to beef up their patent portfolio in the midst of the smartphone patent wars. It appears Google plans to continue running Motorola as a separate company, meaning the brand itself isn’t in jeopardy as of yet. However, this could easily be Google’s first step in the direction of gaining more control over the manufacturers that run Android. Even with Android making huge strides in recent months, Apple continues to dominate the smartphone market with their unique approach of building both hardware and software to compliment one another (at the same time as keeping the intellectual properties related to their products under one roof).

Google and Motorola will be holding a press conference at 8:30 ET. Grab the live webcast here. A snippet from the official press release below, if you’re interested. We’ll keep you posted as more info becomes available.

Google to Acquire Motorola Mobility

Combination will Supercharge Android, Enhance Competition, and Offer Wonderful User Experiences

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA and LIBERTYVILLE, IL – AUGUST 15, 2011 – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Google will acquire Motorola Mobility for $40.00 per share in cash, or a total of about $12.5 billion, a premium of 63% to the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday, August 12, 2011. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

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Some rather nice new updates have begun rolling out to lucky Chromebook/Chrome OS users this week with a number of welcomed features including a 32% faster resume (in most cases), instant Netflix streaming, Amazon’s Kindle Cloud Reader app, Print to Docs with Google Cloud Print, and various business-related features.

While the update of course brings the usual “bug fixes and improvements”, it also includes features aimed at education and business users. One of the more notable features is the Citrix Receiver Tech Preview app which is now available to Citrix users via the Chrome Web Store. This will allow you to “access desktop software such as Adobe® Photoshop® directly from your Chromebook”.

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Google has just signed a deal to lease a new Sunnyvale campus that, as Silicon Valley reports, will be the company’s “largest presence in Silicon Valley outside of Mountain View”.

The deal could see GOOG moving up to 2,900 employees for the long-term onto the new campus that totals 715,000 square feet at the Technology Corners complex at 11th Avenue and Innovation Way in Sunnyvale. This contributes to the over 1.9 million square feet of real estate the company has already committed to this year.

“As we continue to grow, it’s important to find space for our future employees close to our headquarters,” said David Radcliffe, vice president of real estate and workplace services for Google. “That’s why we’ve leased space at Moffett Park’s Technology Corners.”

Google has good reason to expand their presence in the Valley. The report notes Google plans on hiring more new employees this year than ever before with an additional 6,000 new members joining the team worldwide. Other companies, notably Apple, have been buying up land with big plans to accommodate their own growing employee base.

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The Federal Trade Commission began an anti-trust probe of various Google services six weeks ago after serving the company with a number of “broad subpoenas”. Today, sources familiar with the proceedings report the probe is now extending to Android and Google’s endeavours in the mobile space.

The WSJ explains:

Six weeks after serving Google with broad subpoenas, FTC lawyers, in conjunction with several state attorneys general, have been asking whether Google prevents smartphone manufacturers that use its Android operating system from using competitors’ services, these people said.

They also have inquired whether Google grants preferential placement on its website to its own products, such as Google’s “Places” business listings, its “Shopping results” or Google Finance services above most other results.

This wouldn’t be the first time government has targeted a technology company expanding into areas other than what they’ve been known for, and it certainly wont be the last. Despite that, Google doesn’t seem to be worried… a Google spokesperson had this to say about the probe:

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sxBvpEwgGc&]

It’s official…Today Samsung and NVIDIA have outed their latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread-powered device in the Galaxy smartphone (superphone?) family, which we now know will sport a 900 x480 4.19-inch “Super Clear” LCD display, Tegra 2 dual-core processor, front-facing 1.3mp camera, and a 5mp rear camera with LED flash that supports HD video recording. Full specs from the press release after the break.

The press release describes the Galaxy R as a”lightweight, slim and sleek metallic design, the GALAXY R Smartphone delivers incredible performance thanks to its Dual Core processor”… which is all true, but we can’t help but feel this device is specifically for those that don’t require everything packed into the obviously superior, but very similar, Galaxy S II. Either way, we aren’t complaining about having another powerful Android-based device on the market that resembles the S II.

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After sending out the usual laundry list of bug fixes for its Flash Player yesterday, Adobe is coming under pressure from Google security engineer Tavis Ormandy who claims the update only listed 13 of the approximately “400 unique vulnerabilities”… A number he describes as “embarrassingly high”.

Ormandy claims he sent the bugs to be fixed “as part of an ongoing security audit” and, according to a report from Computerworld, was “upset that he was not credited for his bug reports”. After noticing he hadn’t received credit in the patch, he took to Twitter to address his concerns, prompting Adobe’s senior manager of corporate communications to tweet the following:

“Tavis, please do not confuse sample files with unique vulnerabilities. What is Google’s agenda here?”

Ormandy responded, also in a tweet, saying:

“I don’t know what Google’s agenda is, but my agenda is getting credit for my work and getting vulnerabilities documented.”

Hours before the patch officially rolled out, Google launched the latest version of Chrome 13 and 14, which included the Flash Player patch in question, and was accompanied by the following statement from Google:

“The Chrome Team would especially like to thank Tavis Ormandy, the Google Security Team, and Google for donating a large amount of time and compute power to identify a significant number of vulnerabilities resolved in this release of Flash Player.”

Adobe did credit 10 other researchers in the report accompanying the update, but had only this to say about Google and Ormandy’s work:

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Update: Samsung has issued the following statement (via TNW) addressing the court’s decision to grant Apple the preliminary injunction:

Samsung is disappointed with the court’s decision and we intend to act immediately to defend our intellectual property rights through the ongoing legal proceedings in Germany and will continue to actively defend these rights throughout the world.

The request for injunction was filed with no notice to Samsung, and the order was issued without any hearing or presentation of evidence from Samsung.

We will take all necessary measures to ensure Samsung’s innovative mobile communications devices are available to customers in Europe and around the world.

This decision by the court in Germany in no way influences other legal proceedings filed with the courts in Europe and elsewhere.

Reports are coming in that Apple has been granted a preliminary injunction for the entire European Union (excluding Netherlands) that will halt distribution of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1. This comes on the heels of a postponed launch of the device in Australia due to a lawsuit with Apple. If you’ve been in the market for an Android-based tablet, you might have to grab one of those new Vizio tablets or wait for the rumored Kal-El Honeycomb powered “Motorola Kore”.

The decision by the Regional Court of Dusseldorf in Germany to block sales of the device comes after a judge sided with Apple on claims that Galaxy Tab copied key design components related to the iPad 2. While Samsung can appeal the court’s decision sometime in the next month, the Telegraph’s Shane Richmond is quick to point out it would be heard by the same judge. Apple is also said to have a separate lawsuit filed in the Netherlands as well.

Samsung had this to say in a recent statement about their legal disputes with Apple:

“Samsung believes that there is no legal basis for this assertion. We will continue to serve our customers and distributors and the sale of Samsung products will be continued.”

And Apple has made their stance on the situation clear…

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We know the Droid Bionic has a big battery, unfortunately, the images that had previously surfaced didn’t give us a good view of the device’s profile, which we now know appears to be rather thick (to put it nicely). These new images from GottaBeMobile give us a whole new perspective.

Yesterday FCC filings for the Motorola Droid Bionic started popping up and confirmed it would be a 4G LTE capable device sporting a 4.3 inch qHD display, 1GHz dual core TI Omap processor, a front-facing VGA camera, and an 8 megapixel rear camera with 1080p HD video recording. Judging by the image below, it should have good battery life too.

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Google has just released a new version of the Google Search app for Android that includes several welcomed UI enhancements and new features. Among the more notable, an “updated and simplified” UI (image above),  country-specific suggestions and search results,  and suggestions can now be grouped by type (web suggestions on top).

From the Google Mobile Blog:

• Suggestions grouped by type, with web suggestions at the top.
• Country-specific suggestions and search results for all countries with Google domains.
• Long press to remove history items.
• Faster, smoother performance, with an updated and simplified user interface.

The update is available for devices running Android 2.2 and up… you can swing by the market and grab it now. Google also posted some tips for some of the enhancements that have been incorporated in the update:

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Google has just pushed an update for the official Google+ app for iOS, bringing with it support for iPad and iPod touch, two devices the app was previously unavailable for, among a few other features including aggregated circle add notifications, huddle settings, and the usual “Performance and stability improvements”.

You should be able to update the app now via the App Store or swing by iTunes and grab the new version now. We’ll keep you posted with any other discoveries we might make in this latest update.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbP7wQBJ35E&feature=player_embedded]

Debating which carrier to sign up with for that new Android-powered handset you’re thinking about? Virgin Mobile is about to launch a new advertising campaign directly taking on T-Mobile and detailing exactly why it’s the better choice for Android smartphone users.

Virgin Mobile USA’s president of Marketing Bob Stohrer explains:

“T-Mobile has anointed itself as the value leader in wireless, yet they’ve conveniently left Virgin Mobile out of their comparison set, so we’re crashing their party. No matter how you dress their plans up, they’re no match for Virgin Mobile’s no-contract, Unlimited Data offering at $35/month coupled with Android-powered phones like the new Motorola Triumph.”

The commercials set to launch today and run through September feature a faux hollywood couple known as Sparah, a fake T-Mobile spokesperson, and portray a party-like atmosphere and lifestyle in contrast to their competitors’s run-of-the-mill offerings. In the spot, the fake T-Mobile spokesperson also takes a stab at AT&T by noting, “imagine us being taken over by AT&T, who’s last in customer satisfaction.”

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Looks like owners of that shiny new Touchwiz UX update for Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 are waking up to a new “Movies” tab pushed out via an update earlier today. Touchwiz came preinstalled with a few video related apps including Google Videos, however none of these provided the option to purchase movies and TV from the Market.

If you haven’t received the update yet, be patient, as it should be rolling out slowly to all users running the Touchwiz UX upgrade within a day or two. You’ll have to accept the new terms of service upon updating to access the feature. We’ll let you know if we find anything else of interest in this latest update.

The TouchWiz UX update for Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 brought a number of new features and UI enhanceements to the Honeycomb-based tablet. Some of the more notable features include a new dock-like app launcher, quick-access to settings, mobile printing, and the Swype app for tablets preinstalled. Check out our 5-minute video walkthrough here.

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Some Android app developers aren’t receiving the earnings they’ve generated through web-based Market sales, according to a report from The Register.

Google’s Android Market support forums are full of devs claiming discrepancies with the orders being charged and the payout they’ve received each month. One forum poster comments “It could be that some of your orders aren’t charged until a day or so later and will therefore creep into a different payout day”. However, others note the issue goes beyond the normal lag and have missed  up to “100 orders a day at least for the last two days”.

Its also been reported that a large number of developers have failed to notice the inconsistencies, so you might want to take a closer look at your statements to make sure everything is accounted for. The Register notes rumblings of a “Developers’ Union” and there is even a petition going to renegotiate sales tax, initiate a removal appeal process, and more.

Google employee HeidiLC posted this response on behalf of the company:

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A report from Fusible shows Motorola has been acquiring domains names, five in total, each related to the “Kore” moniker.  The domain names listed include MotorolaKore.com, KoreMotorola.com,  Moto-Kore.com, MotoKore.com and Motorola-Kore.com

Of course speculation that Kore may be the successor to the Xoom, which recently received a price cut, at this point is just that.We told you about a leaked Verizon document that suggests Motorola is still planning on launching the LTE Xoom in early September despite less than spectacular sales, so we aren’t holding our breath for a new tablet before then.

Rumor has it the Kore device will have a 4:3 aspect ratio, but that is pretty much a given if it plans to take on its competition. There is still always the possibility the Kore could be a new smartphone, rather than a tablet.

If it is a tablet it could be the first running Nvidia’s Kal-El Quad core processor (demo below).

We’ll keep you posted as more becomes available.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlLP3RXkmUQ&]

We brought you our 5-minute video walkthrough of the new TouchWiz UX update for Samsung’s Honeycomb-powered Galaxy Tab 10.1, and now the somewhat underwhelming 188mb firmware refresh is available as an over-the-air update.

Some of the more notable features include a new dock-like application launcher, the Swype for tablets app, and mobile printing. You may, however, want to wait this one out, as Samsung’s Gavin Kim confirms to the WSJ the OTA update will not be reversible:

Users, who will receive the over-the-air download for their WiFi devices beginning Friday, won’t be able to remove the Samsung features even if they desire to return to the standard Android platform, Mr. Kim said.

If you’re having trouble getting the update, make sure you’ve set up a Samsung account on your Galaxy Tab. Full list of features from the official press release below, if you’re interested.

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If you have ever used Gmail on a tablet, you’ve probably appreciated the improvements made to the mobile UI and missed them when forced to use Gmail from your desktop browser. Luckily, Google just introduced a new preview pane feature for Gmail that allows you to quickly view snippets of messages, much like the mobile interface currently accessible on tablets (which, yes, dates from Outlook 2003 – thanks commenters).

You can enable the feature by turning it on from the Labs tab in your Gmail settings and switching between views via a new toggle button in the upper right corner of your inbox.

You can also move the preview pane below your message list if you have limited screen real
estate.

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Google News just launched a new Editors’ Picks feature that provides a personal, human touch, straying from the “generated entirely by computer algorithms without human editors” approach of the past.

The new feature won’t exactly have Google employees suggesting their favorite articles, but rather aggregate content that publications have highlighted as being their “most engaging content”. Editors’ Picks will be available initially in the right column of the U.S. Google News page and display content from nearly two dozen publications Google has selected to participate. The feeds you will see in the new feature will depend on your news preferences.

Publications and news organizations can head over to the News Help Center to learn more.

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Update: As expected, outspoken Microsoft Corporate Vice President Frank X. Shaw has responded to Drummond’s response from earlier today. There isn’t much to learn here, but Shaw’s tweets pretty much speak for themselves and Microsoft’s stance on the issue. We’re bound to hear more from Google execs on the issue, stay tuned for the latest. Shaw’s tweets after the break, if you’re interested.

Google Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer David Drummond has taken to the official Google blog once again to respond to Microsoft’s Brad Smith’s claims Google backed out of the opportunity to jointly bid for Novell patents.

Drummond writes:

“A joint acquisition of the Novell patents that gave all parties a license would have eliminated any protection these patents could offer to Android against attacks from Microsoft and its bidding partners”

Drummond points out the U.S. Department of Justice has now intervened, forcing Apple and Microsoft to provide an open-source license in order to “protect competition and innovation in the open source software community.”

Its clear Google doesn’t want to pay for patents that aren’t going to help them defend Android from competitors in the future. A joint bid would have essentially forced them to do so, which is the reason they claim “competitors are waging a patent war on Android”.

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Today comScore posted their latest smartphone market share report showing Google’s Android as the top smartphone platform for the three-month reporting period ending in June 2011, up 5.4 percent from the previous March 2011 report.

78.5 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in June 2011, up 8 percent from the preceding three month period. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform…

A close second to Android is, of course, Apple with 26.5 percent market share, up 1.1 percent, followed by RIM at 23.4% down 3.7 percentage points since March. ComSCore also posted the top mobile OEMs based on the same reporting period with Android manufacturers Samsung, LG, and Motorola topping the list, which also shows Android’s dominance in the current smartphone market.

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With Google execs stepping out of character to share their frustrations with Microsoft and Apple “banding” together to acquire patents, it seems at least a few execs in Redmond are determined to set the record straight, and for good reason given the fact the company is slated to earn more off Android than their own Windows Phones, according to analyst Horace Dediu.

In response to the open letter from Google’s Vice President and Chief Legal Officer David Drummond accusing Microsoft and Apple of “banding” together to acquire mobile device related patents, Microsoft’ general counsel Brad Smith posted the following via his Twitter account this morning:

“Google says we bought Novell patents to keep them from Google. Really? We asked them to bid jointly with us. They said no.”

Microsoft surely doesn’t want to tarnish their relationship with Google, with Android-based HTC phones bringing in three times as much profit in the second quarter in comparison to their own Windows Phone devices. It makes you wonder why Microsoft is spending billions developing and bringing Windows Phone handsets to market when Android devices are clearly their bread and butter in the mobile space.

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