Aug 16, 2011 07:30 GMT  ·  By

Google has announced that it will acquire Motorola Mobility, mostly to strengthen its Android business. It's the biggest deal Google has done, by far, it will pay $12.5 billion if it goes through, and it's a very bold move for the company since it has never been in the hardware making business before.

However, it could threaten the Android ecosystem, Google will now effectively be competing with all of its Android partners.

But there is one big upside, the main reason why Google bought Motorola: patents, more than 17,000 of them, plus a few thousands more that are in the process of being approved.

Google doesn't really conceal this either. While it touts Motorola as a phone maker and talks about how great the deal is for Android, it does make it clear that the intellectual property involved, aka the patents, come in rather handy.

"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," Larry Page, Google cofounder and CEO, announced.

"The combination of Google and Motorola will not only supercharge Android, but will also enhance competition and offer consumers accelerating innovation, greater choice, and wonderful user experiences," he said.

The move affects the mobile space greatly. On the one hand, it gives Google complete control over the experience, from the phone to the operating system and services that run on it.

On the other, Android phone makers may be feeling threatened and may be looking at alternatives. On the face of it, there's only one, Microsoft is the only other company licensing a competitive smartphone OS, but it too has a pretty big deal with Nokia.

Finally, the move ensures that Google has a broad patent portfolio, in the mobile space particularly, to defend Android from lawsuits. That said, Motorola has already been sued by both Apple and Microsoft, over Android-powered devices, so this may not be such a huge deal for Google.

It's too early to tell how the deal will affect the mobile space and whether it is the smartest thing Google has done or the stupidest. But it's clear that things have changed dramatically.