This story has been updated.
Google announced early Monday morning that it will acquire smartphone maker Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in cash.
According to a Google press release, published in full at TechCrunch, "The acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing."
In a post on the Official Google Blog, Google CEO Larry Page offered a few more details about how this buy would affect the company's Android platform.
"This acquisition will not change our commitment to run Android as an open platform," wrote Page. "Motorola will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. We will run Motorola as a separate business. Many hardware partners have contributed to Android’s success and we look forward to continuing to work with all of them to deliver outstanding user experiences."
Page also noted Motorola Mobility's role in Google's ongoing patent battles with smartphone rivals like Microsoft and Apple.
"Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies," wrote Page.
Business Insider sees Google's mega-deal putting pressure on Microsoft's smartphone business: "Other handset makers, like RIMM and Nokia are both up pre-market on the news as the focus obviously turns to Microsoft: Is it now forced to buy one of them? Or does Microsoft benefit because the remaining handset makers (Samsung, etc.) now turn more towards Windows?"
In January 2011, Motorola announced that it would split into two companies: Motorola Solutions, which would manufacture tech products aimed at businesses; and Motorola Mobility, which would focus solely on consumer technology.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated that Motorola Mobility is solely a handset maker. We regret the confusion.