• GigaOm, Tuesday, August 16, 2011 12:54 PM

It looks like Google's agreement to buy Motorola Mobility might have been more defensive than anyone thought. "If it didn't, someone else would have and that would have put the company in an even bigger patent hole," reports GigaOm. "Our sources say that Motorola was in acquisition talks with several parties, including Microsoft for quite some time."

Microsoft was interested in acquiring Motorola's patent portfolio, which would have allowed it to take down Android. Motorola, meanwhile, reportedly found a Google deal more desirable because Microsoft had no interest in running a hardware business and was essentially interested in Motorola's vast collection of patents, according to GigaOm.

"My view is that while Google might have won the battle, in the long run, if it has put the Android ecosystem at risk," writes Om Malik. "Mobile industry insiders view this as a ray of hope for Windows Phone 7 to sign-up the disillusioned handset makers who at this point must be reworking their mobile OS strategies."

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