Google closes on Motorola Mobility acquisition

(CBS/AP) Google announced Tuesday that is has completed its acquisition of phone maker Motorola Mobility and it has appointed a Google executive as the new chief executive officer of the business.

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Google says Dennis Woodside, previously president of Google's Americas region, is Motorola's new CEO. Departing CEO Sanjay Jha will help to ensure a smooth transition.

Motorola Mobility is a mobile hardware company, making the purchase a deep investment in mobile devices for Google, which has traditionally been software-focused.

"Many users coming online today may never use a desktop machine, and the impact of that transition will be profound - as will the ability to just tap and pay with your phone," Google CEO Larry Page said in a blog post.

Purchasing a pioneer in the mobile phone industry may help to prop up its patent portfolio. It's been speculated that the acquisition may help defend phone makers who use the Android operating system against litigation.

Google Inc. and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. announced the $12.5 billion deal last summer, expecting it would close late last year or early this year.

Approval from Chinese regulators was slow in coming. On Saturday, China approved the deal, on condition that Google Inc.'s Android software would remain free for other phone makers for at least five years.