When Google announced its decision to splash out $12.5bn on Motorola there was immediate speculation that the deal could alienate other Android manufactures, chiefly HTC and Samsung.

At the time Google went to great lengths to reassure those firms, and the market in general, that the deal would not upset the Android apple cart, with Motorola receiving no preferential treatment despite being a part of Google.

Executive chairman Eric Schmidt even said during a visit to South Korea, the home of Samsung, that Motorola would remain an independent business unit.

His words at the time: "We're not going to change in any material way the way we operate."

However, in an all-too-predicatable twist, the firm is now said to be on the verge of booting out current chief executive Sanjay Jha and replacing him with the Google man who oversaw the deal, Dennis Woodside, according to sources quoted by Bloomberg.

Google has not responded to a request for comment on that report.

This looks like a clear contradition - after all parachuting in your own man to replace the leader of a firm you are buying seems to present a pretty substantial material change. How independent can Motorola be if headed up by a Google executive?

No doubt those at Samsung, HTC and the rest of the Android collective will note this development with interest and reconsider what Google is up to.

The rumours will also be of great interest to Microsoft, which will be hoping to entice any concerned Android vendors to its Windows Phone operating system, particularly as the platform continues to garner positive reviews.

The relationship between Google and Microsoft have reached an all-time low, and so the folks at Redmond are probably considering how best to further stir the waters of the Android community - although V3 hopes it doesn't involve anything as awful as this video that hit the web this week:

Google has announced a sensational swoop for Motorola Mobility in a $12.5bn deal which will see the web firm move into the mobile hardware space for the first time and provide a ready avenue to accelerate the development of Android.

The deal, unanimously approved by both boards, will see Google pay a premium of 63 per cent on the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday, according to the firms.

The companies have already worked closely on the Android platform, and Google chief executive Larry Page explained that the acquisition will enable them to "create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem".

"In 2008, Motorola bet big on Android as the sole operating system across all of its smartphone devices. It was a smart bet and we're thrilled at the success they've achieved so far. We believe that their mobile business is on an upward trajectory and poised for explosive growth," Page said in a blog post.

"Motorola is also a market leader in the home devices and video solutions business. With the transition to Internet Protocol, we are excited to work with Motorola and the industry to support our partners and co-operate with them to accelerate innovation in this space."

However, it may be in the hotly contested area of patent protection that Motorola really comes into its own for Google, which has already accused rivals including Apple and Microsoft of banding together to deny it Nortel's patents.

"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," said Page.

However, patent expert Florian Mueller told V3 that Motorola's portfolio may not be hugely useful to Google.

"Apparently Microsoft sued Motorola without being concerned about Motorola's own patent portfolio, and Apple became embroiled in litigation with Motorola later that same month," he said. "I wouldn't overestimate the strength of Motorola's patents."

Motorola Mobility came into being in January 2011 after Motorola was split into two separate organisations, the other being Motorola Solutions.

Motorola Mobility will remain a separate business and a licensee of Android, which has helped raise its fortunes in the smartphone market and halt a worrying slump.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2011 or early 2012.

Motorola has got off to a slow start in the tablet market, after analysts at Deutsche Bank estimated that the firm has sold only 100,000 units after two months on sale in the US.

The figures are based on Android distribution statistics from Google, which show that 0.2 per cent of all Android devices are currently running Honeycomb out of an install base of 50 million.

"There is probably some rounding error in our calculation, but any such differences
are likely minor," Deutsche Bank said in an investor note sent to V3.co.uk.

"This level of tablet sales is in line with our estimates of 50,000 units in Q1 and 150,000 units in Q2. While we believe street expectations may be a bit higher, 100,000 unit [sales] after only two months on the market is a decent start." 

Given that the Motorola Xoom is the only device to run the Honeycomb operating system, the figures could be in the correct ball park.

The main reason for the tepid sales could be the high price. In the US, a SIM-free Xoom retails for $799, and even subsidised versions require customers to pay $599 upfront.

In comparison, the iPad 2 is estimated to have sold 2.6 million units, according to widespread reports.

If the figures are accurate, it would mean that Apple is selling 26 iPad 2 devices for every Xoom that is sold.

The biggest problem that Apple appears to be having is keeping up with demand. Apple stores in the US and UK are quoting a two- to three-week shipping time.

V3.co.uk contacted Motorola and Apple to confirm the sales figures. Motorola noted that the figures from the US were not official and declined to comment on the speculation. Apple had not responded at the time of writing.

Motorola has yet to confirm the official UK release date of the Xoom, but the pre-order price has been reduced ahead of its imminent launch. The device now has the same price as the iPad 2.

Carphone Warehouse has reduced the price of the 32GB 3G model by £20 to £579. The price of the Wi-Fi-only model is now £479 and the device is available from PC World.