Motorola to buy 3LM

A late scoop has confirmed that Motorola will buy 3LM [link may be broken] in a push to boost secure Android phones. The deal would see it acquire a company created just seven months ago by two pioneers of the original Android team at Google. 3LM reportedly already had deals with several other companies and could have made it an Android standard, according to WSJ contacts, though it's not clear what will happen to those deals if the buyout goes through.

The value of the deal is also unknown, but it's estimated to be in the "tens of millions" by the sources. Under US laws, Motorola might not necessarily have to report the acquisition and could keep it a secret even if confirmed through other means.

Motorola has been striving to make itself the primary alternative to a BlackBerry in the workplace and has already been adding security features to Android above and beyond what Google offers. It has also been catering more and more directly to pro users in designs, culminating in the Droid Pro's fusion of a BlackBerry style QWERTY candybar with the same performance and media features as a Droid 2.

Neither Motorola nor 3LM commented on the news, which if made public could be official as soon as Monday.

By Electronista Staff

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security, enterprise, Google, Android, BlackBerry, Motorola, RIM, Research in Motion, mobile phones, 3LM