Google has finally cleared the last hurdle to acquire Motorola Mobility It promised the Chinese authorities that it will keep Android free and open for at least the next five years. As we posted earlier, it seemed like a no-brainer that Google would agree to this, after all, ever since Android was released in 2007, being open and free had been its mantra and selling point. It certainly helped the explosion of the platform to become the most popular mobile operating system in just five years, shooting past Nokia’s Symbian.

However, since then the platform has been under fire from major companies holding various patents relating to the mobile industry and how the hardware and software operate together. Oracle is a major force in attacking Android for using Java while Apple and Microsoft have managed to force Android device manufacturers to pay license fees to the two companies or modify their products if they refuse to license patents belonging to the two companies.

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