Google Sells Motorola Handset Business to China's Lenovo:

Google has surprised the industry and sold its Motorola Mobility subsidiary just two years after it surprised the industry by buying it.

They've sold it to Chinese computer and smartphone manufacturer, Lenovo for just US$2.9 billion -- a sharp decline on the US$12.5 billion that Google paid originally. Google isn't even getting all the money at once, and only a small portion of it is in cash, with the rest in shares.

Lenovo is paying just US$660 million in cash up front and US$750 million in shares. The remaining US$1.5 billion is being deferred for three years.

Although Google will retain the bulk of the patents, there has long been some doubt as to the real value of those patents in the ongoing smartphone patent war.

Lenovo has been known to be looking to sharply increase its smartphone division through an acquisition, ever since it confirmed that it was talking to someone last June. However, until recently the hottest rumour had been that it was eying BlackBerry as the target, although that company is temporarily off the market at the moment.

LG Denies Claims of a Smartphone Venture with Huawei:

LG has denied recent media reports that it is considering setting up some sort of smartphone joint-venture with Huawei.

The report, in the local Korea Times suggested that LG had been in talks with its Chinese rival to revive its smartphone business.

LG was noticeably annoyed by the report and said that it has never been in talks with Huawei regarding any aspects of its business either now or in the past.

LG's mobile network operator division, LG U+ does have a supply contract with Huawei, but that division operates at arms-length from the handset one.

This is however just the latest in a string of rumours of a major shake-up at the company's smartphone division. Whatever the facts behind the rumours, the rumours themselves seem determined to hang around.