Yesterday's announcement that Google is selling Motorola Mobility to Lenovo was nearly as surprising as Google's move to buy the phone manufacturer in 2011.

Lenovo is largely known as PC maker; it purchased IBM's PC manufacturing business nine years ago. While the company does make phones, none are for sale in the United States, which is the main reason Lenovo wants Motorola an in with U.S. consumers and their wallets.

While $2.91 billion bought Lenovo the Motorola brand and Motorola Mobility's lineup of phones, it didn't include the "vast majority" of Motorola's patents, which are still owned by Google and will be licensed to Lenovo. Breaking free from Motorola, Google CEO Larry Page said, "will enable Google to devote our energy to driving innovation across the Android ecosystem, for the benefit of smartphone users everywhere."

Lenovo will be the third-largest smartphone vendor when the acquisition is complete. "The acquisition of such an iconic brand, innovative product portfolio and incredibly talented global team will immediately make Lenovo a strong global competitor in smartphones," said Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO of Lenovo in a statement. "We will immediately have the opportunity to become a strong global player in the fast-growing mobile space."

Given that Lenovo has a weak presence in North America, you'd be forgiven for not knowing anything about its smartphones. They do indeed exist, but could use a dose of Motorola magic. Until we see the first Lenovo-Motorola smartphone, check out some of the companies' phones in the slideshow for a taste of what's to come.


2. Lenovo Vibe Z Lenovo has a Vibe lineup , which got a refresh at CES with the Vibe Z, its first LTE offering.

3. Lenovo Vibe X That came after the Vibe X was revealed at the IFA trade show in Berlin last September. The device sports a 5-inch, 1,920-by-1,080 display made from scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

4. Lenovo S Series The Lenovo S series is built around quad-core MediaTek processors.

5. Lenovo P Series For business users, there's the P Series , which includes the 5-inch P780 and 4.5-inch P770.

6. Motorola Moto X Hopefully Lenovo phones will get a dose of X. The customizable Moto X is Motorola's current flagship phone, with U.S. orders assembled at its Texas plant

7. Motorola Moto G The Moto G is a low-cost sibling to the Moto X.

8. Motorola Droid Ultra The Droid Ultra is a workmanlike smartphone, with no surprises or flashiness.

9. Motorola Droid Mini The Droid Mini is a smaller version of the Droid Ultra.

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