Google acquiring Motorola Mobility, the maker of Droid smartphones and Xoom tablets for $12.5 billion has shocked the tech industry but what does it mean for the end user? Will the Google and Motorola merger even affect the ordinary user on the street?

The move is significant for a number of reasons, which Google CEO Larry Page has detailed on a blog post.

Google's Android is an open platform which means other manufacturer's can use the OS unlike Apple's iOS which is locked for Apple phones. Now that Google has their own phone manufacturer can other manufacturers like Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG and HTC as well as their buyers still use Android?

Mr Page has assured other Android makers and users that Android will remain an open platform. He wrote in a blog post that Motorola will not have exclusive rights to the Android OS.

"This acquisition will not change our commitment to run Android as an open platform. Motorola will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. We will run Motorola as a separate business. Many hardware partners have contributed to Android's success and we look forward to continuing to work with all of them to deliver outstanding user experiences."

So if you have an Android phone that isn't Motorola you can still enjoy the operating system. Given that Samsung and HTC are the top movers of Android phones, users of those companies' phones will be safe for years to come.

Steve Kovach, who writes for Business Insider said that HTC and Samsung are playing down the impact of the Motorola merger for now. However, they must know that Motorola will get preferential treatment from Google.

"It's very likely Google is going to be working directly with Motorola," he said, "Motorola is now likely to get the Nexus devices first, the Nexus tablet, whenever a new Google software update comes out, they'll get it first ... Why would they [Google] give it to any other company? They own Motorola now. It hurts their bottom line."

Consumers can expect Motorola to be the first for all of Google's newest innovations in mobile software. Google will want Motorola to succeed so it will be positioning it as the flagship carrier in its line. Android users will have to look at Motorola phones for the latest Google software updates and Nexus phone decisions in the future.

Another way this merger can impact the ordinary consumer is that Motorola is a market leader in the home devices and video solution business. Meaning Google TV will soon be coming to your living rooms.

"Motorola makes cable boxes for Time Warner and many other cable companies as well ... This is a big opportunity for Google to essentially force Google TV into your living room and [for] the software to come pre-loaded on your cable boxes," Kovach said.

Perhaps the most interesting development out of the Google- Motorola buyout is that Google is now poised to directly challenge Apple.

"The reason why the iPhone is such a great device is that the person who makes the iPhone also makes the software," Kovach said.

Google can now make a distinctive mobile device that can rival the iPhone. Google has promised a "supercharged Android" in the wake of the Motorola buyout which means they're hoping for a device that could be as attractive as Apple's iPhone.