The agreement with the Taiwanese firm “further reinforces [Google's] commitment to smartphones and overall investment in its emerging hardware business.”
CFO Ruth Porat sees "tremendous potential" in such businesses as hardware products, apps sold through the Google Play store, and the cloud.
Research firm IDC is predicting 181% annual growth for the market as hardware becomes less expensive.
Earnings plunged 85% to 3 cents a share in the first quarter as the company prepares to split into two separate entities.
