Motorola Mobile Devices
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| Motorola Inc | |
|---|---|
| Type | Public |
| Founded | 1928 |
| Headquarters | Schaumburg, Illinois |
| Key people | Edward Zander, CEO and Chairman |
| Industry | Communications equipment |
| Products | Embedded computer systems Mobile phones Two-way radios |
| Revenue |  $31.323 billion USD (2004) |
| Employees | 88,000 |
| Website | www.motorola.com |
The Mobile Devices division is the largest division (based on revenue) of communications corporation Motorola. The division is headquartered in Libertyville, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. Motorola's networks division (called Personal Communication Section (PCS) prior to 2004) pioneered the flip phone with the StarTAC in the mid-1990s. Motorola had a commanding lead in the analog cellphone market, but failed to jump on the digital bandwagon, giving way for global rivals such as Nokia and Samsung Electronics to leap ahead.
Motorola continues to experience a major crisis with its handset division, which recorded a $1.2 billion loss in Q4 2007.[1] Its global market share has been continuously on the decline; from 18.4% of the market in 2007, it had a share of just 9.7% by 2008. In contrast, Motorola's rivals flourished and by July 2007, its long chasing South Korean rival, Samsung Electronics, surpassed it as the new world's 2nd largest handset maker - with a surge in market share in Q1 2008, Samsung now commands a large share of 16.4%. Motorola is currently on the verge of losing its weak 3rd place position to the fast rising South Korean multinational LG Electronics, which overtook Sony Ericsson in Q1 2008 with a strong increase in market share to 8.6%.[2]
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[edit] StarTAC
In 1996, Motorola introduced the StarTAC, which was then the smallest and lightest phone in the world, weighing 3.1 ounces.
[edit] Nokia takes the lead
In the late 1990s, lack of design and a friendly user interface left a gaping hole in Motorola's product offerings. Nokia saw this, and introduced stylish cellphones with a friendly human interface with features like a big screen and an easy to navigate menu. This was marketed as "human technology". Nokia's rise coincided with the cellphone revolution in several emerging markets such as India. Nokia quickly became the leader in market share worldwide.
[edit] HelloMoto, Motorola has a resurgence
In 2002-2003, Motorola's Mobile Devices department reinvented itself. Three areas of significant improvement were user friendliness, design and brand. Motorola started paying more attention to the user experience, and models such as the v300, v400 and v600 (called the triplets) were among the first to boast an easy user interface. Coupled with this improvement, Motorola stressed design and brand image. The result of constant effort in this direction led to the RAZR V3.
[edit] RAZR
In 2004, Motorola released the RAZR V3. This phone has been by far the largest selling phone in the United States and elsewhere since its introduction, with 50 million handset shipments as of July 2006. In an era where free phones were the norm, this desirable fashion icon commanded a price of $499 with a two year contract. The RAZR was a runaway success and Motorola built on that success by releasing other phones based on their design. These include the PEBL U6, SLVR L6 (ultra-thin but very affordable), SLVR L7 (more expensive variant of SLVR L6), RAZR V3c (CDMA), RAZR V3i (with upgraded camera and appearance), V3x (supports 3G technology and has a 2 MP camera), RAZR V3xx (supports 3.5G technology) and RAZR maxx V6 (supports 3.5G technology and has a 2 MP camera) announced on July 2006.
[edit] Competitors
[edit] References
- ^ Motorola profit slides on mobile woes; shares hit 5-year low - MarketWatch
- ^ Q1 post-Xmas lull reverses iPhone growth curve | Register Hardware
