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AT&T declines Moto's Android advances?
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AT&T Mobility decided not to carry Motorola Android phones later this year, according to MKM Partners analyst Tero Kuittinen, arguing that the devices were outdated.
According to a Barron's report citing information from Kuittinen, the two Moto models for AT&T were code-named Sawgrass (targeted at teens) and Heron (targeted at college students and young professionals) and were prototyped using Windows Mobile. However, replacing Windows with Android took so much development time that AT&T decided the devices appeared too dated to carry.
AT&T declined to comment on the news, according to TheStreet.com, while Motorola was not immediately available for comment.
And in another possible knock to Motorola: Kuittinen said Verizon Wireless initially planned to offer two Moto devices this year, but pushed one into 2010.
The possible loss of AT&T as an initial Android partner could stand as a significant roadblock to Motorola's turnaround efforts. The carrier is the second-largest in the U.S., behind Verizon. Indeed, Motorola just yesterday confirmed plans to unveil Android gadgets at an event Sept. 10 in San Francisco. Motorola is placing much of its hopes in Android to spark a revival of the company's flagging handset business.
Motorola last month said it had signed up two U.S. carriers to offer its initial Android phones this year, and those carriers are widely rumored to be Verizon and T-Mobile USA. T-Mobile USA was the first carrier in the world to embrace Android with the launch of its HTC-built G1 device last year.
However, it appears there is a continued partnership between AT&T and Motorola: AT&T currently offers a half-dozen Moto phones.
For more:
- see this Barron's article
- see this TheStreet.com article
Related Articles:
Motorola confirms Android launch Sept. 10
Motorola's Android specs leak
Motorola's Jha not betting financial fate on Android blockbusters
Two U.S. carriers will launch Moto Android phones in Q4
Report: Verizon, T-Mobile launching Motorola Android phones
Comments
Posted by Lynne Gregg | August 27, 2009 - 11:28am
Android is off strategy for AT&T. It's all about iPhone, baby!
Posted by Crypto | August 27, 2009 - 12:48pm
The Motorola naysayers are out in flood, there were no rumors of any AT&T Androids coming, only the Sholes (Verizon) and Morrison (T-Mobile) were known for 2009, so the news they are all reporting as being bad for Motorola is not news at all.
I predict that Android will be a rocketing success for Verizon with the Sholes, and T-mobile will consolidate their position with the Morrison.
Perhaps many of the iPhone users are getting tired of having no keyboard and seeing that their Apple data plans are so expensive, maybe they will jump ship to Verizon.
AT&T might need to wake up and smell the coffee!
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