Motorola RAZR

Alltel adds new RAZR to mix

Sue Marek — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:16:13 -0400

Alltel added the latest rendition of the popular Motorola RAZR to its mix. The carrier will offer the MotoRAZR VE20 to customers online beginning today for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. The phone will be available in stores starting Sept. 25. The phone features a large external screen with touch-sensitive controls and easy access to calls, music and messaging. Release; See this picture of the new phone

Less expensive phones driving mobile Web usage

Sue Marek — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:15:37 -0400

Smartphones may be getting the credit for consumer interest in the mobile Web, but in reality the less-expensive phones such as the Motorola RAZR and KRZR as well as several Samsung models are actually the most popular with mobile Web browsers. According to Admob research, nearly 36 percent of all mobile ads served up by the firm were sent to a Motorola phone, with the RAZR and KRZR coming up as the first and second most popular models. Samsung phones came in second at 14.1 percent. Article

Best Buy says Instinct breaking sales records

Lynnette Luna — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:29:06 -0400

While the iPhone 3G takes up the bulk of news on the web today, Best Buy is revealing that Samsung's Instinct is a best-seller for the electronics retailer.

A spokesman told Wireless Week that the touchscreen device, which runs on Sprint's network, has sold better than any other phone the company has carried since the Motorola Razr launched two years ago. Best Buy didn't give out any specific figures but said Sprint's device offered up "record sales" in the first two weeks.

For more:
- read Wireless Week

Related stories:
Sprint drops price of new Instinct
Sprint says Instinct breaking sales records

Sprint to offer business email access on non-PDA phones

Lynnette Luna — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:43:15 -0400

Sprint announced plans to offer business email access on non-PDA phones. As an extension of the Sprint Mobile Email application, the new Sprint Mobile Email Work feature will enable customers to access their Microsoft Exchange Server and IBM Lotus Notes accounts. The new service will become available tomorrow on the Instinct, which is also going on sale tomorrow, and in the coming weeks on 11 more devices, including the LG Rumor, Katana phones from Sanyo and the Motorola RAZR and KRZR phones.

Powered by Seven, the new service features a one-time setup process. In the Instinct, the Sprint Mobile Email Work is preloaded. Emails are pushed to the user's phone as they arrive on their desktop mailbox. The service is available at no extra charge for those who have subscribed to Sprint's Everything plans. With all other plans, the email service costs an extra $10 per month in addition to voice and data charges. Will business users bite?

For more:
- read this release

Related story:
Samsung Instinct Photo Slideshow
Study: 30% of mobile workers on first smartphone. Smartphone story

Motorola should keep its phones

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:59:59 -0500

Motorola should keep its phones

The Wall Street Journal reports that three weeks after Motorola put its handset division up for sale it has no takers. Nokia, Samsung and LG aren't interested, while consumer-electronics companies aren't stepping forward.

Is that a real surprise? Considering the economics of the handset business, it's difficult to imagine Motorola can offload the struggling business very easily, especially when shareholder activist Carl Icahn believes the business is worth as much as $19 billion. The economics are tough for the competitive handset market, especially as vendors battle it out in the low-end market, where margins are narrow. Handset vendors are continually under pressure to lower prices and offer broad product lines. Then there's competition from newer players such as Chinese vendors ZTE and Huawei and of course Apple's iPhone.

Any company buying Motorola's business has the unenviable position of trying to rebuild the division. Remember when Taiwanese company BenQ bought Siemens' beleaguered handset division in 2005 with devastating consequences? The buyout was supposed to be BenQ's bridge into the mobile technologies market, but the company did not post a profitable quarter in the one-year span under BenQ control and subsequently went out of business.

Motorola is better off engineering a turnaround rather than shopping itself around. Waiting too long for a buyer can further weaken the division, giving a sense that the company isn't serious about the handset business. It's difficult to believe that Motorola's brand has been totally tarnished, despite the fact that its profit and sales have been terrible in the last year. The vendor has a track record of moving through peaks and valleys, capitalizing on designs such as the StarTac in the 1990s and the Razr, but also wallowing in its missteps, such as riding the Razr train too long. It just needs to figure out how to consistently stay in front of the pack. -Lynnette

January is deja vu for Motorola

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 06:59:59 -0500

I feel like this is a re-run. The last two years in January, I've written about Motorola and its failure to follow up on the success of the Razr. In early 2006, investors were waiting for the other shoe to drop. It did.

Last year's column talked about the fact that Motorola didn't have too much up its sleeve in terms of innovative designs for 2007. Then CEO Ed Zander during last year's Consumer Electronics Show touted the company's strategy to provide "cool experiences" anywhere and anytime. But no new innovative phones. We saw where that got Zander. He resigned last month.

Now newly appointed CEO Greg Brown could be facing the same future in 2008. It doesn't appear that his company has anything ground breaking to announce at this week's CES that opens today. On Friday, Motorola's stock fell about 6 percent after Citibank analyst Jim Suva downgraded the company, saying its "lack of compelling new products" likely means the Christmas selling season was not a happy one for Motorola.

Brown has a tall order. He has to show the market that Motorola can once again revolutionize the industry with a new handset design. That's no easy feat. These accomplishments are always few and far between for any handset manufacturer. Nokia and Samsung are working overtime to beat Motorola down.

The question is, how much time does Brown have before Carl Icahn and company rattle the cage again? -Lynnette

Motorola may be moving closer to breakup

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:59:55 -0500

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, signs are growing that Motorola is considering whether or not it should piecemeal the company. Activist investor Carl Icahn claims that breaking the company up could translate to $20 billion in additional shareholder value. Analysts seem to agree with Icahn's basic points, but many caution that if Motorola cannot fix the problems with its handset division, then a breakup may not prove as profitable as Icahn suggests. Motorola's CEO Ed Zander recently stepped down from the position. Motorola's CTO Padmasree Warrior also resigned to take the CTO post at Cisco.

For more on Moto's plans:
- read this WSJ article (sub. req.)

Motorola's ex-CTO becomes Cisco's CTO

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 06:59:58 -0500

That was quick. Padmasree Warrior, who just resigned as EVP and CTO of Motorola yesterday, announced that she has joined Cisco as its new CTO. Warrior resigned from Motorola less than a week after the company's CEO Ed Zander stepped down. Reports claim that Motorola had been preparing for Warrior's departure since October, and it seems rather clear now that Warrior left for the opportunity at Cisco more so than being pushed out of Motorola. Still, Zander and Warrior appear to be getting most of the blame for Motorola's inability to produce a great follow-up to the RAZR.

"We are headed into a new era that we define as the second phase of the Internet, driven by collaboration and Web 2.0 technologies where the network becomes the platform for communications and IT. It is an exciting time with new frontiers and opportunities for innovation. Padmasree's new role as CTO will help to develop and promote Cisco's future technology leadership," said John Chambers, chairman and CEO.

"Cisco is the global leader in networking with a deep heritage in technology. I am excited at the opportunity to join a world-class company poised to lead the next era of Internet evolution. I look forward to enabling future growth together with Cisco's top talent worldwide. Cisco's customer centric culture and purposeful commitment to innovation are integral parts of my leadership portfolio," stated Warrior.

For more on Warrior's new position:
- read this press release

Chutes & Ladders: Motorola's CTO resigns, too

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 06:59:56 -0500

Following the resignation of CEO Ed Zander, Motorola's chief technology officer, Padmasree Warrior has left the company, too. Reports claim that Motorola had been preparing for Warrior's departure since October. It's not entirely clear if she left for a new opportunity or if she was pushed out, or perhaps both. Still, Zander and Warrior appear to be getting most of the blame for Motorola's inability to produce a great follow-up to the RAZR--as the chief technologist and leader of thousands of other engineers at Motorola, Warrior deserves some blame.

However, no one else in the mobile industry came up with a better idea than the RAZR either, until this year's debut of the iPhone, a device that belongs in a whole different class and kicks off a whole new device era. What's being overlooked is Warrior's work with WiMAX and other wireless technologies and applications. If innovation is only about achieving higher sales than your last good idea, then there must be an awful lot of good ideas that don't get to see the light of day. -Dan

For more:
- check out this article in The Chicago Tribune

Motorola CEO Ed Zander resigns, Brown steps up

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:59:57 -0500

Motorola CEO Ed Zander has resigned from his post effective January 1, 2008. The company's board of directors elected president and COO Greg Brown as Zander's replacement. Zander will continue to serve as chairman of the board until the company's annual stockholders meeting in May 2008.

Signs of Zander's forthcoming resignation became widely apparent in March when he made defensive comments about Motorola's recent financial performance at the Goldman Sachs' 2007 Technology Investment Symposium. "It's a hard business to stay on top of your game quarter after quarter," Zander said at the time. "You have to have an almost maniacal focus." The comments came after a rough financial quarter for the handset maker, which has been under constant pressure since its hit phone the RAZR had lost steam and next-generation versions failed to keep up its record setting pace.

"Next year marks my 40th year in the technology industry. This is the right time for me to move on to the next phase in my life and spend more time with my family," Zander said in a statement. "I am grateful I had the opportunity to lead Motorola over the last four years. It's been a wonderful experience."

Brown assumed the role of president and COO since March and joined the company's board earlier this year, too. Brown headed four different business units at Motorola prior to his recent promotion, and he also spearheaded the company's largest acquisition to date: the $3.9 billion acquisition of Symbol Technologies.

For more on Zander's resignation and Brown's appointment:
- read this press release from the company