Motorola laid out its commitment to the Android operating system yesterday, unveiling six new and one upgraded smartphone running the Google-backed platform.
The vendor says the new smartphones, announced at the CTIA event in San Francisco, cements its position as a driving force of Android adoption and are designed to satisfy the needs of consumers and business users.
Its new range – the Citrus, Spice, Bravo, Flipside, Flipout and Defy – come in a variety of form factors, while an updated Droid handset - the Pro - looks similar to most BlackBerry devices, with a full qwerty keyboard under the screen.
“The mobile landscape at work has changed. Employees and IT departments have made it clear that they want other options and solutions,” Alain Mutricy, senior vice president of product management explained.
“We don’t take a one-size-fits-all approach. Motorola sees a market opportunity by empowering people with choices over the single device that will meet their needs for work and play.”
Motorola’s strong commitment to Android is well placed, as the platform continues to soar up the US smartphone charts.
Research firm Nielsen says more consumers bought an Android smartphone in the past six months than devices running rival operating systems, capturing 32% of sales in August compared to RIM’s 26% and 25% for Apple.
That helped Android close the gap to US market leader RIM in terms of overall sales, growing its share from 8% in January to 19% in August, while RIM steadily declined from 36% in January to 31%.
Using Android has also put Motorola back in vogue with leading US carriers. Boss Sanjay Jha revealed over half the firm’s smartphone sales are through Verizon Wireless, WSJ.com reported.