Review: Moto Razr2, Q9m fail to excite
292381
Motorola rode high for a while on sales of its slim, stylish Razr phone. When its competitive edge started to dull, the company set its hopes on the Q, a BlackBerry-like e-mail phone, which it initially thought would sell as well as the Razr.
264666
(InfoWorld) - Despite signs that mobile Linux is gaining momentum -- such as the launch ofÂ Motorola's Linux-based Razr2Â -- heated competition, confusion about goals, and slow-moving consortiums may be hindering growth. These developments are an indication of how much may be at stake. Between 2006 and 2012, cumulative Linux mobile device shipments are expected to reach 331 million, said Stuart Carlaw, an analyst with ABI Research. Such predictions are drawing interest to the segment from handset manufacturers, software developers, and carriers. The LiMo Foundation, the Linux Phone Standards Forum (LiPS), and the Open Source Development Labs' Mobile Linux Initiative are among the new groups formed over the past couple of years to try to reduce the fragmentation in the mobile Linux market and to encourage interoperability. But at least one mobile Linux vendor is critical of their progress. "They're still trying to figure out where to hold meetings," said Jim Ready, CTO and founder of MontaVista, of the activities of some of the groups. Progress at organizations like LiMo has been extremely slow, agreed Dan Cauchy, director of product marketing at MontaVista. "I'm concerned about what that will mean to the actual marketplace because each member company is building phones regardless," he said. Phone makers and software developers don't want to wait for the groups to decide on platforms and standards so they continue to make products that may not ultimately conform to the parameters set by the groups or interoperate, he said. Mobile phones are already plagued with interoperability issues that make it difficult for applications to run properly on all handsets. This problem hurts users interested in applications that are incompatible with their handsets. Also affected are software developers who have to make multiple versions of the same application for different handsets. Some operators, including Vodafone, have said they will soon require that all of their handsets run only two or three specific operating systems as a way to ensure that applications will work across all phones. The operators don't want to introduce Linux devices into their lineup of phones if they only exacerbate the interoperability problem. While MontaVista is active in many of the groups, it is also continuing to work closely with handset makers to meet their needs. According to Cauchy, 90 percent of mobile Linux devices--including Motorola's Razr2--are running MontaVista Linux. Confusion about goals in the industry could also be dragging down progress. "It's clear that the leading operators are telling the industry to consolidate," said Jason Whitmire, general manager of mobile solutions for Wind River, a Linux software developer with products for mobile phone vendors. "They expect to use only one OS stack or maybe two, so they have asked the industry to join together and do something." By his count, there are 22 different flavors of mobile Linux. But MontaVista has a different perspective. "Some of these consortiums are under the impression that they'll provide one stack to satisfy the world and I think carriers are saying, 'I don't think so'," said Cauchy. Choice is one of the main reasons driving the mobile Linux industry. In an ironic twist, Symbian, the mobile phone operating system, was first created by a group of mobile phone makers that feared that Microsoft, which had just entered the mobile market, might dominate like it did in the PC industry. But more recently, Symbian has begun to dominate the smart phone market enough that mobile operators wanted to be sure they had another choice, Carlaw said. Mobile Linux is an attempt to ensure that Microsoft and Symbian aren't the only options, he said. "The whole point is to have choice and alternatives," said Ready. "It's because of this paranoia about having one supplier ... that's why these consortiums show up." Too much choice, however, has been causing problems. At a mobile Linux conference in Madrid this week, fragmentation was a key concern particularly among smaller operators, Whitmire said. Without consolidation, they see costs related to supporting mobile Linux soaring, he said. Wind River, MontaVista, and others have one less potential competitor to worry about. During a keynote presentation at the Madrid conference, Red Hat said it has no intention of entering the embedded device Linux market. Fragmentation is an issue in mobile Linux, but some advancements are happening, Carlaw said. He's seen real progress in terms of different layers of the stack working together. It's been more difficult to improve on "horizontal" fragmentation. But that's starting to get better too, he said. For example, the LiPS Forum recently began working with the Open Mobile Alliance to improve interoperability both between mobile Linux devices and between Linux and non-Linux phones. It's natural to have this amount of fragmentation at this stage of the market development, and companies appear to have the incentive to continue to work it out, he said. "Carriers are still saying they're looking at Linux as a long-term prospect," he said.
317397
Motorola Inc. on  Monday unveiled several new handsets, including the Krzr and  the Rizr, which are narrower than its flagship Razr.
481759
Review The best-sounding music phone yet?
163456
As any cell-phone user knows, background noise, including traffic jams and bustling streets, can be a nuisance. The cacophony becomes even worse when the caller insists on yelling over the noise.
138508
(InfoWorld) - Motorola has a strategy for improving its struggling cell phone business: Be boring. That's what CFO Tom Meredith said on Wednesday during the Citi Investment Research Global Technology Conference. "I believe we can right our ship by being boringly consistent," he said during a webcast of the conference. Motorola's history as a cell-phone developer is anything but boring, littered with iconic phones from the StarTac clamshell 10 years ago to the recent hit with the Razr. But you'd be hard pressed to name an iconic product from market leader Nokia or Sony Ericsson, Meredith noted. "Yet, when you look at their profitability and successes, you see they have a portfolio that was complete and ran the gauntlet from mass market to feature to enterprise, and they effectively competed more effectively than we did," he said. Taking a cue from competitors, Motorola will focus going forward on developing a broad portfolio of phones that will be attractive to a wide range of users rather than looking for the next Razr, he said. Combined with a couple of other new strategies, Motorola should be able to regain lost market share, he said. For instance, Motorola hopes to do better in developing markets like India and China. While Meredith didn't describe how, he did point to ways that the company has stumbled there recently. He said that Motorola missed an opportunity with its Moto phone, which was designed to be a low-end handset for developing markets. That phone failed because it didn't have a color screen and neglected to recognize how important texting is in its target markets, he said. Motorola should also benefit from some developments Apple's iPhone has spurred. Operators have historically resisted including Wi-Fi capabilities in phones, he said. But because the iPhone includes Wi-Fi, the operators are starting to come around and recognize that it's inevitable, Meredith said. "I think Steve [Jobs] and Apple did companies like Motorola a favor in that regard," he said. The iPhone may also have generated interest in the touchscreen concept. Motorola has sold 12 million phones with touchscreens, primarily in China, but hasn't targeted them to North America. The company is still watching the market and listening to carriers, but it may introduce touchscreen phones in North America, he said. Motorola recently reported that slow sales of mobile phones contributed to a second quarter loss of $28 million.Â It also cut 3,500 jobsÂ in the first half of the year and is in the process ofÂ laying off another 4,000. The struggles have put company CEO Ed Zander in the spotlight, but the board has not had a "no confidence" vote in their leader, Meredith said, in response to a question from the audience.
49691
Motorola Inc. may have gotten a Christmas present from rival cell phone maker Samsung -- the Asian company was slow to beef up its product portfolio in time for the holiday season, giving Motorola's newest feature-rich phones an edge, analysts said.
332271
Motorola Inc. unveiled its highly anticipated &quot;Q&quot; cell phone Monday, joining other manufacturers in aiming for businesspeople who want their e-mail to go.
589882
If you are in Sudan it is a "missed  call." In Ethiopia it is a "miskin" or a "pitiful" call. In  other parts of Africa it is a case of "flashing," "beeping" or  in French-speaking areas "bipage."
124106
E6 pitched as PDA-like music phone Motorola will ship its latest ROKR music phone later this month, the company announced this week. It entirely failed to mention Apple's iTunes, the software the original ROKR was launched to support, pushing instead the handset's PDA-like styling and functionality.â¦
706343
Canât meet price, or see point Mobile Handset Analyst (PDF) is reporting that Motorola has decided not to compete in the GSMA-sponsored extension to the Emerging Market Handset: 3G for All.â¦
416186
New NavOne offers handy PDA and Pocket PC connectivity, but fails to impress on everything else.
429455
The quad-band Motorola (NYSE: MOT) RAZR V3 from Cingular Wireless is an ultra-slim, GSM/GPRS messaging phone with an internal antenna that features a 2.2-inch, high-resolution color screen, a 3D graphics engine, a push-to-talk radio and global roaming capabilities courtesy of the onboard SIM card.
687072
Fashion-conscious design can only get you so far Review Motorola has refreshed the PEBL concept with the MOTO U9, another stylish clamshell with a glossy front and external music player touch controls. But is this tune-playing mobile the one to get Motorola back on track with the fashion phone crowd?â¦
173057
Thanks to the Razr fad, there are plenty of thin phones out there by now. But in terms of sheer smallness, the options remain slim.
37366
Motorola needs a successor to its  successful RAZR phone to hold on to market share, and BenQ  Mobile is set to make gains when new products kick in, market  research group Gartner said in a survey on Wednesday.
687895
Found this  via BoingBoing this morning:  "The new Treo 650 is out today -- and as a long-time fan of the Treo, I've been looking forward to it. I've asked in the past for "one with everything" -- a phone with all the features I could want in one device, without compromises. It looks like PalmOne delivered, with a 320x320 screen, removable battery, upgraded OS, a better camera, and Bluetooth."  "Oops -- not quite! TreoCentral is reporting that the Sprint version of the Treo 650 doesn't allow you to use Bluetooth for dial-up networking through your computer. Apparently other carriers will, but not Sprint."  "You see, Sprint sells connection cards, which are PCCards that allow you to dial up y ...