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Tag: Motorola

  • Google Music in 2 Months?

    "Google Music" is one of those legends that seems like it’s been around as long as Google itself (ok, maybe not quite that long). Rumors pop up from time to time, then they die back down a bit. Then they always come back. 

    Right now, they’re in full force due to some comments made by Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha at Mobile World Congress. Guardian quotes him:

    "If you look at Google Mobile services [via Android] today, there’s a video service, there’s a music service – that is, there will be a music service." He added that the value of the upgrade to the Android system, known as "Honeycomb", which will power the forthcoming Motorola Xoom tablet is that "it adds video services and music services".

    Motorola Xoom - Will it Come with Google Music?

    In actuality, Android product manager Gaurav Jain indicated in an interview last summer, that Google Music and Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) would come out together in time for the holidays. Obviously, that didn’t happen, but just because the timing was off was not reason to think it wasn’t going to happen. 

    Currently, the release, which is expected to complement the release of Motorola’s Xoom tablet, is expected within the next two months. 

  • Motorola Acquires Media Sync/Streaming Company Zecter

    Motorola Mobility has acquired a company called Zecter.

    Zecter is a company with synchronization and streaming technologies for on-demand digital media consumption. Motorola explains, "Zecter’s solutions connect users to their content seamlessly and instantaneously, giving them simple, on-the-go access to music, video, photos and documents from their smartphones, tablets, PCs and web-portals."

    "Consumers want seamless access to their content and media from wherever they are, while content providers want to ensure that content remains protected and secure,"  said Christy Wyatt, corporate vice president of software and services at Motorola Mobility. "We believe that Zecter enables that seamless experience with the necessary security measures, and we are delighted to be able to work with this team." 

    Motorola acquires ZecterZecter has two products that are currently on the market. These are ZumoDrive and ZumoCast. The former is for cloud-based content sync, access, and sharing, and the latter is for personal media streaming to any device. 

    Wyatt said, "Zecter’s robust team brings multi-platform expertise along with compelling solutions for continuous digital media access across multiple platforms.  Zecter is an exciting addition to our MOTOBLUR service platform and we welcome their highly skilled personnel to the Motorola Mobility team."

    Motorola’s goal for the acquisition is to enhance its MotoBlur offering. It will integrate Zecter’s wireless syncing, desktop integration, video transcoding, and "thin-file retrieval" technologies across its device and MotoBlur offerings. 

    Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Distribution of ZumoCast will be suspended during the transition. ZumoDrive will be unaffected.

  • Microsoft Sues Motorola Over Android Phones

    Two weeks ago, the CFO of the Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft hinted something dramatic would happen.  Now it has: Microsoft announced this afternoon that it’s suing Motorola over nine (alleged) Android patent infringements.

    Let’s dive straight into the official version of events.  Microsoft said in a statement, "Microsoft filed an action today in the International Trade Commission and in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington against Motorola, Inc. for infringement of nine Microsoft patents by Motorola’s Android-based smartphones."

    Then the statement continued, "The patents at issue relate to a range of functionality embodied in Motorola’s Android smartphone devices that are essential to the smartphone user experience, including synchronizing email, calendars and contacts, scheduling meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power."

    Of course, if some sort of settlement doesn’t occur, Android and Google, and not just Motorola, will in a sense be on trial.  After all, a victory for Microsoft here would surely lead to the company filing a lot more Android-oriented lawsuits.

    Horatio Gutierrez, Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Microsoft, hinted in a corporate blog post that Apple and Oracle would like to see Motorola lose, as well.

    Motorola and Google haven’t given any hint of how they intend to respond, however, opting to stay quiet so far instead.

  • Motorola Picks Up Aloqa for Undisclosed Sum

    Motorola announced today that it has acquired Aloqa GmbH, developer of Aloqa, which is a mobile service that notifies users of places, events, music, movies and other activities based on location and personalization.

    Aloqa also annuonced that it has now surpassed its million user milestone. The service is available for Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson models.

    Aloqa CEO Sanjeev Agrawal says, "Like every startup, we have always dreamed of our technology and product being used by tens of millions of satisfied users everywhere and being a part of the Motorola Mobility team will help us achieve this goal. We are proud that Motorola chose the Aloqa platform and IP as a core part of its future in location technologies."

    Aloqa has joined Motorola Mobility, which is comprised of Motorola’s Mobile Devices and Home businesses. Motorola Mobility is expected to be spun off from Motorola, Inc. in the first quarter of 2011.

    "Aloqa is an exciting addition to Motorola Mobility as its specialized engineering talent and location-tracking technology will significantly accelerate the release of our context-aware mobile services platform," said Christy Wyatt, corporate vice president of software and services product management for Motorola Mobility.  "Aloqa’s core technologies, user database, and specialized skills are a strong fit with our planned server-side context delivery architecture and will further enhance Motorola’s MotoBlur capabilities.  We welcome Aloqa’s highly skilled personnel to the Motorola Mobility team."

    MotoBlur provides users with customized content on their homescreens and lets them access Facebook, MySpace and Twitter updates, as well as emails, news,  favorite apps and widgets. It will integrate Aloqa’s open, location-triggered mobile push platform to connect users and publishers of location-aware content in real-time, Motorola says. 

    Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

  • Motorola Buys 280 North to Foster Android Growth

    While no official announcement has been made by either party, Motorola has reportedly acquired 280 North, a startup known for developing the Cappuccino programming language.

    TechCrunch claims to have confirmed the acquisition, and has heard that the price is around $20 million, though this is not confirmed. Michael Arrington shares this quote from a Motorola spokesperson:

    "I can confirm that Motorola acquired 280 North earlier this summer. The transaction provides Motorola with specialized web-app engineering talent and technology that will help facilitate the continued expansion of 280 North - Now part of MotorolaMotorola’s application ecosystem. We believe 280 North will be instrumental in helping us continue to foster the Android ecosystem with innovative web-based technologies and applications. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed."

    It’s interesting that the acquisition apparently occurred some time ago, and that neither company has made this public knowledge. In fact, 280 North hasn’t updated its corporate blog since March.

    280 North did have a presence at Google I/O (the company’s developer conference) back in May. There, 280 North showed off some integrations with Google services.

  • Report Names Motorola Priority Android Partner

    Yesterday, a reliable-sounding report indicated that Google, HTC, and Verizon are working together to bring a Chrome OS tablet to market on Black Friday.  Now, although it’s hard to say whether the two stories complement or negate each other, word has it that Google wants Motorola to create an Android tablet for the Verizon network.

    Joseph Tsai wrote earlier this morning, "As several smartphone makers are working aggressively to form cooperation agreements with Google for an Android 3.0 tablet PC, Motorola is currently the company’s priority choice, according to Digitimes Research senior analyst Mingchi Kuo citing upstream component makers."

    Tsai then continued, "Kuo pointed out that cooperation will be similar as Google’s G1 smartphone, under which the two firms and their telecom partners will all have the rights to label their names on the device.  Verizon is expected to be the distributor of the device in the telecoms channel."

    Google AndroidOtherwise, a 10.1-inch screen’s on the menu, the Tegra 2 platform should be involved, and production is supposed to start late this year.  There’s no word yet on pricing or an exact launch date.

    Sooner rather than later, however, we may find out how Android and Chrome OS are supposed to coexist, along with how consumers react to Google’s solution.

    It’s a good sign for Google that G1 sales were widely regarded as strong, at least.

  • Motorola Announces Second Quarter Sales of $5.4 Billion

    Motorola announced its Q2 financial results today. These include sales of $5.4 billion. The company shipped 2.7 million smartphones during the quarter, but mobile device sales were down 6% from the previous year.

    Other highlights include:

    – Second-quarter GAAP earnings of $0.07 per share, compared to GAAP earnings of $0.01 per share in second quarter 2009; non-GAAP earnings per share* of $0.09 compared to earnings of $0.03 per share in second quarter 2009

    – Total cash** of $8.3 billion; completed $500 million debt tender offer

    – Enterprise Mobility Solutions sales of $1.9 billion; GAAP operating earnings of $181 million; non-GAAP operating earnings of $292 million

    – Mobile Devices sales of $1.7 billion; shipped 8.3 million handsets, including 2.7 million smartphones; GAAP operating earnings of $87 million; non-GAAP operating loss of $109 million

    – Networks sales of $967 million; GAAP operating earnings of $178 million; non-GAAP operating earnings of $191 million

    – Home sales of $886 million; GAAP operating earnings of $29 million; non-GAAP operating earnings of $57 million

    – Announced sale of majority of Networks business to Nokia Siemens Networks

    Motorola Droid X launch well received"In the second quarter, our Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Networks businesses continued to deliver best-in-class market leadership and financial returns, with strong operating earnings and excellent cash generation," said Greg Brown, Motorola co-CEO and CEO of Motorola Solutions.

    "In addition, last week, we announced that Nokia Siemens Networks will acquire the majority of our Networks business. We are very proud of the operational and financial performance of our Networks business and are excited to have reached this agreement to combine our Networks team with such an industry leader," Brown continued. "This is great news for our customers, our investors and our people and will allow us to sharpen our strategic focus on providing mission-and business-critical solutions for our government, public safety and enterprise customers."

    "The Droid X launch has been very well received and is seen as one of the best smartphones in the market today with a 4.3 inch high-resolution display, Adobe flash and an 8 megapixel camera. As we continue to execute on our business strategy, we are in a strong position to continue improving our share in the rapidly growing smartphone market and improving our operating performance," added Sanjay Jha, Motorola co-CEO and CEO of Motorola Mobility. "The Mobile Devices and Home businesses remain focused on developing next-generation products to capitalize on the convergence of mobile experiences and home entertainment."

    More details about Motorola’s second quarter can be found here.

  • Baidu to Compete with Google in the Mobile OS Space Too?

    InformationWeek is reporting that Baidu may be looking at developing a mobile operating system, citing Chinese media reports. The project would be led by former Google employees. Meanwhile, TechCrunch says Android is poised to dominate in China.

    Nokia Siemens and Motorola jointly announced that Nokia Siemens will acquire the majority of Motorola’s wireless network infrastructure assets for  $1.2 billion. This is pending regulatory approval, but the deal is expected to close before year’s end. 

    iPad Comes to Nine More Countries This WeekApple announced today that the iPad will be available in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore starting Friday. Currently, the iPad is available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US. The company says it will be available in many more countries later this year.

    According to Fortune, Apple is closing in on Microsoft in revenue. "Though Apple still has a ways to go to compete with Microsoft in terms of net income due to Microsoft’s untouchable operating margin, many will be surprised to discover that Apple’s revenues are close to surpassing Microsoft’s," writes Andy M. Zaky. "If it doesn’t happen this week, it will almost certainly come in the next quarterly announcement." Apple’s earnings announcement is tomorrow, and Microsoft’s is Thursday.

    Speaking of Apple’s announcement, it’s possible that the company could announce its "Magic Trackpad" (which may or may not go by that name). This is a bluetooth device for the desktop, that has just gained FCC approval, as Engadget points out. Engadget also has a very in-depth preview of Windows Phone 7 worth checking out.

  • Nokia Siemens to Acquire Motorola Wireless Network Infrastructure for $1.2 Billion

    Nokia Siemens Networks and Motorola today announced that Nokia Siemens  will acquire the majority of Motorola’s wireless network infrastructure assets. Said assets come at the price of $1.2 billion in cash.

    "This is an exciting acquisition that I believe has significant benefits for customers, employees and our shareholders," said Nokia Siemens Networks CEO Rajeev Suri. "Motorola’s current customers will continue to get world-class support for their installed base and a clear path for transitioning to next generation technologies while employees will join an industry leader with global scale and reach. Nokia Siemens Networks will see the benefits of a deal that is expected to enhance profitability and cash-flow and to have significant upside potential."

    Motorola - Nokia Siemens buying wireless network assets"Motorola is very proud of the operational and financial performance of our Networks business and its employees, who will now become a valuable addition to Nokia Siemens Networks. We are excited to have reached this agreement to combine our Networks team with such an industry leader," said Greg Brown, Co-CEO of Motorola. "This is great news for our customers, our investors and our people and will allow us to sharpen our strategic focus on providing mission and business critical solutions for our government, public safety, and enterprise customers."

    Motorola will retain its iDEN business, the patents related to its wireless network infrastructure business, and other selected assets.

    The deal is expected to be closed by the end of the year (subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals). Nokia Siemens Networks and Motorola also are exploring a global relationship in the public safety arena.

  • Motorola Splits With Google In China

    Motorola Splits With Google In China

    Google’s decision to redirect Chinese searchers to Google.com.hk is having some serious repercussions.  On Monday, Chinese Internet company Tom Online distanced itself from Google.  China Unicom followed suit on Wednesday.  And now, Motorola has also turned its back on the search giant.

    Google LogoMark Lee and Hugo Miller reported late yesterday, "Motorola Inc., the handset maker that’s rebuilding its mobile-phone business around Google Inc.’s Android software, has dropped the U.S. Internet company’s search engine from one of its Android phones in China."

    It looks like Baidu and Bing will be used as replacements, and in certain regards, that isn’t too shocking.  Deals between Motorola, Baidu, and Bing were announced months ago, and the two search engines represent the market leader and an obvious American alternative, respectively.

    Still, as Lee and Miller pointed out, Google and Android are supposed to be central to Motorola’s strategy; the company’s in fact claimed that it will release 20-30 Android phones this year.  So Motorola must either have little confidence in Google’s ability to impress Chinese users, or it faced quite a lot of pressure to part ways with the American search giant.

    Both of these possibilities imply that the fallout might continue.  Google fans, hold tight.

  • Motorola Goes Bing on Android-Based Devices

    Motorola has announced a "global" alliance with Microsoft, which will see Bing used as the default search engine on Motorola Android-based devices. The move begins in China, where obviously there is some turmoil between Google and that country, but again, this is being called a "global" alliance that is "launching" in China.

    Motorola says that users will get a pre-loaded Bing bookmark on their mobile browser, and an enhanced search widget with Bing integration, though users will be able to customize their devices and select their own search provider.

    Motorola Backflip comes with Yahoo"We believe that consumer choice is one of the most critical components to ensuring a rich and seamless client experience," said Christy Wyatt, corporate vice president of software and services, Motorola Mobile Devices. "Motorola and Microsoft have enjoyed a longstanding collaboration and the addition of Bing services to our Android-based smartphones in China is another important step in empowering our end-users."

    "Mobile devices continue to be a critical place for customers to access location-based services such as local search and mapping," said Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of the Online Services Division at Microsoft. "We are pleased to expand our long-standing relationship with Motorola to bring powerful Bing location-based services to Motorola’s innovative new mobile devices, providing consumers with more choice and flexibility in mobile search."

    This is the second time in about a week Motorola has made news by offering non-Google search options on its Android-based devices. The recently launched Motorola Backflip comes with Yahoo.

    Bing search and maps will be available on Motorola Android-based devices in Q1 2010 in China. No other expansion of this has been announced, but the phrase "global alliance" certainly leaves room for speculation.

  • TuneWiki Lands Investment From Motorola

    Social media music player TuneWiki has received an undisclosed amount of funding from Motorola Ventures, the strategic investment arm of Motorola.

    Other new investors of TuneWiki include Intellect Capital Ventures, a venture fund initiative of TeliaSonera, HillsVen Capital, and Novel TMT. TuneWiki’s previous venture capital investor, Benchmark Israel, also participated in the round.

    Rani-Cohen "Teaming up with a global company like Motorola is very exciting for us," said Rani Cohen, CEO of TuneWiki.

    "We are passionate about connecting people through music, and having our applications running in many countries with different languages will allow our users to explore the world of music and better understand its meaning as part of a vibrant and engaged community."

    TuneWiki said it will use the investment to expand and improve its product offerings fro mobile platforms and the Internet. The company says it plans to focus on new features found in recently released smartphones, including stronger CPUs, larger displays and high-resolution screens. TuneWiki said it will also continue to focus on the use of song lyrics in new ways that connect music fans with new products, including an upcoming mobile game.

    "Music is rapidly emerging as a key feature for smartphones, and TuneWiki is changing the experience of listening to music from a solitary experience to a social one," said Reese Schroeder, managing director of Motorola Ventures.

    Related Articles:

    > Motorola Offers Baidu Search To China Mobile Users

    > Motorola Slates 20-30 Android Phones For 2010 Release

    > More Than Half Of Holiday Shoppers Relied On Cell Phones

     

  • Motorola Making Another Direct-From-Google Phone

    Although Nexus One sales estimates haven’t exactly blown everybody’s minds so far, it seems that the cell-phone-you-can-only-buy-from-Google experiment is going to continue.  Motorola’s co-CEO announced today that his company is working on device for it.

    Android LogoAccording to Scott Moritz, co-CEO Sanjay Jha said while discussing Motorola’s Q4 earnings that his company will release "one direct-to-consumer device with Google" sometime this year.  Jha also mentioned introducing 20 Android smartphones in 2010.

    These statements help clear up some issues that surfaced last week, when a vice president at Motorola said the company intended to release 20-30 Android devices.  Even allowing for regional variations, it was a little hard to imagine how they could all be markedly different from each other.

    Unfortunately, Jha provided little else in the way of Android- or cell phone-related information this morning, so other details regarding what’s on tap remain unknown.  It’s just a fair guess that the direct-to-consumer advice will be another range-topping model, and that it isn’t too close to coming out.

    As always, we’ll see what happens.  Finally, for the record: Motorola’s Q4 report didn’t go particularly well, with its stock down 11.42 percent so far today as a result.

    Related Articles:

    > Motorola Offers Baidu Search To China Mobile Users

    > Motorola Slates 20-30 Android Phones For 2010 Release

    > More Than Half Of Holiday Shoppers Relied On Cell Phones

  • Motorola Offers Baidu Search To China Mobile Users

    Motorola is allowing Internet users in China to use Baidu or other search engines on its handsets with Google’s Android operating system.

    Baidu is Google’s chief rival in the search market in China. "Users will be able to select their search experience from a number of providers including Baidu and others, with whom Motorola has signed strategic agreements," the company said.

    Motorola also said it is launching a store for Android applications called SHOP4APPS (or Zhi-Jian-Yuan, which means "Place for Apps Wisdom" in Chinese). Motorola’s Android app store for smartphones is set to launch in time for the Chinese New Year, which begins February 14.

    Motorola-China
    "Our ability to offer SHOP4APPS and choice in search is a testament to the openness of the Android platform.  SHOP4APPS will provide developers the opportunity to market and promote their applications on Android handsets within the Chinese market," said Christy Wyatt, corporate vice president of software and services, Motorola Mobile Devices.

    "In addition to our close collaboration with the Android community, we are working closely with our carrier partners in China, and with ecosystem partners like Baidu to provide consumers with a full suite of services.  These services will include search, email and maps for our newest China smartphones."
     

    Related Articles:

    > China Responds To Google Situation

    > Baidu’s Stock Soars Following China News

    > Google May Quit China

     

  • Motorola Slates 20-30 Android Phones For 2010 Releases

    People who like to try new cell phones on a regular basis should brace themselves; this year, Motorola’s going to do its best to make it rain Android devices.  In an interview today, one exec committed to releasing something like two dozen smartphones based on the mobile operating system.

    Android LogoSpiros Nikolakopoulos, Vice President of Mobile Devices in charge of Asian and international retail distribution, told Damian Koh, "There will be between 20 and 30 smartphones globally and, at this moment, all of them will run Android."

    Of course, that doesn’t mean that every single one will be on display in malls around the U.S.  Nikolakopoulos continued, "[N]ot all will be available everywhere as it depends on the company’s partnership with the various telco operators in each country."  So we may wind up with some near-identical phones that are just for sale in different regions.

    Still, it sounds like Motorola’s going to put out about all the Android phones it can.  And since the company’s been interested in Android since at least September of 2008, it’s a good sign for both the manufacturer and Google that the relationship remains so strong.

    Look for Android’s market share to increase quite a bit over the next 12 months as a result.

    Related Articles:

    > Google Delays Launch Of Android Phones In China

    > Google Unveils Nexus One "Super Phone"

    > AdMob Determines Android Is Growing Faster Than Ever

  • More Than Half Of Holidays Shoppers Relied On Cell Phones

    More than half (51%) of holiday shoppers across 11 countries used their mobile phones for in-store activities such as comparison shopping, getting peer feedback, product information and coupons, according to a new study by Motorola.

    The survey found 64 percent of GenY (age 18 to 34) shoppers used their mobile phones for in-store shopping-related activities during the holiday season. In addition, all surveyed age-segments cited interest in next-generation retail technologies to make better-informed decisions. When in-store employees used mobile technologies, such as two-way radios and handheld mobile computers, shoppers reported a better experience due to the use of the devices ((59 percent and 56 percent respectively).

    Mobile-Shopping

    "With nearly seven in 10 surveyed holiday shoppers either reporting flat or declining budgets, retailers vying for finite shopper dollars need to provide a seamless customer experience," said Frank Riso, senior director of retail solutions, Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions.

    "By utilizing mobile technologies, consumers have become empowered, better informed and more critical shoppers. Retailers need to establish near-term strategies to provide product information, stock availability, discounts and coupons directly to shoppers to help them to remain competitive."

    Because of the economy, shoppers were after more coupons and discounts in 2009 with 39 percent willing to abandon purchases if coupons and discounts were unavailable.

     

    Related Articles:

    > Ensuring Your Site is Indexed in Google’s Mobile Search

    > 40 Million Reasons You Need A Mobile Web Presence

    > Usage of Mobile Web and Apps Doubles in 2 Years