Bye-Bye MOTOMAGX and UIQ

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rahadyan
(Penasihat)
31/10/08 14:57

🙂 Bye-Bye MOTOMAGX and UIQ

Motorola Delays Cell-Phone Spinoff, Drops Platforms

10.30.08

by Chloe Albanesius

Motorola confirmed Thursday that it will eliminate its MOTOMAGX and Symbian platforms in order to focus on the Google Android, Windows Mobile, and P2K 3G solutions. The company will also delay plans to spin off its mobile business into a separate entity.

The company is moving more toward a mobile Internet environment, Sanjay Jha, co-chief executive of Motorola and chief executive of mobile devices, said during Motorola's Thursday earnings call.

"We have invested for a long period of time in our Linux Java [MOTOMAGX] platform, we see large eco-systems [now focusing their efforts on] mobile Internet, and that is going to be more important as we go forward," Jha said.

Part of the reason for the decision may be the company's red ink in its mobile devices business. Motorola lost $397 million on revenue of $7.5 billion, a 15 percent loss in revenue from a year ago, when Motorola reported a $60 million profit. But the Mobile Devices group reported sales of $3.1 billion, down 31 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. The segment reported an operating loss of $840 million, compared to an operating loss of $248 million in the year-ago quarter, the company said.

Jha expects that the company's investments in Linux "can bring to bear in the Android platform. One of the things that we need to do better is execution on our software strategy," he said.

Motorola will open a new office in Seattle "in order to work closely with Microsoft to deliver differentiation" via the Windows Mobile platform, he said.

Motorola expects to release a phone based on Windows Mobile 6.5 platform in the second half of 2009, and an Android-based device for the 2009 holiday season.

"I think that that will reduce the number of phones that will launch at least in the second or third quarters of next year, but I think thereafter, we expect that using Android and Windows Mobile, to be able to address larger portion of the mid- and high-tier market," Jha said.

The first half of 2009 will be "challenging" for Motorola, he said. The company plans to reduce the number of products it launches in the first half of next year, but "we won't provide you any guidance" on volume reduction, Jha said.

Reductions that are already underway will be global in nature and affect all businesses, supply chains, and corporate functions, according to Motorola. Those moves will result in $800 million in savings for 2009.

Earlier this month, Motorola unveiled its touch-screen Krave ZN4, viewed as a possible competitor to Apple's iPhone.

Jha acknowledged that there has been a "little too much focus on bright shiny objects [and] not enough focus on the user experience."

"Windows Mobile 6 has not delivered the experience that I think Apple has been able to deliver, but as you look at the plan that is Windows Mobile 7 and even 6.5, I think there are significant new added features which will help the platform," Jha said. "We have now targeted new teams which are focused – in California and Seattle – to deliver experiences. That is where we have to differentiate."

The company also said it will delay plans to spin off its handset business into a separate entity indefinitely until the market improves. The plan, announced in March, was supposed to result in two separate divisions – Mobile Devices and Broadband & Mobility Solutions – by next year.

"The environment just isn't conducive to pursuing [the separation, due to the] global economy and stressed financial markets, but we remain committed to that," said Greg Brown, co-chief executive of Motorola and chief executive of broadband mobility solutions.

Meanwhile, Motorola will focus on Texas Instruments and Qualcomm as its "preferred chipset suppliers" for the next two years. Motorola has also worked with Freescale Semiconductor, which was spun off from Motorola in 2004 and taken private in a 2006, but Freescale announced earlier this month that it was looking to exit the cell phone chip business.

Source: PC Mag

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boogie
(Penasihat)
31/10/08 15:30