A Motorola without Razrs

Another Siemens is coming!!!!

Motorola is no different than most US technology driven companies. R&D budgets (small as they are) are continually cut back. There is no risk taking any more. Too many managers/executives who do not know what they are doing – and should have been fired a long time ago – just run around saying “what’s the business reason for doing X” because it sounds good. Of course they have no original idea’s of their own.

It is all about having a good story for why your organization has failed – along with making sure that no-one else succeeds (unless you can claim credit for their work – or take over their project – leaving them stuck with your mess).

It should not be a shock that most big US companies can’t re-invent themselves. Management is just too lazy. The easy money – and sure bet is to take the jobs overseas – basically selling the farm. Unitl eventually there is nothing left. Hopefully, by then, that will be someone else’s problem.

I do not understand why Motorola would sell its phone business.

Phones are continually evolving into better devices. It is not as if the cell phone is about to become obsolete. Motorola should focus on making something cool that people want to buy. If they sold off the phone unit and their other businesses tanked, they would look like complete fools.

Companies have to care more about short term loss/gain and play the whole game. Would it make sense for a football team to walk off the field because they are down by 16 at the end of the third quarter? No. Motorola has to get back in the game and get focused. These hasty decisions may make the stock go up for a few quarters but the company would end up losing a potential cash cow, costing loss of jobs and talent.
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William, of course you’ve heard it before…. to stop hearing it would mean Motorola has fundamentally changed its culture and how it develops handsets such that it doesn’t have highs and lows. Otherwise this sort of thing will just cycle around again and again.

Jay, Yes, the problem is R&D management. That’s what stifles the ideas from the rank and file engineers.

Mot without mobile is 29B, imagine MOT with another successful phone as razr!!
I think mot has more than sufficient expertise to come up with another great phone.

First article I’ve seen in a very long time that recognizes that Motorola is more than just a “cell phone maker”.

Selling off its mobile phone unit would be a huge mistake in my opinion. Although the “cell phone” has become commoditized, the portable mulitmedia/computing device is just gaining traction.

Motorola’s mindshare alone should facilitate a smooth transition into that budding market, i.e. the “do everything” hand held device… you know, like the iPhone…

Just because a business unit is not profitable for 8 quarters doesn’t mean it should suddenly be abandoned; however, if Motorola has indeed ceased any meaningful R&D, it probably is in there best interest to sell now.

William, thank you for your comment but just because the same thing happened a few years ago doesn’t mean this article is irrelevant. Motorola’s handset business is in trouble again, and selling it off is one of the company’s options.

Icahn only cares his investment, not the long term future of Motorola. I hope the new CEO can do better than that.

This article could’ve been written last May and doesn’t make much sense today. Moto has a track record with mobile handsets, engineering talent and global reach. Just because it may take the whole of 2008 to get back on track doesn’t imply dumping your strongest core business. Handsets are a phenomenal business and will continue to be strong. What surface-deep rubbish this ‘article’ is.

This has happened over and over throughout Motorola’s history. They invented the car radio, but once that became a commodity, they sold the business. Same with televisions. Cell phones will be next. The problem is that they have gutted their pure R&D and there is no next big thing.

Funny how history repeats itself. Several years back, there was talk of Moto spinning off the cell phone division because it wasn’t making money. Enter the RAZR, and there were several years of profits.

The problem with Moto cell phones isn’t that they lack profitability. It is a lack of consistent R&D. And since the RAZR development was “underground”, the question becomes, “What is Moto R&D doing to stay in the business?”

Perhaps the problem is R&D management, not that the market is to competitive!

“Seamless mobility” is one of those catch-phrases that excites journalists and analysts, and then pretty much disintegrates when it — or some imperfectly realized version, since there’s no specificity to what the ‘it’ is/why anybody needs it/etc. — reaches the hands of consumers. There’s nothing ’seamless’ without integrating hardware, software, and services, and there’s little indication that Motorola will do that, just as there’s every indication that Cicso has imported the ’seamless mobility’ branding nonsense, and that the only co. visibly likely to actually accomplish it is Palm. I’ve written a bit about this at DIM BULB: http://dimbulb.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/12/warrior-brown-r.html

My Razr is the worst cell phone I have ever had. I can’t wait to get rid of it & go back to Nokia. Barely 1 day battery life on full charge? What a joke. I’ll never buy another Motorola phone.

b*ll sh*t article…heard the same thing for years ago!

Brian, what is this supposed seamless mobility solution?

Good perspective, so many analysts fail to recognize the synergy within the business’ that come together to provide a seemless mobility solution.