Motorola's Tablet will Miss the Holidays

The Wall Street Journal

 

Motorola Inc. aims to deliver a tablet computer early next year, a move that will extend its products beyond cellphones but after the key holiday selling season.

"We want to make sure that any tablet that we deliver is competitive in the marketplace, and I think all of us will make sure that we will only deliver that when that occurs," Co-Chief Executive Sanjay Jha said late Wednesday at an investor conference. "Hopefully, that's early next year."

Apple Inc.'s success with its new iPad have made tablets a must-have offering for gadget makers. Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to unveil its seven-inch Galaxy Tab to the U.S. market at an event Thursday in New York City. Dell Inc. has recently launched a tablet in the U.S., and others are expected ahead of the holidays.

Mr. Jha has tried to turn around Motorola's troubled cellphone business by refocusing it on smartphones powered by Google Inc.'s Android operating system.

Google has made clear it doesn't think the latest version of Android, called Froyo, is appropriate for tablet devices, Mr. Jha said Wednesday, adding that he wouldn't roll out a tablet until the technology is ready.

Mr. Jha said he's eager to get into the tablet business, but also indicated he is thinking more broadly about new forms of mobile computing, hinting that he is interested in models that are "even more smartphone-centric."

Motorola, Verizon Team Up For TV Tablet Tied To FiOS Service-FT

Financial Times

 

Motorola is developing a digital tablet device that will allow users to watch television on it, as the US mobile phone group attempts to chip away at a market established by Apple’s popular iPad.

The device, which will have a 10-inch screen and operate on Google’s Android software, could launch as early as this autumn in the US.

It was expected to tie closely to Verizon’s FiOS digital pay-television service, people briefed on the plans said. Motorola also manufactures the TV set-top boxes for the FiOS television service.

The tablet market is seen as the next battle ground in the mobile devices war that has pit myriad device makers and Microsoft, Google and Research in Motion against Apple.

The iPad has become a hit for Apple, lifting the company from number seven to number three in the worldwide market for notebooks and other portable computers, according to Deutsche Bank.

The Motorola tablet’s integration with TV is a key competitive advantage against rival developers.

But the company that invented the cell phone has made no secret of its exploration of a market resurrected by the iPad.

By working with Verizon Wireless, which owns a 25 per cent share of the US television market where it operates and a 29 per cent share of broadband customers, Motorola will not be seen as upsetting the lucrative business of pay TV.

Sanjay Jha, chief executive of of the Illinois-based company’s mobile devices business, said in May Motorola was exploring tablet options using Google’s Android smartphone software.

“We’re very focused on participating in this convergence between mobility and home, and I actually think you will see some products from us in a very short period of time,” he said, without providing details.

Months ahead of the iPad’s launch this year, Apple failed to convince TV programmers to either lower the price of TV show sales or sell a package of the top shows that was seen undercutting traditional TV pay models.

In spite of Apple’s robust sales of tablets and phones, devices running Google’s Android operating system secured a 27 per cent market share in the US in the first six months of the year, ahead of iPhone’s 23 per cent share, according to audience tracking group Nielsen.

Like a flood of tablets set to hit the market, Motorola’s device aims to address other perceived weaknesses of the iPad.

It will support Adobe Flash, the software that underpins some 90 per cent of web videos. Apple has backed an alternative standard, HTML 5, on its iPhone and iPad devices.

Motorola’s device is expected to be thinner and lighter than the iPad and to let users share its wireless data connection with nearby devices.

It will be built with two cameras, one for taking photos and the other facing the user for video conferencing.

Motorola, Google and Verizon declined to comment.

Motorola Planning Android Tablet Computer to Challenge IPad

Bloomberg

Motorola Inc., maker of the Droid smartphone, is planning to release a tablet computer based on Google Inc.’s Android software to challenge Apple Inc.’s iPad, according to two people familiar with the plan.

The device will measure about 10 inches, similar in dimension to the iPad and be available in time for the holiday season, said the two people who declined to be named because the plans have not yet been announced. The device will feature television services and be marketed with Verizon Communications Inc., one of the people said.

“Most of the key vendors are throwing their hat in the ring,” said Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Rodman & Renshaw Inc., who said he has heard about the Motorola tablet from suppliers in Asia. “It’s going to get crowded very quickly.”

Hewlett-Packard Co., Lenovo Group Ltd. and LG Electronics Inc. have all said they are developing tablet computers. Research In Motion Ltd. plans to have a tablet computer in stores by November, two people familiar with the BlackBerry smartphone-maker’s plans said last week.

Motorola, based in Schaumburg, Illinois, has found some success in rebuilding its handset business around Android, with the new Droid X selling out at Verizon Wireless last month. Co- Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Jha has said he is contemplating the introduction of mobile devices that are larger than smartphones.

Motorola will “participate in that over the course of the next nine months,” Jha said in a June interview, declining to elaborate on the kind of products under development.

Jennifer Erickson, a spokeswoman for Motorola, declined to comment.

Verizon Ties

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, said in June that it sold 3 million of its iPad tablet computers in the 80 days since they debuted in the U.S. The iPad’s success signals to rivals the appeal of a device that straddles the divide between smartphones and notebook computers.

Motorola’s tablet will be tied with Verizon’s FiOS pay-TV service, the Financial Times reported without citing anyone. At least one Motorola tablet will be known as the Everest, said one person familiar with the company’s plans, who did not know if the Everest was the same model to be marketed with Verizon.

Motorola and Verizon Wireless, which is jointly owned by Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc, already sell the Droid and Droid X smartphones together, and Verizon Communications uses Motorola’s set-top boxes for its digital pay-television service.

Teaming up with Verizon “absolutely” makes sense, said Kumar.

Nokia Siemens buys Motorola Networks

Associated Press

 

Nokia Siemens Networks will acquire the majority of Motorola's wireless operations for $1.2 billion in a major thrust to gain a stronger foothold worldwide, the company said Monday.

The Finland-based company said the deal is "expected to significantly strengthen Nokia Siemens Networks' presence globally, particularly in the United States and Japan."

Nokia Siemens said it will "gain incumbent relationships with more than 50 operators," including top American wireless carriers and cable companies, including Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. It will also improve its position with China Mobile, Clearwire, KDDI, Sprint and Vodafone.

Nokia Siemens Networks - a joint venture between Finland's Nokia Corp. and Siemens AG of Germany - has seen dwindling profits in recent years, worsened by the global economic downturn.

The new contract, expected to be completed by year-end, would improve profitability and "have significant upside potential," Nokia Siemens said.

The deal is a step in the process of breaking up Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola. The company has planned for years to spin off the cell phone division, but steep losses in the unit have forced it to postpone the move. It's now scheduled for the first quarter of next year.

The handset division, to be called Motorola Mobility, will take with it the division that makes cable set-top boxes.

That will leave Motorola Solutions, the remainder, focused on government and corporate clients, with products like police radios and bar-code scanners. It's also keeping one part of its wireless network portfolio: the division that makes iDEN equipment, used in the Nextel part of Sprint Nextel Corp.'s network. Motorola invented that technology and is the dominant supplier of equipment.

Its push-to-talk feature is appreciated by dispatchers and work crews, but has been overshadowed in the mainstream by other technologies that provide broadband data speeds.

Nokia Siemens CEO Rajeev Suri described the deal as an "exciting acquisition ... with significant benefits for customers, employees and our shareholders."

"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," Suri said.

Parent company Nokia shares were trading up 1.4 percent at euro6.86 ($8.92) in afternoon trading in Helsinki.

Product Review: Droid X

USA Today

A hot, richly anticipated smartphone is on the horizon, but it's not the iPhone. Amidst the pomp and circumstance of Apple's launch comes the comparatively quiet unveiling of Droid X.

The new handset from Motorola and Verizon Wireless is an impressive, feature-packed Android handset that will give the iPhone 4 a run for its money. It has expandable memory, can serve as a mobile Internet hot spot and will soon make nice with Adobe Flash video. The phone hits stores on July 15, for $200 after a $100 rebate and with a two-year contract. Data plans start at $30 a month; 450 voice minutes adds $40, with unlimited texting an additional $20.

Droid X has 8 gigabytes of internal memory and a preinstalled 16-GB memory card that can be upgraded to 32 GB. The entry-level iPhone 4 has 16 GB of memory that can't be upgraded.

I like Android phones. They're highly customizable. You get to choose among multiple carriers and handsets. I recently tested the Sprint HTC Evo, a 4G, or fourth-generation, phone that I would like a whole lot more if it had a longer-lasting battery like the Droid X. Evo has been a smash hit for Sprint.

Droid X belongs at or near the top of the Android list. Verizon has a sterling reputation. Call quality was good. In a week's worth of testing, I never had a dropped call. Find an iPhone user who can say the same. I hear all the time from folks wondering if and when the iPhone will land on Verizon's network. I wouldn't bet on that happening soon.

Meanwhile, Droid X is a standout in its own right. A closer look:

Basics. The nearly 5.5-ounce, 5-inch tall Droid X device dwarfs the iPhone. While surely a turnoff for some, the payback is a mammoth 4.3-inch high-resolution display. Droid has an excellent Web browser (with pinch and zoom), accelerometer and the ability to run third-party apps.

Initially, Droid X will run version 2.1 of Google's Android mobile operating system software. In the summer, you'll receive an "over-the-air" update to Android 2.2, a version code-named Froyo. (Google's own Nexus One is just now getting Froyo.) Froyo promises to make Droid X more business-friendly and let you store apps on a memory card. Moreover, Droid X will get a summer update to support Adobe Flash video, a major advantage over the iPhone.

The first Droid had a slide-out (and so-so) physical keyboard. Droid X is touch-screen only. You can use a standard multitouch keyboard or try an alternate method called Swype as I did. Rather than lift your finger as you normally would after pecking each letter or key in a word, with Swype you don't lift your finger until you've finished with a word. So you're in effect tracing a path along an onscreen keyboard. It's supposed to be a faster and a simpler way to enter text. There's a learning curve, but I got the hang of it.

Apps. The Android Market is approaching 70,000 free and fee-based programs, well short of the 225,000 or so in Apple's camp. Still, you'll likely find most of the kinds of apps you'd want from Android, from games to grocery lists.

Motorola and Verizon have partnered with Blockbuster on Demand (buying/renting movies) and NFL Mobile (streaming live football) on Droid X. The Blockbuster app was still being tweaked. I did watch video via Verizon's subscription V Cast service with mixed results. On a bus from New Jersey into Manhattan, videos hiccupped badly or dropped out completely as I slipped in and out of 3G coverage. On Wi-Fi, I watched live World Cup soccer via V Cast, but the video was jerky.

Multimedia. Droid X has an 8-megapixel camera with flash and zoom. It produced decent pictures. You can apply special effects on the fly — turning video into black and white, for instance. You can shoot high-definition video (up to 720p). Droid X also has a mini-HDMI connector that, with an optional $25 cable, lets you display what you shot on a big-screen TV. You can't use HDMI to watch Blockbuster, the NFL network or other commercial content that originates on the phone.

Droid X has no built-in video chat or front camera as on the new iPhone. If you have gear that supports a standard called DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance), you can wirelessly share music, pictures and videos from your phone with those machines.

Droid X also comes with an FM radio.

Navigation and more. Droid X employs several Google services, from voice search to Gmail. You can use Google Maps to get free audible turn-by-turn directions. You can overlay traffic on the map or get a satellite view.

You can also use Droid X as a 3G hot spot for up to five Wi-Fi-capable devices. It worked fine with Dell used laptops and an iPad. Cost: $20 a month for 2 GB of data. It's also a battery drain.

Overall, the cell phone battery performed well. I didn't receive low-battery warnings until evening. The battery is rated at about eight hours of talk time.

The iPhone may hog most of the attention, but Droid X is a terrific smartphone that deserves a place in the spotlight.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Droid X from Motorola and Verizon

$200 (after $100 mail-in rebate) and with two-year Verizon Wireless contract

3 and a half stars out of four

Pros: Android phone has large and lovely display, can function as 3G hot spot, expandable memory, 8-megapixel camera can shoot high-definition video, mini-HDMI connector, will support Adobe Flash. Free Google navigation. Good battery life. Good call quality.

Cons: Phone is on large side. Mini-HDMI connector can't be used for commercial content. Hot spot feature is expensive if you go over 2-gigabyte allotment. Must wait for Android 2.2 update and Adobe Flash update.

Motorola Swings To Profit; Struggling With Comeback

The Wall Street Journal

Motorola Inc. (MOT) swung to a first-quarter profit as a stronger economy lifted its non-handset divisions, but its marquee handset unit continued to struggle with its turnaround amid the competitive smartphone market.

Motorola, which previously warned of weaker phone shipments in the first quarter, said total phone shipments fell 43% despite an increase in sales of smartphones.

The results highlight the difficulty of competing against a flood of alternative smartphone makers in the market even as one of its devices, the Droid, gets serious backing from the nation's largest wireless provider in Verizon Wireless. While the company has rolled out several other devices, none have received the same kind of buzz or marketing support as the Droid.

The Schaumburg, Ill., telecommunications equipment maker posted a profit of $69 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $231 million, or 10 cents a share.

Revenue fell slightly to $5.04 billion.

Analysts, on average, had a first-quarter estimate of $5.1 billion in sales and a loss of 1 cent per share.

"The non-handset businesses really came through with higher profitability," said William Choi, an analyst at Jefferies & Co.

Co-Chief Executive Sanjay Jha won't have that benefit when Motorola completes its split, expected to occur in the first quarter of next year. In addition to the hanset division, which posted a 9% decline in revenue and an operating loss of $192 million, he will get the profitable home division, which makes television set-top boxes. Despite an 18% decline in sales, the unit posted a profit of $20 million.

Things will only get tougher for Jha from here. HTC Corp.'s (HTCXF, 2498.TW) Droid Incredible is poised to take over Droid's spot as the flagship product at Verizon Wireless. Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMM) just unveiled two Blackberrys, and Apple Inc. (AAPL) is expected to launch the next version of its iPhone in the summer.

"Where does Verizon Wireless highlight their promotions this quarter?" Choi asked.

The competition has already overtaken one rival. Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) said it had agreed to buy embattled smartphone pioneer Palm Inc. (PALM) for roughly $1 billion in cash.

Motorola drew strength from its enterprise mobility and networks units, run by fellow co-CEO Greg Brown. Both units doubled their earnings, as the enterprise mobility unit reported a 6% increase in revenue.

Motorola projected its second-quarter earnings excluding items at 7 cents to 9 cents a share.

Analysts have an average second-quarter earnings estimate of 3 cents a share.

The strong forecast suggests that the stronger mix of smartphones is leading to higher margins in the handset division. Jha has said he expects the unit to post a profit by the fourth quarter.

Motorola shares rose 4.8% to $7.25 in premarket trading.

Motorola Targets 1Q 2011 to Split off Handset Unit

USA Today

Struggling mobile phone maker Motorola said Thursday it plans to split off the business units that make the phones and television set-top boxes into a separate publicly traded company early next year.

Motorola said in late 2008 that it would spin off only its handset unit by the third quarter of 2009, but it put the separation plan on hold as the recession deepened and sales continued to deteriorate.

Now, it has decided to include the home business unit, which makes the set-top boxes, as part of the new company as well. The spinoff is planned for the first quarter of 2011.

Motorola Co-CEO Sanjay Jha, who will serve as the chief executive of the handset and home business, said the new combination "brings together two highly complementary and innovative organizations. Together we will be best positioned to lead in the convergence of mobility, media, and the Internet."

Motorola's cellphone business has been in a tailspin. The Schaumburg, Illinois-based company hasn't produced a hit since the wildly popular Razr phone in 2005. In recent months, Motorola has had its eyes set on smart phones running on Google Inc.'s Android operating system.

The company's other co-CEO, Greg Brown, will head what's left of the company, made up of the enterprise mobility and networks businesses.

Earlier, the company said that if the spinoff of the handset unit did not happen before Oct. 31, 2010, Jha would get $30 million in cash. It's unclear if Jha will be paid that amount.

Nexus One Components May Cost $174

Business Week

Analysis by iSuppli suggests that parts for the Android-based smartphone made by HTC may be less expensive than those in Motorola's Droid

From the outside, the Nexus One and Droid smartphones have a lot in common. Both run Google's (GOOG) Android operating system software and have touch-sensitive screens. Each is designed to compete against Apple's (AAPL) iPhone.

On the inside, however, the phones boast some key differences. The Nexus One, introduced on Jan. 5, may have been cheaper to build, according to analysis of the devices by market research firm iSuppli. The components used to build the Nexus One may cost about $174 while the Droid's cost about $185, according to iSuppli estimates. Google sells the Nexus One without a wireless service contract for $529, while the Droid is available contract-free from Best Buy (BBY) for $599.

Analysts use so-called teardown analysis from iSuppli and other researchers to assess how much profit a manufacturer or service provider may get from sales of a consumer electronics device. Smartphones are expected to represent 38% of all mobile devices sold in 2013, up from 14% in 2009, according to Gartner (IT). Demand for such advanced mobile phones, which provide access to e-mail, the Web, games, and various software-based tools, has surged in the years since Apple introduced the iPhone. Analysis from iSuppli focuses on components and doesn't include additional costs such as labor, marketing, and distribution.

HTC makes the Nexus One under contract for Google. T-Mobile USA, the U.S. mobile phone arm of Deutsche Telekom (DT), sells the Nexus One with a two-year service plan for $179. Motorola (MOT) makes the Droid, which is being sold through Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications (VZ) and Vodafone (VOD), for $199 with a two-year service contract.

The Nexus One's parts may be cheaper because of the price of its memory card, says iSuppli principal analyst Kevin Keller. The Droid boasts a 16-gigabyte flash memory card that goes for about $35, while the Nexus One is sold with a four-gigabyte card that costs about $8.50. The Nexus One analysis is preliminary and subject to revision, iSuppli says.

Qualcomm pushing TI out?

Wireless chipmaker Qualcomm (QCOM) is a winner in both phones. With the Nexus One, Qualcomm's Snapdragon chip handles the connection to wireless networks and is responsible for running the software. Keller estimates the cost of the chip at $30.50, or about 18% of the device's component cost. For the Droid, Qualcomm also supplied a less-advanced wireless chip that cost about $14.

Qualcomm competitor Texas Instruments (TXN) landed four chips on the Droid, including a $13 version of its OMAP chip. TI's share of Droid components amounts to about $23, or 12% of the total. TI may have landed no more than $2 of chips in the Nexus One, iSuppli says. "As Qualcomm has been evolving its technology and adding the ability to handle the applications as well as the wireless connection, TI is getting pushed out," Keller says.

Synaptics (SYNA), the Santa Clara (Calif.)-based company that specializes in touch-sensitive technology, is supplying several pieces of the touch-enabled screen in the Nexus One, Keller says. Atmel (ATML), a San Jose-based chip company, supplied the chip that controls the touch interface on the Droid.

Chipmaker Broadcom (BRCM), based in Irvine, Calif., supplied a single chip to handle both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi features on the Nexus One. TI and Triquint Semiconductor (TQNT) of Hillsboro, Ore., together supplied three chips that handled those features in the Droid, Keller says.

One chip common to both smartphones, and used in Apple's iPhone 3GS as well, drives the onscreen compass. All three use compass chips from AKM Semiconductor, the San Jose-located subsidiary of the Tokyo-based industrial and electronics company Asahi Kasei.

Google and Motorola representatives declined to comment on iSuppli's reports.

Put Droid To Work With Google Services

PC World

The countdown is underway to the Droid invasion. Verizon has unveiled the official specs and contract details, and pre-orders are already underway at Best Buy. By this time next week the Motorola Droid will be unleashed and we will find out if the reality can come close to the hype.

The Droid is the first device built on Android 2.0, the latest version of Google's open-source mobile operating system. Android is a capable mobile platform that offers benefits for any user, but small and medium businesses have even more to gain by embracing Android-based mobile phones like the Verizon Droid.

Building on a Google Foundation

For starters, if you are an owner or IT manager of a small to midsized business and haven't looked into Google Apps, you should. Even large enterprises like Genentech and Delta Hotels have adopted Google Apps in place of more traditional solutions like Microsoft Office and Microsoft Exchange Server.

It is relatively simple to set up Google Apps on your own domain. Google offers two different plans for Google Apps: Standard and Premium. The Standard edition is free and serves up to 50 users with up to 7Gb of storage space per user--more than adequate for many SMB's. For larger companies the Premium Edition costs $50 per year per user (but non-profit and educational institutions can get Premium Edition for free as well).

Google on the Go

Google Apps is not yet fully integrated with the Android operating system, but Google says it is working on it. However, the most critical components--e-mail and calendar--can be leveraged from the Droid right out of the box.

Business professionals on the go need to be able to keep in touch and maintain their schedules. Droid provides access to Gmail and Google Calendar as part of its core feature set, so roaming workers can send and receive e-mails, check their calendar, and schedule meetings while away from the office.

Droid also includes Google's newest free service, Google Nav. The turn-by-turn navigation service is integrated into Android. Comparable to portable GPS devices, or iPhone apps that cost $100 or more, the free tool can help roaming professionals get from point A to point B.

Small and medium businesses can also leverage Google Voice for advanced voice features. Google Voice provides call routing, simultaneous ringing of the desk and mobile phone, custom ring tones based on caller, voicemail transcription, and other features for free.

Enterprise Tools on an SMB Budget

Let's set aside all iPhone comparisons. The bottom line is that the Droid appears to be a more than capable hardware platform, built on an impressive operating system, that is capable of providing small and medium businesses with the communications and productivity tools they need while on the go.

Much of the promise and potential of what Google Apps can do and how all of the Google tools will integrate with Android is yet to be realized. But, the basic business functionality of email, calendaring, and voice can be achieved today, and the foundation is there for the combination of Droid and Android 2.0 with Google Apps to rival RIM Blackberry given time.

Google tools and services are web-based to begin with, so technically speaking any web-enabled mobile phone is capable of leveraging Google to some extent. Google also has a vested interest in having users adopt its tools and services no matter what mobile device they use, so there are tools and connectors available for other platforms as well. But, there is no need to try to fit a square peg in a round hole when the Android OS offers the potential of seamless integration with all that Google has to offer.

By embracing Google Apps and other Google tools, and adopting the Verizon Droid (or other Android-based device), small businesses can create a cost-effective alternative on par with large enterprise Blackberry or Microsoft server implementations.

Verizon Pushing Motorola Droid Vs. iPhone

From eWeek

Less than two weeks after promising to sell smartphones, netbooks and other devices based on Google's Android mobile operating system, Verizon Wireless kicked off a television ad touting its Motorola Droid phone and shredding Apple's iPhone in the process. Verizon Wireless will begin selling the Droid on Oct. 30, as far as anyone can tell. Boy Genius tested a Droid and said the device is blazingly fast, running Version 2.0 of Android. Jefferies Research said that such traction will lead to a boon in Google's mobile applications, noting that Google's location-based services such as Local Search, Google Maps, Search by Voice and Latitude should be readily monetizable over time.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said on the search engine company's earnings call last week that Android was about to take off.

Time will tell on that score, but if it doesn't happen it won't be for lack of trying. Less than two weeks after promising to sell smartphones, netbooks and other devices based on Google's Android mobile operating system, Verizon Wireless kicked off a television ad touting its Motorola Droid phone and shredding Apple's iPhone in the process.

Shown on Fox and CBS in between the action of NFL football games Sunday afternoon, the 32-second clip blitzes the iPhone for what it doesn't have, including a keyboard, 5-megapixel camera, and the ability to run simultaneous apps, widgets and even take pictures in the dark. It also knocks the iPhone for not being open and allowing developers to customize apps for it, ending the ad by noting, "Everything iDon't, Droid Does."

The ad campaign would be devastating, if only Apple hadn't already sold more than 50 million iPhones and iPod Touch devices under the aegis of exclusive iPhone carrier AT&T. Even so, the ad reminds everyone that Verizon Wireless and Google are at full war with AT&T and Apple. Verizon Wireless also launched a dedicated Website Droid here.

Verizon Wireless will begin selling the Droid on Oct. 30, as far as anyone can tell. Boy Genius tested a Droid, and said the device is blazingly fast, running Version 2.0 of Android.

It's thin, metal and comes with a non-spring-assisted slide, with soft-touch plastic, but has easily the best screen of any Android handset to date, including the T-Mobile Android G1, T-Mobile myTouch 3G, Sprint HTC Hero and the half dozen other Android phones. Boy Genius wrote:

    "Have we mentioned this phone flies? It's the Android device to beat, and easily the most impressive. From what we've been told, Google had a direct hand in the Motorola Droid. Something to the point of almost dictating every move Motorola made when designing and making the phone. Interesting, huh? ... No one wants to listen, but it makes the [Motorola's Android-based] CLIQ looks like a child's toy (partly because it is, and partly because the Droid, even in its non-final form, is the most impressive phone we've used since the iPhone. It's positively amazing)."

That's the kind of gushing that will make Google and its Android partners smile, savoring a coup over iPhone, provided people buy the Droid when it comes out. In any event, Android is on the rise.

Today, Android is available on nine devices across 26 countries on 32 carriers. Dell even said it will sell an Android-based phone on AT&T's network, and Sprint is working with Samsung to deliver its second Android-based phone. Android devices should be available on all four major carrier networks in the United States in 2010. This is exactly the kind of broad adoption Google was hoping for when it unveiled Android almost two years ago in November.

Jefferies Research analyst Youssef Squali said in an Oct. 8 research note that such traction will be a boon to Google's mobile applications, noting that Google's location-based services such as Local Search, Google Maps, Search by Voice and Latitude, as well as core apps such as Gmail, YouTube and others, should be readily monetizable over time:

    "Such a trend should stimulate search volume and drive mobile page views, two crucial elements to Google's successful monetization strategy. We estimate that Google's worldwide gross search revenue in mobile will cross the $500 million mark in 2011, up from roughly $180 million in 2009."

No wonder why Schmidt said Oct. 15 during the earnings call:

    "Android adoption is literally about to explode. You have all the necessary conditions, you have the vendors, you have the distribution and so forth. This is a very critical period with all of everything being delivered."

Will Schmidt's comments prove prescient?

Motorola Moves to Freeze Salaries, Pensions

As posted by: Wall Street Journal

Motorola Inc. moved Wednesday to freeze pensions and salaries, as well as take further steps to conserve cash as plummeting demand for handsets continues to take a toll on the wireless industry.

The Schaumburg, Ill., maker of telecommunications equipment, which is struggling to compete in both the low and high ends of the cellphone market, also said it would suspend contributions to employees' retirement savings plans, just weeks after announcing broad cost reductions and layoffs.

The erosion in cellphone demand has been especially hard for Motorola, as consumers turn to Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry devices and other smart phones.

Slowed carrier and government spending are expected to hit the healthier parts of Motorola, such as its cable set-top box and public-safety radio businesses, whose profits have helped offset nearly $1 billion in operating losses at its mobile devices division so far this year.

"It's clear that the decline in operations is more precipitous than anyone imagined even a few months ago," said David Hamburger, a telecom credit analyst at Citigroup Investment Research. "And it's hitting harder at Motorola than most companies given the competitive pressures in an already slowing wireless market."

Motorola said it would permanently freeze its U.S. pension plans, which mostly serve long-time and retired workers, starting March 1. It will continue to provide funding to meet benefits already vested or earned by employees and retirees, which it earlier estimated would cost $290 million next year. A spokeswoman said the freeze also applies to executive pensions.

Motorola closed its pension plan to new employees in January 2005, instead offering new hires a slightly higher match on contributions to their 401(k) retirement savings plans. The company said it would suspend those matches, which last year cost $116 million, starting in January.

"The sustained downturn in the global economy requires that we take these difficult but necessary steps" to "conserve cash and reduce expenses," Co-Chief Executives Greg Brown and Sanjay Jha said in a statement.

Motorola said most of its employees would receive no salary increase next year. Additionally, the co-CEOs agreed to a 25% cut in their base pay of $1.2 million for next year.

Mr. Brown, who oversees Motorola's noncellphone businesses, will voluntarily forgo his 2008 annual cash bonus, with a target value of $4.2 million, according to David Schmidt, an executive compensation consultant at James F. Reda & Associates. Mr. Jha was guaranteed a cash bonus of $2.4 million when he was hired in August to revitalize the cellphone business, but said he would forfeit the same amount of bonus as Mr. Brown and take the rest as restricted stock.

Save your 401(k): WSJ's Anne Tergesen talks with Adam Najberg about what to do if your company stops matching contributions to your 401(k).

"Based strictly on performance of stock and expected financial results, they do not deserve a bonus," said Mr. Schmidt, recognizing that neither has been in charge of the company for very long.

Over the last few years, Motorola has faced a string of problems as its mega-hit Razr phone lost its luster. Many hoped Mr. Jha would tap the company's innovative roots and bring out a slew of worthy Razr successors, but so far he has focused instead on cutting the complexity of its design and production processes.

With sales atrophying, Motorola pulled back from Europe and other regions to focus on Latin America and parts of Asia. But a recent report by Global Crown Capital LLC suggests a sudden slowdown in the Chinese market, where Motorola has been relatively strong.

Motorola's shares were unchanged at $4.41 in 4 p.m. trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. They are down 73% over the past year.

Mr. Hamburger of Citigroup said the cost-saving moves may be aimed at conserving cash to pay an estimated $630 million in dividends next year.