Slash LaneMotorola has admitted that it's somewhat perturbed by the impending launch of Apple Inc.'s iPhone, but added that there could be "severe limitations" imposed by AT&T's slower 2.5G network.
Padmasree Warrior, chief technology officer for Motorola, told the financial paper that her firm is basing a comeback on a new generation of handsets, but admits that iPhone is of particular concern.
"I do worry about [the iPhone] because [Apple] is a great competitor; a very respectable, credible, tough competitor to have in the industry," she said.
At the same time, the exec believes the Apple device will appeal only to a "small part of the market" and hold its share of weaknesses. For instance, she said the phone's web browsing capability could have "severe limitations" because it will run on AT&T's slower 2.5G network, rather than the carrier's high-speed 3G network.
Motorola, which saw a resurgence after the launch of its RAZR handset in 2004, plans to unleash the second-generation of the super-slim handset sometime this summer. Like the firm's Q9 smartphone, the RAZR2 will reportedly run on the faster 3G networks.
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99 Comments
Um... no, Motorola is not 'somewhat perturbed'. I know someone who works at Moto, and their initial reaction was "Huh!?", followed by sh****g their pants.
The main problem for them is that Apple's strength goes directly against Motorola's weakness, which is that Motorola just isn't a software company.
Never have been, actually. This has been proven by the many Moto phone releases that were spoiled out of the gate by various software glitches and numerous bugs. I know a lot of people who won't even consider a Moto until its been out for several months. Their rep has gotten that bad.
And even when Moto's software works correctly, it still amazingly, incredibly, sloooooow. Try doing much with your RAZR once you have over 100 contacts in there, it isn't fun at all. They are trying to address this, with their new JUIX OS (Java/Linux), and by putting a faster cpu into the RAZR 2, but still, they are just now starting to do things they should've done a long time ago.
The other major phone makers are also somewhat in the same boat, as they are not great at software either (especially compared to Apple), but Moto has the additional burden of its star product (the RAZR) no longer being hot, plus their (well-earned) reputation for bugs and horrible quality control in general.
So, its really no wonder they're looking for a change of pants right now. .
Loved your post, TBaggins.
It's not too hard to scare Motorola. They are pretty clueless.
The got lucky with the Razr a few years ago, but the main appeal of the phone was it's looks, not any sort of functionality. I bought it because it was the only decent phone without an external antenna.
Motorola is toast.
Sorry Moto RAZR 2 will mean nothing, people don't want a new version, they want new hotness. You're going to need a new design, not a refined old one.
At least they were honest.