My point was that as the industry was changing, Motorola kept making variations on the RAZR and didn’t produce any signifigant new designs. Even most of the new phones were very RAZR-esque.

Yes, in feature phones, they weren’t innovating as much. However, they did release the Q series of smart phones, and well before Apple released the iPhone or Android was even announced, so I wouldn’t say they were caught “high and dry”.

As far as I know, the Q series has done fairly well. It wasn’t the “BlackBerry killer” people hyped, but I think it’s still pretty cool. As I mentioned, I bought a Q and upgraded to a Q9m, so I put my money behind that statement. It may not be enough to save the business, but it’s not a bad start.

I find it very interesting that Motorola was one of the few major phone producers that didn’t push out an “iPhone Killer”. While not being derivitive is a good thing, I feel it was more a failure in the company’s will to compete. They seemed to think the iPhone and it’s clone would just go away and they could keep making more RAZRettes.

I won’t pretend to know what Motorola is thinking. Should they try to address the iPhone like Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, etc. have done? Maybe, maybe not. Given their current situation, maybe it couldn’t hurt.

However, let’s see if Apple innovates on the iPhone line or keeps producing variations on a theme. Do you think Apple can keep the iPhone line popular with only the one form factor three years from now?

Even RIM is finally releasing other BlackBerry form factors, like the Storm and Kickflip (or whatever they’re called). I think that excitement (and their new consumer marketing) is part of what propelled RIM ahead of Microsoft in smart phones.

Steve

I find it very interesting that Motorola was one of the few major phone producers that didn’t push out an “iPhone Killer”. While not being derivitive is a good thing, I feel it was more a failure in the company’s will to compete. They seemed to think the iPhone and it’s clone would just go away and they could keep making more RAZRettes.

Yes, Motorola was a key player in early smartphones, then they remained tied to a hit feature phone for too long and lost their hold on the market. My point was not that the lack of a smartphone killed them, it was that a loss of connection to what the market wanted and a lack of recent innovation ensured their decline.

Z

The Q line are solid phones, but there is no doubt the shift in the industry towards smartphones and away from chic feature phones left Motorola high and dry.

I’m not sure I follow that logic. The Q series seems fairly well done (I bought an original and upgrade to a Q9m).

Also, remember that Motorola was an early player in the Smartphone market with the Mpx200 line. They also devised the innovative Mpx dual-flip phone (although I’m not sure if it ever got officially released; there were units out there, though).

Based on financial results, Motorola certainly needs to get its act together, but I don’t think their lack of smart phones is the reason.

Steve