Motorola bets the farm on Android and prepares for major cutbacks
Published: 29 October, 2008
READ MORE: Motorola
Motorola has spent the past two years as a phonemaker in search of a software strategy, but now Sanjay Jha, co-CEO and devices chief, looks set to bet the farm on Android - which means the company's promised job cuts and other cost reductions will be focused on other platforms, such as Symbian.
Last month, it became clear that Motorola was greatly expanding its Android team and details have now emerged of the first handset it plans for the system, due next year and heavily geared to social networking. This will be a make or break launch when it comes, as Motorola desperately tries to have its first killer handset since RAZR, and match up against high profile phones like Apple iPhone, Nokia N6 or Samsung Omnia.
But as Motorola learned from the RAZR yo-yo, one device is not enough, and its Android development needs to be the heart of a broader strategy. As the handset maker announces third quarter results tomorrow, it is expected to offer details on plans to cut its operating system list to just three - Windows Mobile for a small number of enterprise phones like the Q, and potentially a couple of super smartphones; the proprietary Moto P2K OS for low end models; and Android for the vast bulk of the range, from smartphones through midrange webphones to some internet enabled devices for emerging markets.
This means jobs and resources will be cut around Symbian, and other Linux-based or proprietary platforms, plus the software tools and applications efforts around those. For Motorola's sake, this has to be the last flip-flop on handset software strategies. The company was originally a shareholder in Symbian, but went cold on the OS when it fell heavily under Nokia's control. Earlier this year it decided to focus mainly on Symbian again, but then Jha came on board - a man who had already been instrumental in forming Qualcomm's software strategy and had formed a close alliance with Google for running Android on Qualcomm chips.
With Nokia prioritizing on Symbian and Samsung OS-neutral, Motorola has a chance of taking its place at the head of the Android table, achieving a position of heavy influence in driving the platform forward. Jha is expected to make swingeing job cuts, not just around operating systems and fragmented handset lines, but also in a long overdue reform of the device maker's supply chain. He is also taking the risk of concentrating on the midrange, the area expected to be most hit by economic downturn next year - but which is the logical target for Android designs.
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