Motorola, Inc. (/ˌmoʊtəˈroʊlə/[2]) was an Americanmultinational telecommunications company based inSchaumburg, Illinois. It was founded in 1928 asGalvin Manufacturing Corporation by brothersPaul and Joseph Galvin.[3] The company changed its name to Motorola in 1947.[4] After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, Motorola was split into two independent public companies,Motorola Mobility andMotorola Solutions, on January 4, 2011.[5] The reorganization was structured withMotorola Solutions legally succeeding Motorola, Inc., andMotorola Mobility being spun off.[6]
Motorola designed and soldwireless network equipment such as cellular transmissionbase stations and signal amplifiers. Motorola's home and broadcast network products includedset-top boxes,digital video recorders, and network equipment used to enable video broadcasting, computer telephony, andhigh-definition television. Its business and government customers consisted mainly of wireless voice and broadband systems (used to build private networks), and public safety communications systems likeAstro andDimetra. These businesses, except for set-top boxes andcable modems, became part ofMotorola Solutions.
Motorola'swireless telephone handset division was a pioneer in cellular telephones. Also known as the Personal Communication Sector (PCS) prior to 2004, it pioneered the "mobile phone" with the first truly mobile "brick phone"DynaTAC, "flip phone" with theMicroTAC as well as the "clam phone" with theStarTAC in the mid-1990s. It had staged a resurgence by the mid-2000s with theRAZR, but lost market share in the second half of that decade. Later it focused on smartphones usingGoogle's open-sourceAndroid mobile operating system. The first phone to useAndroid 2.0 "Eclair", theMotorola Droid, was released in 2009 (theGSM version launched a month later, inEurope, as theMotorola Milestone).[7][8] The handset division, along with the cable set-top box and modem businesses, were later spun off intoMotorola Mobility.
Motorola was founded inChicago, Illinois, as Galvin Manufacturing Corporation (at 847 West Harrison Street)[9] in 1928.
Paul Galvin wanted a brand name for Galvin Manufacturing Corporation's new car radio, and created the name "Motorola" by linking "motor" (from motor car) with "ola" (fromVictrola), which was also a popular ending for many companies at the time, e.g.Moviola,Crayola.[10] The company sold its first Motorola branded radio on June 23, 1930, to Herbert C. Wall of Fort Wayne, Indiana, for $30.[11][12] The Motorola brand name became so well known that Galvin Manufacturing Corporation later changed its name to Motorola, Inc., in 1947.[4][3]
Galvin Manufacturing Corporation began selling Motorola car-radio receivers to police departments and municipalities in November 1930. The company's first public safety customers (all in the U.S. state of Illinois) included the Village of River Forest, Village of Bellwood Police Department, City of Evanston Police, Illinois State Highway Police, and Cook County (Chicago area) Police.[13]
Many of Motorola's products have been radio-related, starting with abattery eliminator for battery powered radios (during the burgeoning electrification of rural homes), through the first handheldwalkie-talkie in the world in 1940,[14]defense electronics,cellular infrastructure equipment, and mobile phone manufacturing. In the same year, the company built its research and development program withDan Noble, a pioneer inFM radio and semiconductor technologies, who joined the company as director of research. The company produced the hand-heldAM SCR-536 radio duringWorld War II, which was vital toAllied communication. Motorola ranked 94th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.[15]
Motorola went public in 1943,[16] and became Motorola, Inc. in 1947. At that time Motorola's main business was producing and selling televisions and radios.
The last plant was listed in Quincy, Illinois at 1400 North 30th Street where 1,200 employees made radio assemblies for both homes and automobiles.[17]
In 1969,Neil Armstrong spoke the famous words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" from theMoon on a Motorola transceiver.[18]
In 1973, Motorola demonstrated the first hand-held portable telephone.[19]
In 1974, Motorola introduced its first microprocessor, the 8-bitMC6800, used in automotive, computing and video game applications.[20] The 6800 was the basis for the more popularMOS Technology 6502 which was made by former Motorola employees. That same year, Motorola sold its television business to the Japan-based Matsushita – the parent company ofPanasonic.[citation needed]
In 1980, Motorola's next generation 32-bit microprocessor, theMC68000, led the wave of technologies that spurred the computing revolution in 1984, powering devices from companies such asApple,Commodore,Atari,Sun, andHewlett-Packard.[21]
Dr. Martin Cooper of Motorola made the first private handheld mobile phone call on a larger prototype model in 1973. This is a reenactment in 2007.
In September 1983, the U.S.Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved theDynaTAC 8000X telephone, the world's first commercial cellular device. By 1998, cell phones accounted for two thirds of Motorola's gross revenue.[22]
In 1986 Motorola acquiredStorno[23] resulting in a whole new range of innovative communication products for the new owner,[24] including theNMT, an automatic cellular phone system, and made Motorola a more central player in the early stages of theGSM standardization process in 1987.[25] With this addition Motorola strengthened its position inEurope significantly. As Motorola's European development arm, Storno developed a GSM terminal in 1992.[26]
On January 29, 1988, Motorola sold itsArcade, New York facility and automotive alternators, electromechanical speedometers and tachometers products toPrestolite Electric.[27]
In 1996, Motorola released theMotorola StarMax, which was aMacintosh clone that was licensed by Apple and it came withSystem 7. However, with the return ofSteve Jobs to Apple in 1997, Apple releasedMac OS 8. Because the clone makers' licenses were valid only for Apple's System 7 operating system, Apple's release of Mac OS 8 left the clone manufacturers unable to ship a current Mac OS version without negotiation with Apple.[28] A heated telephone conversation between Jobs and then Motorola CEOChristopher Galvin resulted in the termination of Motorola's clone contract, the discontinuation of the Motorola StarMax, and the long-favored Apple being demoted to "just another customer" mainly for PowerPC CPUs. Apple (and Jobs) did not want Motorola to limit the PowerPC CPU supply so as retaliation, Apple and IBM expelled Motorola from theAIM alliance and forced Motorola to stop producing any PowerPC CPUs, leaving IBM to make all future PowerPC CPUs. However, Motorola was later reinstated into the alliance in 1998.[29]
In 1998, Motorola was overtaken byNokia as the world's biggest seller of mobile phone handsets.[18]
In 1999, Motorola separated a portion of its semiconductor business—the Semiconductor Components Group (SCG)-- and formed onsemi (thenON Semiconductor), whose headquarters were located inPhoenix, Arizona.[30]
In June 2000, Motorola andCisco supplied the world's first commercialGPRS cellular network toBT Cellnet in the United Kingdom. Motorola also developed the world's first GPRS cell phone.
In August 2000, Motorola acquired Printrak International Inc.[31] for $160 million.[32] In doing so, Motorola not only acquiredcomputer aided dispatch and related software, but also acquiredAutomated fingerprint identification system software.[33] With recent acquisitions from that year, Motorola reached its peak employment of 150,000 employees worldwide.[34] Two years later, employment would be at 93,000 due to layoffs and spinoffs.
In June 2005, Motorola overtook the intellectual property ofSendo for $30,000 and paid £362,575 for the plant, machinery and equipment.[35]
In June 2006, Motorola acquired the software platform (AJAR) developed by the British company TTP Communications plc.[36] Later in 2006, the firm announced a music subscription service namediRadio. The technology came after a break in a partnership withApple Computer (which in 2005 had produced aniTunes compatible cell phoneROKR E1, and most recently, mid-2007, its owniPhone). iRadio was to have many similarities with existing satellite radio services (such asSirius andXM Radio) by offering live streams of commercial-free music content. Unlike satellite services, however, iRadio content would be downloaded via a broadband internet connection. However, iRadio was never commercially released.[37]
Greg Brown became Motorola's chief executive officer in 2008.[38] In October 2008, Motorola agreed to sell its Biometrics business toSafran, a French defense firm. Motorola's biometric business unit was headquartered in Anaheim, California. The deal closed in April 2009.[39] The unit became part of SagemMorpho, which was renamedMorphoTrak.
On March 26, 2008, Motorola's board of directors approved a split into two different publicly traded companies.[40] This came after talk of selling the company to another corporation.[41] These new companies would comprise the business units of Motorola Mobile Devices and Motorola Broadband & Mobility Solutions. Originally it was expected that this action would be approved by regulatory bodies and complete by mid-2009, but the split was delayed due to company restructuring problems and the 2008–2009 extreme economic downturn.[42]
On February 11, 2010, Motorola announced it would separate into two independent, publicly traded companies.[43] The cell phone and cable television equipment businesses would spin off to formMotorola Mobility, while the remainder of Motorola, Inc., which comprised the government and enterprise equipment businesses, would becomeMotorola Solutions. The split was closed on January 4, 2011.[5] Motorola Mobility was eventually acquired by Google on May 22, 2012.[44] Google later sold Motorola Mobility's cable equipment business toArris Group in December 2012,[45] and Motorola Mobility itself toLenovo on October 30, 2014.[46]
At the time of its split, Motorola had three divisions:[47]
Enterprise Mobility Solutions was headquartered inSchaumburg, Illinois. It comprised communications offered to government and public safety sectors and enterprise mobility business. Motorola developed analog and digital two-way radio, voice and data communications products and systems, mobile computing, advanced data capture, wireless infrastructure and RFID solutions to customers worldwide.
Home & Networks Mobility produced end-to-end systems that facilitate uninterrupted access to digital entertainment, information and communications services via wired and wireless mediums. Motorola developed digital video system solutions, interactive set-top devices, voice and data modems for digital subscriber line and cable networks, broadband access systems for cable and satellite television operators, and also wireline carriers and wireless service providers. It was based inArlington Heights, Illinois.
Mobile Devices' headquarters were located inChicago, Illinois, and designed wireless handsets, but also licensed much of its intellectual properties. This included cellular and wireless systems and as well as integrated applications andBluetooth accessories.
Motorola's handset division recorded a loss of $1.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, while the company as a whole earned $100 million during that quarter.[48] It lost several key executives to rivals,[49] and the websiteTrustedReviews called the company's products repetitive and un-innovative.[50] Motorola laid off 3,500 workers in January 2008,[51] followed by a further 4,000 job cuts in June[52] and another 20% cut of its research division a few days later.[53] In July 2008, a large number of executives left Motorola to work onApple Inc.'siPhone.[54] The company's handset division was also put on offer for sale.[55] Also that month, analyst Mark McKechnie from American Technology Research said that Motorola "would be lucky to fetch $500 million" for selling its handset business. Analyst Richard Windsor said that Motorola might have to pay someone to take the division off the company's hands, and that Motorola may even exit the handset market altogether.[56] Its global market share has been on the decline; from 18.4% of the market in 2007 the company had a share of just 6.0% by Q1 2009, but at last, Motorola scored a profit of $26 million in Q2 and showed an increase of 12% in stocks for the first time after losses in many quarters. During the second quarter of 2010, the company reported a profit of $162 million, which compared very favorably to the $26 million earned for the same period the year before. Its Mobile Devices division reported, for the first time in years, earnings of $87 million.[57]
Motorola, Inc., along with the Arizona Water Co. had been identified as the sources oftrichloroethylene (TCE) contamination that took place inScottsdale, Arizona. The malfunction led to a ban on the use of water that lasted three days and affected almost 5000 people in the area. Motorola was found to be the main source of the TCE, an industrial solvent that is thought to cause cancer. The TCE contamination was caused by a faulty blower on an air stripping tower that was used to take TCE from the water, and Motorola has attributed the situation to operator error.[58]
Of eighteen leading electronics manufacturers inGreenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics (October 2010), Motorola shared sixth place with competitorsPanasonic andSony.[59]
Motorola scored relatively well on the chemicals criteria and has a goal to eliminatePVC plastic andBrominated flame retardants (BFRs), though only in mobile devices and not in all its products introduced after 2010, despite the fact thatSony Ericsson and Nokia were already there. All of its mobile phones were now PVC-free and it had two PVC and BFR-free mobile phones, the A45 ECO and the GRASP; all chargers were also free from PVC and BFRs.[59]
The company was also increasing the proportion of recycled materials used in its products. For example, the housings for the MOTO W233 Renew and MOTOCUBO A45 Eco mobile phones contained plastic from post-consumer recycled water cooler bottles.[60] According to the company's information, all of Motorola's newly designed chargers met the currentEnergy Star requirements and exceed the requirements for standby/no-load modes by at least 67%.[61]
^Jones, Daniel (2003) [1917], Peter Roach, James Hartmann and Jane Setter (ed.),English Pronouncing Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,ISBN3-12-539683-2
^abHarry Mark Petrakis, The Founder's Touch: The Life of Paul Galvin of Motorola (Chicago: McGraw-hill, 1965), 58–93
^abAnte, Spencer E. (January 5, 2011)."Motorola Is Split Into Two".The Wall Street Journal.Archived from the original on January 6, 2011. RetrievedJanuary 4, 2011.
^"iRadio". Motorola Inc. Archived fromthe original on January 19, 2008. RetrievedFebruary 3, 2008.
^Pletz, John (November 27, 2010)."Greg Brown's Motorola".Crain's Chicago Business. Archived fromthe original on October 4, 2023. RetrievedNovember 16, 2023.
^Olga Kharif and Roger O. Crockett (July 10, 2008)."Motorola's Market Share Mess".BusinessWeek.Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. RetrievedAugust 4, 2008.
