Amid layoffs and plunging profits, Motorola is reportedly seizing the opportunity to expand its reach in the smartphone market. The mobile-phone maker, which developed a Windows-based smartphone, is expected to offer an Android-based smartphone through two top-tier wireless carriers.
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Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile will carry Motorola’s new smartphone running Google’s open-source operating system, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
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T-Mobile will sell a touchscreen phone with slide-out QWERTY keyboard that will have a variety of built-in social-networking software from providers such as Twitter and Facebook, the source said. Verizon plans to carry a device with similar hardware, including a touchscreen and slide-out keyboard.
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I think we are getting closer and closer to what Co-CEO Sanjay Jha said about the company’s smartphone strategy back in October of 2008: That Motorola would utilize the Android platform for smartphones, and that new phones would be available before the end of 2009, said Ramon Llamas, an IDC mobile-phone analyst.
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subheadGetting It Right/subhead
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Motorola’s move to enter the Android market isn’t a surprise since the company has been hinting about an Android-based phone for the past several months. Motorola, which saw its profit plunge in 2008 and cut more than 4,000 employees this year, will have a tough fight on its hands against smartphone developers and competitors who are already selling Android-based phones.
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Taiwan-based HTC developed a second Android-based smartphone and is making it available through T-Mobile, beginning July 8. T-Mobile on Monday announced the myTouch 3G Android smartphone, which is thinner than the T-Mobile G1, smaller than the iPhone, and comes with a 3.2-inch touchscreen.
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Many factors will have to be in line for Motorola to be successful.
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The company will have to have great distribution partners, offer end users a compelling experience, and timing will have to be perfect. If Verizon and T-Mobile really will carry…