http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/ Engadget Comments for Motorola insider tells all about the fall of a technology icon http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 1:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 1:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 1:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/
What are you talking about? Revenge? Steve is the one that forced Motorola to make the Rokr with the limitations. ]]>Mar 26th 2008 1:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/
I do agree, however, that Motorola does need its own equivalent of a Steve Jobs. That letter was refreshing and expository, and explains what I think a lot of people have had on their minds; how Motorola could hit a brick wall after the success of the RAZR.

It's pretty obvious now that the company sat on its collective ass selling the damn product forever until nobody cared anymore. Then they did nothing about it. Get an engineer into the CEO position, get a marketing person into CEO, get ANYONE who gives a damn or knows a thing about mobile products. Hell, get Ryan Block over there.

What's ironic is that from the sound of this letter, a majority of Engadget and Engadget Mobile readers are probably more qualified to be CEO than Greg "Kill Moto Dead" Brown.]]>Mar 26th 2008 1:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 1:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 2:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 2:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 3:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/
The fact that their boss doesn't know how to use e-mail doesn't surprise me.]]>Mar 26th 2008 3:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 7:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Apple's revenge was to introduce the ROKR at the same time as the iPod nano. It was a bit cheeky in a "see that's what the device of the future should look like"-way but honestly also the only way to prevent a PR disaster. ]]>Mar 26th 2008 8:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 27th 2008 9:22AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 1:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Motorola means no more bussiness.
Ironic but so true]]>Mar 27th 2008 1:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/actually, moto would literally "no head" which in turn would translate more into someone who is stupid.
same with if you said used the phonetics from motorola in chinese. and yes, i speak cantonese. fluently. since i was 2.]]>Apr 13th 2008 12:08AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/
cool, you speak cantonese, but are you from hong kong? if you are, then surely you've heard of 冇得撈喇

apologies to everyone else for typing chinese :)]]>May 6th 2008 9:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 1:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Commodore and Digital both seemed to rest on their past achievements too long.]]>Mar 28th 2008 9:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Apr 1st 2008 6:20AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 1:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/
...and i know plenty of people who have or have had RAZRs.

i don't know where you get the idea that they still have good market perception, but that's not been the case in my experience. (anecdotally.)]]>Mar 27th 2008 1:52PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/]]>Mar 27th 2008 4:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/
My HS850 headset was CRAP. EXPENSIVE crap

Same with the second one i got (thinking the first may have been faulty)

The HT820 BT headphones were uncomfortable, tinny sound, people couldn't hear me well, and fell apart easily

The H700 i currently have (given to me as a gift, I did not buy it)similar issues as the HS850. dont use it anymore.

the S9's LOOKED cool but were uncomfortable, sounds was decent, but phone calls only came in MONO on one ear. and ended up giving my neck issues with the way it hung on my head. My BF who currently uses them sounds like he is talking into a speakerphone half the time.

the Plantronics Pulsars i have right now sound better overall (little lacking on the high, but more bass than he S9) thought he control design i will give to the s9's (better control design by far)


Basically, pretty much EVERYTHING motorola I have dealt with was subpar and expensive
]]>Mar 27th 2008 4:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 27th 2008 5:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 28th 2008 5:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Apr 10th 2008 5:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 1:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 1:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/
good riddance Moto, two phones (startac and razr) for a lifetime of crappy does not cut for a technological advances
]]>Mar 26th 2008 2:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 2:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/
Motorola's fall from grace could easily have been avoided had they chosen to learn from the success of the RAZR and built on it. Instead, they hand out rehashed versions of old technology and warmed over designs that do nothing to inspire. That's why, after I replaced my V9 with a RAZR, I replaced my RAZR with a BlackBerry instead. I know a lot of people that have done the same, and will do the same in the months and years to come. ]]>Mar 26th 2008 1:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Now, as for this:

"Motorola's current CEO, Greg Brown, is so technologically out of touch he refuses to use a computer for communications, and has all his email correspondences printed by his secretary and replied to by dictation."

Please tell me this is a joke.]]>Mar 26th 2008 1:52PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2007/tc20071130_854706.htm

"Prior to joining Motorola, Mr. Brown was chairman and CEO of Micromuse Inc., a network management software company. Before that, he was President of Ameritech Custom Business Services and Ameritech New Media Inc. Before joining Ameritech in 1987, Mr. Brown held a variety of sales and marketing positions with AT&T for five years, resulting in 25 years of high-tech experience."

And he doesn't use a computer? Is this for real?]]>Mar 26th 2008 8:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/
As to reading one's e-mail on-line - I suspect most CEOs read their mail in print, simply because they can do that in the car or plane or during holes in meetings. A CEO's life is about face-to-face interaction; carrying or using a laptop is just a distraction.]]>Mar 27th 2008 4:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 1:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 1:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 6:09PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 1:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/
FYI, I'm an engineer with a graduate degree, currently working towards my MBA. Bad people are just bad - degrees don't help ...]]>Mar 26th 2008 3:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/
You don't want these people in leadership positions in technology companies.]]>Mar 26th 2008 4:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 27th 2008 4:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/
Motorola has some great engineers working for it, the problem lies with their management just as Faraz has pointed out. The company has completely lost touch with the consumer phone industry and as such has absolutely nothing new to put into the market for competition. Motorola has the resources to be a market leader, the only thing holding it back is the terrible management it currently has.]]>Mar 26th 2008 1:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/
I've had several for 3 years, and they are rock-solid. No reliabilty issues at all. Are you basing your comments on actual use or what others have said?

The RAZRs I had felt great (magnesium case), had a great size to them (perfectly usable keyboard - not this 'chicklet' small button shit on 90% of cell phones) and worked like a champ. As far as software went, hey, mine were verizon and I blame them for disabling features, including Bluetooth.

But to call the RAZR crap is complete bull.]]>Mar 26th 2008 2:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/The hardware design was good but it hid the major problem with all Moto phones - the software on it stunk!

The UI is one of the most painful messes I've ever come across. The address book wouldn't even let you search by more than one letter at a time - utterly useless if you had more than 100 contacts.

And then we come to Moto's great Linux strategy. It was going to save us all from Moto's existing crappy software. Except it didn't because it doesn't even support 3G. Oh dear, Moto.]]>Mar 26th 2008 3:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/
The only thing Motorola can do is apply iPhone features to the RAZR. Beyond that Apple has it all!

Motorola isn't going to make a candy-bar phone to compete with the iPhone. Flip phones are what people want! Because they're slim and light.

The iPhone only won because of it's elegant simplicity and beauty... That still doesn't mean people want bricks!

Moto still has a chance to merge the iPhone into a RAZR, but once Apple comes out with the iPhone Flip, it's GAME OVER!

Moto would haft to do a iPhone/RAZR hybrid! And do it damn, quick to save themselves!]]>Mar 26th 2008 1:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 1:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/
None of Moto's currently lineup can begin to compare with the competition coming from LG, Samsung, and Sony. All of them have better features and software (especially the software) than Motorola. It's hardly a surprise they're in this position.]]>Mar 26th 2008 1:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 2:36PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/motorola-insider-tells-all-about-the-fall-of-a-technology-icon/Mar 26th 2008 4:43PM