Motorola cancels RAZR3 / Ruby, era comes closer to an end

Earlier this month, the almighty RAZR fell from the top spot as America's best selling handset. Now, we're finding that the RAZR3 / Ruby has been canned. Granted, the move isn't all that surprising -- after all, Moto's known for awhile now that it simply can't keep tweaking the RAZR instead of, you know, innovating. But honestly, if this signals that the company is serious about moving forward and possibly adopting Android on the double, we won't shed a tear. Okay, maybe one, but only after all the lights are out.

[Via UnwiredView]

[Roflcopter @ Nov 29th 2008 8:21AM]

Either the phone is really small or the guy has bear paws. :(

[gad get @ Nov 29th 2008 8:34AM]

"11:24 am - RAZR3 Ruby - lifted for shelf ...
I would write material why cancel any model manufacturers, the theme of the rich. Here's decided to share a photograph Ruby, the guys from London, many thanks for this Prorva prototypes and information to obtain a wealth of material:) While on the other hand I am not sure that all the tiles ...
For some, there are examples from other industries, for whatever reasons, overrode the development of products and has already finished models are not available in the market?"


Ah, Google translator. Entertain Engadget for everyone always to come and she. Altogether, speak of a machine, gears, then has jokes. :)

[)law( @ Nov 29th 2008 8:34AM]

The world needs another razr as much as the United States needs another President bush. Come on moto make some good looking, fresh and sleek with a smooth os. Or at least put something that's a bit more than midiocre.

[KarlW @ Nov 29th 2008 8:36AM]

Custom operating systems are so nineties

[Mobius_1 @ Nov 29th 2008 10:23AM]

RAZR was great when it just came out, as for Bush...

[Jeff @ Nov 29th 2008 10:36AM]

The RAZR was always a terrible phone. The form factor was amazing, however the engineers simply can't magically cram a million features into a form factor that small.

Motorola needs to change the way it designs phones. Engineering and Marketing need to be much better friends.

[steven @ Nov 29th 2008 1:39PM]

The world needs the RAZR3 as much as we need Karl Marx as president.

[mian @ Nov 29th 2008 2:09PM]

Where's the superior flip phone? Sure, the flip phone category isn't going to be selling as well now that people are wooed more and more by iPhones and gphones, but there are still plenty of people who want one, and razr2 is still beast for a flip.

---
WiiUnite.org -- The warring Clans of Wii have come together

[Flashpoint @ Nov 29th 2008 8:44AM]

How long till Motorola needs a bailout?

Cause selling shit like this doesn't cut it nowadays.

[)law( @ Nov 29th 2008 8:50AM]

I am taking bets on how long that will be? Who wants in on this ?

[holycow @ Nov 29th 2008 9:59AM]

They will close/sell their cellphone division before they ask for a bail out.

[Justin @ Nov 29th 2008 10:40AM]

Probably on their way to congress now...

[grull27 @ Nov 29th 2008 10:54AM]

They don't need a bailout. If they go out of business you'll probably have 50 more people out of jobs, not 3 million like it would be if the big 3 auto industries collapsed.

[fre33fall @ Nov 29th 2008 4:10PM]

Just getting the facts on the table -

@Flash - Moto has almost 8 billion in cash on hand....doubt a bail out would EVER be necessary. Keep in mind that their other two divisions, connected home and networks, are doing phenomenal.

@cow - They just announced that they are halting their mobile division spin-off indefinitely. Doesn't look like getting rid of it is an option. If it's not good for Ichan, it's not happening.

@grull - Moto employs over 50,000 world wide.....just for clarity's sake, that's a few more than 50.

[iEye @ Nov 29th 2008 2:42PM]

This is quite interesting, I am sure the MOTOROLA is going to release a much updated and superior phone to replace the RAZR...

Just like GM cut the Chevrolet Cavalier from the lineup and replaced it by the superior "Cobalt" (cricket sounds, tumbleweed rolls by)

[iEye @ Nov 29th 2008 9:02AM]

I smell horse shite! Motorola must be around here...

I feel bad because I just picked up the H820 stereo headset for $17 and it syncs up nice with my shite Samsung Upstage...

[Mobius_1 @ Nov 29th 2008 9:19AM]

I smell bullshite! iEye must be around here!

Seriously, if everything else is shite, don't buy it, just stick to your iPhone.

[Sam Stone @ Nov 29th 2008 12:11PM]

Don't be silly..

He doesn't REALLY own an iPhone.

[Levi @ Nov 29th 2008 12:21PM]

i, dude do you EVER have ANYTHING that isn't idiotic to share with us

[Metkis @ Nov 29th 2008 5:12PM]

Have you met Clak?

[iEye @ Nov 29th 2008 7:34PM]

"Don't be silly..He doesn't REALLY own an iPhone."

Correct you are sir, how can you only own 1 unit of the most revolutionary phone ever built.
When something comes along this good, you have to buy 3...

[GenoMalice @ Nov 29th 2008 9:27PM]

loool... ^@above^ funniest comment I've read all week! but honestly... Get of the old man's d!ck, it's not THAT revolutionary. Revolutionary was the Moto Star TAC... iPhone? Just a cut above average in terms of being revolutionary.

[mocax @ Nov 29th 2008 9:04AM]

I love my Razr2 V8, linux and stuff.

I've always been partial toward clamshells, don't really like the candybars, sliders and new fangled touchscreen phones.

Too bad they killed motomagx, would've been cool if their WebUI and native linux SDK took off.

[Major4Play @ Nov 29th 2008 9:15AM]

The one thing that always put me off Motorola was the closed approach to phones, compared to the customization and converstion software you get with SE, Samsung and Nokia they can't compete. I had an old clamshell that only allowed me to buy ringtones not copy my own from a PC, whereas my latest Samsung comes with a software suite of photo editing software and video conversion software.
Motorola will get my money if they can launch an affordable range of Android handsets but not if the lock all the doors as usual.
The RAZR still looks amazing, but the problem is the OS/Firmware it is basic as hell compared to others, Android done right could fix that problem.

[Flashpoint @ Nov 29th 2008 9:37AM]

The closed approach only works if you have a product the masses want.

I can't think of anything more closed and user-unfriendly as an iPhone but, once you manage to unlock it, they are worlds of fun. The trick is releasing Apple's stranglehold on their products.

[Mobius_1 @ Nov 29th 2008 10:25AM]

Even Apple has an SDK and plenty of free apps.

[Dave Graham @ Nov 29th 2008 1:52PM]

@ Major4Play: Motorola, closed? Probably your carrier locked features on your phone, cuz as far as I know, Motos are some of the most hackable and open phones out there. You can go to Motorola's website and get a link to the phone's SDK, on most recent phones (the linux ones) you can install different media players (that play almost every single file format), gameboy and SNES emulators, overclocking tools, DIY themes, Rockbox, SWAP Memory, FTP, Samba and Telnet services, and so on.
I love Motorola phones, I used to hate them back when they only had the Synergy OS, but now I love them, they're sturdy and reliable. I have a Moto ROKR E2 and today I'm getting a ROKR E8.

[Wei-Ming Lam @ Nov 29th 2008 10:07AM]

whoo

[achates @ Nov 29th 2008 10:54AM]

"it simply can't keep tweaking the RAZR instead of, you know, innovating." is an odd comment, since the RAZR2 shared almost nothing with the original RAZR, other than also being a clamshell. DIfferent UI, different OS, different displays and keyboard, etc. There were some odd bits of software infrastructure way down underneath, but it was basically a new phone. And it had an SDK and an add-on software channel. And you could, in fact, download your own ringtones, unless your carrier blocked that functionality.

What sucks are US carriers that force manufacturers to lock down and cut off functionality they fear will interfere with their revenue stream.

[Someperson @ Nov 29th 2008 12:22PM]

whta the hell!? i was actually looking forward to buy this phone. it had great specs. 5 MPx camera, wifi, a--GPS, and it ran Symbian!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaLxFIVX1s

[Levi @ Nov 29th 2008 12:27PM]

Motorola wonders why they are losing money, when it's so simple: They haven't done anything fresh since the first RAZR. All the different incarnations and spinoffs really aren't interesting in the slightest. They're also getting cheap. My RAZR V3i was an incredible piece of electronics. It was like a tank. The KRZR, on the other hand, is one of the worst phones I've ever seen. My GF has one. The crappy Verizon firmware screws up more than my iPhone Safari crashes. Even the little round OK button is coming off. The glue they used is barely keeping it on. That's cheap.

If they came out with a RAZR with a full qwerty, a trackball, and Android, now they would start making money. A lot of it. I'm not saying they should straight up copy the G1, or iPhone, or whatever, just come up with something that doesn't SUCK.

But really, my V3i was a freakin tank. Dropped it out of a moving convertible, and it gave me a big hug when I picked it up off of the harsh pavement. How technology moves so fast.. I payed over $300 for that phone, crazy right? Then less than 2 years later I pick up an iPhone for $250. nuts.

[ThreeDee912 @ Nov 29th 2008 1:18PM]

I have to say, I find Moto's phones to be built pretty well.

However because I'm on Verizon, the OS is replaced with some crappy-locked-down-and-DRM-filled 'BREW' firmware, so I can't comment on how Moto's original firmware is.

[Geek45 @ Nov 29th 2008 5:32PM]

same with my MOTO.
not a RAZR, but still has verizon OS.
*grumble*

[Information Central @ Nov 30th 2008 4:53AM]

Even the first Razr bore signs of Motorola's failure. The StarTAC was a great phone, with excellent ergonomics, UI, and functionality. The Razr was plagued by some truly idiotic regresssions, like having the side buttons on THE TOP HALF. Who holds a clamshell phone by its screen? Then there was the fact that the side buttons would change the ring style or shut off the ringer at any time, causing you to miss calls because your phone bumped against something in your pocket. And Motorola built this same defect into almost its entire line of phones FOR YEARS.

Then there was the lack of such basic features as ADDRESSES in the contacts, or notes and tasks... on phones with four times the memory of the average Palm PDA. And finally the lack of software for syncing Motorola phones with Outlook. Motorola Phone Tools (by BVRP/Avanquest) is just about the most outrageously defective software you're likely to encounter.

[waiownsyou @ Nov 29th 2008 12:34PM]

The only reason Motorolas aren't that popular now is because everyone's owned one in the past and they hate that damn low battery sound! You can't turn that crap off!

DUH DUHN DUHN (You need to charge your phone!)

[spacegravity4me @ Nov 29th 2008 1:07PM]

"Okay, maybe one, but only after all the lights are out."


That's what she said. eh..... even I thought that was in bad taste.

[aeo854 @ Nov 29th 2008 1:13PM]

The best phone ever... was the StarTAC... The only problem with it was it never lost a call and it lasted too long...

[Prince @ Nov 29th 2008 1:34PM]

who the hell is DARREN MURPH, the writer of this page. All his TITLES look rubbish. MATE use He can't write anything clearly. You are crap in writing on your own..Better copy words from other sites or learn Good English or .......

[possum @ Nov 29th 2008 1:49PM]

There's alot of stuff that public doesn't know about Motorola lately:
1) Mobile Devices was hit pretty hard this past month over 2k people were laid off out of the Libertyville facility.Contrary to the horse manure that Greg Brown was feeding the media that "only a small group of folks would be affected out of Illinois"

2) MOST of the fdevelopement is done over seas, there's a HUGE disconnect between engineers in Russia, India, with management in the US.

3) for the past 4 years the quality of the code has been going down, this is the sentiment shared across the organization manly engineers/developers but no one in middle and upper mgt want to admit it.The only ones that suffer is the consumer.

Yeah I work for Motorola and like everyone one else we just want to be put out of our misery upper mgt/greed drove this company to the ground.

[mobiulator @ Nov 29th 2008 3:07PM]

@possum

You're 100% on with that list. I worked for Moto last year (in the US) and hated every minute of it. Every quarter management would remind us that "engineers in the US are too expensive" and that layoffs were coming. Meanwhile they were telling our counterparts in India that they "were the future of the company" and there would be no cuts for them. Absolutely killed morale, but management didn't care.

Moto has too many problems to enumerate here, but let's just say that if you bet your future on the cheapest labor you can find then bad things are bound to happen. There is a reason why Moto software sucks so badly.

[FusionFusionFusion @ Nov 29th 2008 2:41PM]

They should still produce the RAZR line and just make a different name of it. Like....Model: KH224..or something of the like.

[ace587 @ Nov 29th 2008 3:17PM]

the former razr folks have moved on to the iPhone. too late motorola youre not getting back your once large fanbase.

[Mikey @ Nov 29th 2008 3:17PM]

Coming from the UK I was really surprised to read that the Motorola Razr was the best selling handset in the US...and looking at you top 5 now...

1. Apple iPhone 3G
2. Motorola RAZR V3 (all models)
3. RIM Blackberry Curve (all models)
4. LG Rumor
5. LG enV2

whereas over here in Europe Nokia is by far and away the biggest seller. I used to have a Motorola v555 eons ago, but never really got on with the operating system. I think moving to android would be an excellent onefor them, if for no other reason than all the apps they would inherit and no cost to themselves.

[Fernando @ Nov 29th 2008 4:03PM]

It was an UIQ phone, probably the first worth buying razr, but NO! they had to cancel it :'(

[Chris W @ Nov 29th 2008 4:17PM]

Honestly they should have made a razr3, but expanded it with modern features and an Android OS. The thin and light flip phone factor appeals to a lot of people still and could still be a money maker. Its just the features of the phone and the OS thats holding it back.
quad band 3G, 256 MB internal memory, miniSD, bluetooth, and an android OS would make a good fully featured phone.

Personaly I think the phone market should fall into the following markets:
Entry (K.I.S.S. that even a grandparent could use), intermediate (like an updated RAZR), "dumb" smartphone (QWERTY entry for heavy texters), and full smartphones (iPhone, G1, Storm). I think this would address 90% if the US market. Of course in places like Japan everyone would just want the full one with streaming media and one seg.

[Cross Fire @ Nov 29th 2008 6:08PM]

I hope they change their mind and bring it out to market. I've got a V9 and absolutely love it. As a phone, it's the best damn flip phone out there. Built like a tank and awesome reception. The size when opened up, is perfect for holding/talking, and sound quality is great.

[D @ Dec 1st 2008 3:06PM]

wwaahh!!! I love my RAZR