Motorola gives Google the boot, turns to Skyhook for location services
By Darren Murph 
posted April 26th 2010 11:34AM
posted April 26th 2010 11:34AM
Skyhook Wireless Announces First Platform Integration Of Location System On Motorola Android-Based Devices
Skyhook provides Motorola's Android-based devices with enhanced location performance worldwide
BOSTON, MA – April 27, 2010 - Skyhook Wireless, the worldwide leader in location positioning, context and intelligence, today announced that Motorola, Inc. will deploy its Core Location across much of the company's portfolio of Android-based mobile devices. Skyhook-enabled Motorola smartphones, which will begin shipping later this year, will have the ability to better support a new wave of location-aware applications by leveraging Skyhook's precise, reliable, and fast-performing location engine.
Location is at the center of an extraordinary explosion of mobile innovation, and is fundamental to many emerging mobile services. Today there are thousands of mobile applications that incorporate location as a part of their user experience. Precise location enables consumers to check-in with friends, find nearby concerts and exhibits, or get directions to the destinations of their choice. For some experiences, such as turn-by-turn navigation or local search, location is the central feature, but increasingly, new types of applications in music, sports, and entertainment are incorporating location to personalize content delivery.
"Motorola is committed to providing rich location services for our customers and developer partners," said Christy Wyatt, corporate vice president of software and services product management for Motorola Mobile Devices. "Precise location is central to the mobile experience, and Skyhook's Core Location will enhance Motorola's Android-based mobile devices with its innovative location technology."
Skyhook is the recognized leader in mobile location technology and produces over three hundred million location requests every day over tens of millions of mobile devices. The ground-breaking Core Location uses a combination of Wi-Fi, cellular and GPS readings in order to produce a single, accurate location quickly and in all environments.
"Motorola is creating ground-breaking and innovative mobile devices," said Ted Morgan, CEO, Skyhook Wireless. "Skyhook is excited to further enhance the location accuracy and availability of these devices."
About Skyhook Wireless
Skyhook is the worldwide leader in location positioning, context and intelligence. In 2003, Skyhook pioneered the development of the Wi-Fi Positioning System to provide precise and reliable location results in urban areas. Today, Skyhook's Core Location provides positioning to tens of millions of consumer mobile devices and applications. For more information visit www.skyhookwireless.com.
I haven't even heard of skyhook. Does "baking" it into the os male them even less likely to have android updates as soon as google releases them? Lol at the map with a route that goes back the direction you came from.
@Prestidigitator It's called one-way streets.
meh, I love android, and HTC, like someone else said, motorola has a history of making "smart" choices... which is why nobody gives a crap about em (excluding the Droid)
Eh? Google Maps uses Skyhook on the iPhone. So Motorola can now also join in the messed up directions the iPhone was getting for a while where it was telling people in California that they were in Colorado?
Wicked cool!
@NuShrike
Not being on AT&T, how would that be possible for the Droid?
i say google will buy skyhook soon
I don't think a lot of these companies have a beef with Goog, I think that these companies are just paying the ODMs/Carriers a lot of money to be the exclusive search/etc. providers
you Will probably find ATT are asking them to use it
Geez, talk about biting the hand that feeds you... If it wasn't for Google & Android, Motorola's phone division would still be in the toilet... Oh well to each there own... Me I'm a Google junkie & like mentioned above, with all the custom roms & what not out there, there wont be much to removing said apps & putting Google back in, if you so wish... At any rate I'm sure Skyhook is putting fourth a nice chunk of money for this.
Lol Queens.
I think motorola wants to kill google, and if they do, it is a suicide of their business. Android is made by google, and it seems that they don't like google. Might as well make their own OS and the last time i saw, their os's suck.
To Darren Murph:
... proudly becoming the "first Android device maker to abandon Google for its location services."
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Why is that in quotes if it doesn't appear in the press release?
Can you please update the article to remove the quotes?
That is very misleading.
Hmmm, the headline here suggests something different from the press release. This doesn't look like Moto having any kind of beef with Google, just that they've cut a deal to provide a value-add differentiator.
The Skyhook stuff is really good, and it genuinely is better in most locations than Google's (mostly) crowd-sourced equivalent. It's good to see competition here.
damn...and I was just going to buy a Milestone...but not if this little battle continues, who knows what this could turn into! :(
Motorola? I thought they were on deathwatch. Maybe I've misunderstood a few dozen articles.