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"Next Christmas, the iPod will be dead, gone, kaput."
It's the end of the year, a time of reflection, in which we look back at the year that was and what happened during. But The Independent isn't stopping there -- they went back and dug up some of the world's most famous incorrect predictions. And yes, Bill Gates' 640k is in there, as is Ken Olsen's "...there is no reason for any individual to have a computer at his home." Whoops. But there's also a good iPod one in there -- apparently on the iPod's release, someone from Amstrad claimed it a fad, saying that, "Next Christmas, the iPod will be dead, finished, gone, kaput." A few Christmases have come and gone since then, and of course, the iPod is still huge. That list also reminded me of the famous Nano hater, Motorola's Ed Zander, who said of the iPod nano's release: "Screw the nano. What the hell does the nano do? Who listens to 1,000 songs?" He, of course, was distraught that Apple's then new invention might take attention away from his new Rokr phone, and despite the fact that Motorola later claimed he was joking, we all know the Rokr went on to not only become the USA's most popular handset, but it's the Rokr who has ads all over the place this holiday season. Oh wait. We might be wrong about that one. Everyone makes mistakes, no? Thanks, Jean!
David Dorman appointed as Motorola non-executive Chairman
We won't say that Motorola's on the up and up, but just after ridding itself of that pending litigation between it and Carl Icahn comes word that a fresh face will be succeeding Ed Zander as non-executive Chairman of the Board. David Dorman, former chairman and CEO of AT&T, has been selected by Moto's Board of Directors to take over Zander's chairman seat after he retires on May 5th. According to Greg Brown, president and CEO of the company, he feels that Dorman is "ideally suited to serve as Motorola's chairman," and he made known his excitement about working with Dave as it "moves forward with its plan to create two independent publicly traded companies and improve the performance of the Mobile Devices business." Good luck in there, Mr. Dorman.[Image courtesy of USA Today]
Zander to be replaced by Brown as Motorola CEO
Motorola announced today that Ed Zander will be relinquishing the role of Chief Executive Officer in January 2008, a title he will have held for four years. Greg Brown, current President and Chief Operating Officer, will take over as CEO, while Zander will remain Chairman of the Board of Directors until at least May of next year. Zander, who came to Moto from Sun Microsystems, will perhaps best be remembered for overseeing the company during its RAZR-led handset revival.
Zander: Motorola passed on NAVTEQ buy
Say you're the CEO of Motorola -- a company that's fallen on hard times as of late, aiming for a rebound -- and you're looking to take a little dig at the world's largest cellphone manufacturer. Where do you begin? In this case, Nokia's purchase of NAVTEQ has fallen into your lap like a gift from the gods, giving you a chance to pan the "stunning" $8.1 billion sale price and casually drop the knowledge that Motorola had previously considered and passed on a bid. There's no telling where the fact ends and the fiction begins here, but at a recent talk to students of the University of Chicago's business school, Zander said that Motorola looked at scooping up NAVTEQ and concluded that it really didn't want to get into the applications biz for fear that it'd upset carriers -- a fear Nokia is challenging head on with both the acquisition and its Ovi initiative. Oh no you didn't, Ed! That's like Nokia dissing the iPhone's lack of 3G... oh, wait.
Motorola set to unveil video-optimized handset
Speaking at this week's Software 2007 gathering in California, Motorola CEO Ed Zander took a break from his company's woes and struggles to share the news that Moto's got a rather exciting new phone waiting in the wings. Details were slim -- the phone was apparently just mentioned in passing as part of the speech -- but the as-yet-unnamed handset is said to be video-centric, capable of a solid 30 frames per second for enjoying movies via SD card. Like other hot Motorolas in recent memory, Zander indicated that it'd be slated for a European release when it's officially announced next week. Any guess as to what the four-letter MOTONAME for this one might be?
Icahn loses bid for Motorola board seat
Motorola's annual shareholder meeting took place last night, and from initial results, billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn was not elected to the company's board of directors. The fire between Icahn -- who owns 2.9 percent of Motorola's shares -- and MOTOMNGMNT has turned into a venomous circus recently. The mud from all that slinging was still fresh last night at the company's annual shareholder's meeting where Moto's board of directors was up for election. Although Motorola CEO Ed Zander responded to Icahn's failed bid by saying "we remain steadfast in our commitment to continue building value for all of our stockholders," that sentiment had not been flying with the feisty billionaire investor. Although final tabulation of board election votes is still not 100 percent final right now, it looks like Icahn will need another venue to light a fire under Motorola's butt as the company struggles to return to profitability.
Motorola slams back at Carl Icahn
Billionaire financier Carl Icahn has a history of investing in companies where he can start exuding his influence for reform. The latest saga in Icahn's quest for corporate justice involves Motorola, where he wants CEO Ed Zander out (now). Motorola's troubles recently have been amplified in the financial media, as the company can't seem to replicate its RAZR success to save its life. The magic seems gone, and Icahn is pitching for a board seat so that he can instigate some management changes. In other words, Zander should be worried -- very worried. If the wireless giant can't return to sustainable profitability like, yesterday, Icahn may press even harder. The pressure has been so intense that Motorola recently sent an open letter to shareholders where it dissed the man (well, to a point). One thing is for sure -- Motorola is not leaving the cellphone biz for the action figure market like we were playfully guessing recently.
Motorola to lay off 3,500
Could the unprecedented wave of RAZR popularity finally be drawing to a close? Probably not -- CEO Ed Zander says Moto sold more of them this past quarter than ever before -- but that isn't stopping the world's number two manufacturer from tighting the belt a notch and cleaning up shop. On account of some lackluster performance to close out '06, the company looks to drop about 3,500 folks from its payroll (a full 5 percent of its workforce) but has no plans to change its overall product strategy. In fact, perhaps due in part to the layoffs, it looks to post full-year revenues of $46 billion or more, above analyst estimates. In other words: expect more RAZRs and RAZR-alikes. As long as they follow the V6 MAXX theme, though, that may not be an entirely bad thing.
Live from Gary Shapiro's and Ed Zander's CES keynote
Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association, and Ed Zander, CEO of Motorola, are doing the honors for this morning's keynote address to CES attendees.8:41AM PST - The keynote has kicked off with a video detailing the forty years since the first CES.8:43AM - Gary Shapiro takes the stage.8:45AM - CES is about "New Convergence" this year: convergence of content, services, and products.
Gates to headline CES 2007
The Consumer Electronics Association has confirmed that Bill Gates will be a keynote speaker at CES 2007 in Las Vegas. Motorola's Ed Zander and Disney's Robert Iger are also on the keynote playbill. The Microsoft chairman recently announced that he will be stepping down from his daily role in the company at the end of next year, but will continue to work part-time for the software giant he co-founded. Just make sure you report any "part-time" or supplemental income to the unemployment office, Bill!
