“As if struggling cell phone-maker Motorola Inc. doesn’t have enough to worry about: Here comes the iPhone, heir to the mighty iPod, brainchild of tech golden boy Steve Jobs—and riding a tidal wave of hype to boot,” Mike Hughlett reports for The Chicago Tribune.
“‘Really, the iPhone benefits the entire industry,’ said Brian Stech, director of global marketing for Motorola’s phone division. That’s because the iPhone will bring more consumer attention to ‘multimedia’ phones, and Motorola has strong offerings in that space, too, he said,” Hughlett reports. “Motorola and other phonemakers have been stuffing their wares with Web-browsing and music- and video-playing capabilities. But U.S. consumers still don’t seem to choose their phones based on such features.”
MacDailyNews Take: They don’t get it – just as umpteen makers of “iPod killers” didn’t get it. Forget about “strong,” Motorola has no offerings in iPhone’s space whatsoever. Motorola, like everyone else, is standing smack in the middle of Apple’s new superhighway, frozen by the brilliant light that is the oncoming iPhone. Just like Sony, Microsoft, etc., which were all supposed to bat away Apple’s iPod+iTunes with ease, these phone makers are nothing more than future roadkill.
Hughlett continues, “Initially, Apple is going after ‘mind share,’ not market share, said John Jackson, a wireless industry analyst at the Yankee Group. But eventually, Jackson and other analysts are looking for Apple to broaden its iPhone offerings to include stripped down—but cheaper—devices.”
Hughlett continues, “In other words, they’re looking for Apple to do what it did with the iPod, where prices vary by device size and storage capacity. The iPod Shuffle can be had for $79; the iPod Nano starts at $149; and an iPod with 80 gigabytes of storage goes for $349. ‘When the iPhone Nano comes out at $120, everyone is in big trouble,’ Jackson said.”
Full article here.
Anyone considering holding their breath for a $120 Apple iPhone should have medical attention standing by at all times.
“……Motorola has strong offerings in that space, too, ….”
Oh yeah ?? and what would that be ??
Face it, Moto … if youre not running Leopard on yer phone… then what you got is a crappy wannabe …
I’m waiting facts about pricing and what happens when it happens.Guessing and supposition are just that. We can all guess and suppose but until the 29th we won’t know.
The iPhone is not a phone. It is a paradigm shift.
Know what I would actually like to buy from Moto? A simple, durable, functional phone, without all the half-assed “multimedia” designed with teenage Japanese girls in mind. Rubber cased. Survives a drop. Big buttons for my big manly fingers. Are they smart enough to figure that one out? No. I get a freakin’ camera that takes shi**y pix, and I get to say “you broke up” 450 times a day.
Skate to where the puck will be, Moto. The puck you can actually reach. The iPhone puck is out of your league. Before it’s too pucking late.
Denial is a typical first reaction to overwhelming loss… as in losing your market share to a superior product.
@ Shiva
If youre talking about pricing on the iPhone (itself) ..watch this to see why its in the $500-$600 price range ..
(this proves the iPhone will blow everything else away !)
But if youre referring to the service pricing plans AT&T / Cingular will have .. well, you got a point !
Moto has clearly mastered the art of layoffs. Best in the industry. The last one standing has clear instructions on how to lay himself off.
the price will come down, that seems obvious.
I doubt Motorola won’t even be around (or at the very least will be a much smaller company) within 2 years. They just don’t seem to be able to do anything right…
One of their most popular phones, the RAZR, is OK looking now, but the UI sucks… The iPhone will strongly impact their wireless business.
Motorola purchased Timbuktu and since the purchase their IP locator service has basically been non-functional. Why spend money purchasing a new product and then screw it’s existing users. Like I’ll even purchase a Motorola version of Timbuktu now.
I have a total and complete lack of faith and trust in them.
Actually, Motorola does have innovative phones. They just don’t sell them in the US because the lame-ass carriers here are afraid of them. I suspect the iPhone will put enough fear into them(the carriers) to allow us to see some of these Linux-based phones here at last.
“Face it, Moto … if youre not running Leopard on yer phone… then what you got is a crappy wannabe …”
And over 15% of the market. But by next year the iPhone is shooting for 1%… This is HUGE!!!!!!!!!!
“I doubt Motorola won’t even be around (or at the very least will be a much smaller company) within 2 years. They just don’t seem to be able to do anything right…
Oh yes, with Revenue of $41.2 billion, they’re on their way out! Do you have any idea how many Police, fire, and Public service agencies use nothing but Motorola equipment? Any idea how much they earn from certifying companies in Six Sigma?? You do know that Motos market share is on the rise again in the cell phone industry as well????
But then again, you don’t even care… Everyone who isn’t Apple is “Beleaguered”. It’s easier to call anyone who points out fact a troll while mindlessly hooping and bragging about your small (VERY SMALL) fraction of the cell phone industry…
Of course, as of today, your market share is 0%
@Realist,
Under promise, over deliver. Market share of 1% is a convenient benchmark that will make Steve Jobs seem even more impressive when the iPhone far surpasses it.
Motorola is whistling past the graveyard in hopes that no one will see their fear.
Not very far reaching MDN take: I too believe there will be cheaper iPhones around some way down the road, maybe even at $ 120 (although I wouldn’t hold my breath for it, but just because it may take longer than I can hold it).
Yeah, I do think that Apple will start making a few other iPhone varieties, but $299 is probably the cheapest they will be in the next 3 years or so.
Realist/PC Fan,
Why don’t you make it a little more obvious that you are posting under 2 different names?
They’ll always be a market for cheap phones. The problem for Moto will be that they’ll be lots of others making those commodity products. And those others will have much lower cost structures than Moto.
To avoid that, Moto must move upward, adding not only design (which Moto already has) but also software because the more expensive phones will really have to be small networked computers. And the software has to be high quality not only for the UI, but also for the built-in capabilities. Does Moto have that ability? Based on the RAZR that I have and the flop of the ROKR, I would have to say not yet.
I have a moto a780 which is not sold in this country and uses linux operating system and it really works well not until they start to use operating system like that will the ever be-able to make a phone like iphone—-using touch screen to its fullest. If people use a a780 or a ming phone they would understand why apple is doing something great. (touch screen it just work great no problem like the treo and very easy to use)
all this stuff just confuses me
count me out
oh crap, another BSOD
Yes, today Apple’s market share in smart phones is 0%, but a week from today it will be more than 0%. Any gains Apple makes will be at the expense of companies like Motorola. Face it, Police, Fire, and other public service agencies could benefit enormously from the iPhone. When it has demonstrated its usefulness to the public, it won’t be long before those agencies start switching.
I’m not so sure about this ‘iPhone Nano’ business. I just don’t feel like the product model is going to go in that direction. A stripped down phone without basic computer features will seem quaint in 2 years, so why shouldn’t Apple create an up-market instead of a down one? What I see is the current model getting a price reduction and Apple putting out an iPhonePro, with extra goodies like GPS, and targeted directly at the corporate market. Of course things like GPS would eventually be on all phones, but the Pro model would get hardware features first, or at least a more top-shelf version of those features.
It would be a marketing thermite grenade. Just exactly when everyone is bitching the loudest about the lack of a professional-centric model, Apple puts out exactly what they need, and what no one else is able to give them.
Now *that* one… that is the phone that’s going to crush this industry.
-c
MW: ‘returned’
“Of course, as of today, your market share is 0%”
That’s true, but I don’t make cell phones.
-c
MW: ‘company’
@ Phoney Realist
When it has demonstrated its usefulness to the public, it won’t be long before those agencies start switching.
Cracks me up, you have no idea what you are talking about. I’m, sure these agencies are going to switch from there Moto UHF radios and purchase what from Apple????
As usual around here, the fanboys here don’t even know what Motorola’s product line is. Yes Sir, I want me a 20 Channel Digital UHF FM Police radio from Apple!!
Apple again is going for the cream of the consumer dollar; the place where value matters more than price and margins are high.
People don’t get it. Motorola, LG, etc are the Dells and HPs of the cellular industry. Apple will let them fight it out all day for the low margin 99% of the market. Apple is pursuing the high margins where you can actually make money.
If by ‘benefit’ they mean finally be able to figure out how to create a usable interface for their crappy phones, then yeah.
Sadly, Apple owns a buncha patents so.. maybe not so much.
Wake up, Realist. Lots of police are already using cell phones in addition to their radios. In some cases, they’ve already given up radios. Is that true for all police? No. But it wasn’t true any of them just ten years ago. The change has already begun, and the iPhone will accelerate that change. Motorola knows this, which is why they’re scared.
to be honest i’m not really interested in the iPhone, it looks amazing but really i’d rather wait till things settle right down, prices come down. i’d rather have a RAZR2 in the near future too
@Realist (windows troll)
I see you are back on here still spouting all your nonsense. In your absence it has been revealed that Apple has nearly doubled their share of the consumer market in the last 3 years (you had it going the other way) and Vista has flopped (forcing consumers to buy it by withdrawing XP does not make it a success).
Your comment that Apple has 0% share is, of course, correct, but childish. Which is not atypical for you.
I really wonder why you bother to read this site. It must distress you to see such unabashed optimism for Apple and their products. And how it must pain you to see Apple’s share price continue to explore the stratosphere.
I have a Motorolla Razr. It is, to put it bluntly, a heap of shit. It is the worst piece of consumer technology I have ever owned. I am stuck with it for another year on a contract – and every day, in every way, I hate it. Would I ever buy anything else from this company? Not if there was an alternative. They just don’t know what they are doing.
Whether Motorolla goes on selling Police radios is of no interest to anyone here – what happens to their market share in phones is. You are right in what you say – but it is a pyrrhic victory, for your points are irrelevant.
Why dont you piss off and go bother some other site…
“‘Really, the iPhone benefits the entire industry,’ said Brian Stech, director of global marketing for Motorola’s phone division. That’s because the iPhone will bring more consumer attention to ‘multimedia’ phones, and Motorola has strong offerings in that space…..
YES! I was watching the iPhone demo at Apple’s web site just yesterday, and It just HIT ME: “Now that I see what the iPhone is capable of, I really need to check out Motorola’s phones….”
I bet that happened to a lot of people
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@ Realist
I think Moto makes great CBs … dont they ? … Maybe thats their niche !!
I have a Motorola RAZR K1 – which I bought out of desperation. My old phne had died a miserable death… I will not even discuss the whole phone in the toilet while talking to my ex about her late child suport payments crap! Suffice it to say – I am suffering with this phone. The voice command sucks big time. There are no words for how zhitty it is. I cannot tell you how many times I hear “that command is not in your database – when it is one of the Moto’s set commands. Phuque!!!
Everyone asks about voice activated commands with the iPhone – if they are there – I hope they got it right! “BUT of course, it is Apple” (said with a slight French accent)!
@realist – just FYI -Before you run off at the mouth any more: I worked for Motorola Wireless Division and the radio products are OK – not great – but marketing and saturation are tremendous. You will not find consumer based Motorola products in the service sector as a corporate or governemnt purchase. Consumer products are personal items, usually owned by the individual.
You are throwing a red herring into the mix. A product/service sector to product/service sector comparison is better if you want to prove your point! In the consumer market, the MOTO branding was good for a time but it is so last century now. Cute little phones are great for the “I-need-a-phone-to-call-home-and-my-emergency-auto-service” but to have a truly functional full service phone, you need the features of an iPhone-like product and there is only one iPhone like product. Why? To sorta quote His Jobsliness, “And we have really patented this one”.
And you are right – the entire mobile phone industry has a market share of 0% on a great quality – easy to use – fully integrated – easy to view – business oriented mobile phone! I kno wyou didn’t mean that but take a look, that is what you are really saying.
Look and feel are great but function and realiability maintain the market. And has those in the bag. Now all you folks who bring up the glitches – just remember this – these problems that have beset the lastest iterations of Apple products has been resolved individually or by group.
There are some still in process, but if you know how to work with – be polite, listen to what is said, ask for help rather than demand, be patient – you will get your issue resolved. I have – every time.
One last thought – when the iPhone hits Australia – I will not walk, I will RUN to whomever is offering it and buy it. And here all mobile phones are unlocked! Hee!
run along. nothing else to read here.. after all is said and done MOTO will be following after …
He actually mentioned the shuffle? Who would buy an iPhone shuffle? Does it call various contacts at random?
MDN: “roadkill” … Are you serious?
Slow down, will ya?!
I’d love to see Apple lead the cell phone industry, but no matter how successful the iPhone is, that will take quite a lot of time…
Mac OS X’s own Dictionary App still doesn’t have iPhone in it, for God’s sake..
iPhone is a revolution, but we also need to be sober.
And why is just about every other company “beleaguered’?
i can’t wait for the iPhone shuffle. random calling to a person on your contact list.
…oh sure, you can leave the shuffle switch off and do it in order, but why? life is random….
I’m actually looking forward to the day iPhone “rubs off” some of its magic on my computer… I mean, when a version of the MBP comes out with a touch screen in place of the keyboard, perhaps a “double-screened” laptop, or a real tablet that has all the functionality of the MBP. A flash disk based, 0.5 inch thick (just thick enough to take a slot-loading blu-ray superdrive, 1.25 lb, with 250GB storage, 4GB of RAM, the top GPU, and a 17 inch screen that plays HD media…
Now I need to wipe all that drool off my “regular keyboard”
Woah people, take it easy on Realist! I don’t think he’s trolling, he’s just sick of the frenzied hype that’s whipping people into irrational reasoning.
What he said makes sense, iPhone will impact Motorola’s mobile division, but they are in many other markets, including UHF equipment.
To say that Apple will eclipse all of Moto’s diverse markets with the one iPhone product is pure blind faith.
PF,
UHF may not be going away, but it’s a niche market that is shrinking. We’re not far from the day when most if not all communications will be digital, and even if UHF remains viable, a company the size of Motorola can’t hope to survive on that alone.
Motorola is in trouble, and after they ditched Macs on PowerPC development, they deserve to be. That it’s Apple that is putting the screws to them is poetic justice.
Wow..
Hughlett continues, “In other words, they’re looking for Apple to do what it did with the iPod, where prices vary by device size and storage capacity. The iPod Shuffle can be had for $79; the iPod Nano starts at $149; and an iPod with 80 gigabytes of storage goes for $349. ‘When the iPhone Nano comes out at $120, everyone is in big trouble,’ Jackson said.”
The iPhone Shuffle is going to be a sweet deal….maybe a wristwatch?
As someone who has seen Motorala’s “other” equipment first hand, let me tell you, there’s no love for them in those fields either. Motorola at one time put down a lot of telemetry equipment in Florida. However, their support sucked; their product quality sucked; I know this because at the time I worked for a company that went around selling telemetry monitor and control software/hardware, and we replaced more than a few Motorola sites. And we were a small, mom-and-pop outfit! Their reputation was in the dumper.
Moral of the story? Cell phones won’t be the first market in which Motorola got spanked by an underdog. And yes, unlike Realist, I have first hand experience in seeing Motorola operate in other markets.
Jobs has really done a job on all you Apple lemmings. People have bought the hype of this phone without having even touched it yet. AMAZING how history repeats itself. Clearly the iPhone won’t be a flop, but all of this dialogue sure sounds a lot like the pre-Newton buzz. And behold, there are but a few brave pocket-protector wearing souls that probably still hang on to those things, if only because there’s a little half-eaten apple icon on it. Applie-fiends needs to be learn to be a little bit more cynical before they buy the hype.
@me2
I wonder why you use the Newtown as a comparison – why not the iPod. Since both were available to you to use, your choice presumably reflects the point you wished to make. Ergo, you wanted to make a negative comment. Sad you. Happy us. We’ve all seen the video, and it doesn’t disappoint. In fact, the simplicity of operation leaves one breathless. Apple makes it look so easy. So why does Motorolla make such a ham fist of it?
The iPhone is already a success. Just like the iPod, iPhone will change the face of the industry. Phones will never be the same again. And after 30 years in the IT industry and only the last 2 with any involvement with Apple, I think I am pretty hype proof.
You can be cynical if you like. Its your choice. Me? I prefer to be optimistic. I like what Apple does. A lot. I love my iPod so much I bought a Mac. I loved my Mac so much I am switching all my 8 windows servers to Mac. And I cannot wait to get my hands on an iPhone so I can ditch my hopeless useless hatee-engendering Razr with its STUPID STUPID STUPID software.