“Sanjay Jha, the newly-named president of Motorola Inc.’s mobile devices business, was greeted by Wall Street like a hero about to go off to war,” Therese Poletti reports for MarketWatch. “Jha is a well-known quantity to investors, having spent the last 14 years of his career at Qualcomm Inc., most recently as chief operating officer.”
“But even with those credentials, the challenge ahead of Jha and the rest of the company is daunting. Since Motorola first disclosed problems in its handset business last year, the landscape of the cell phone industry has changed significantly, thanks in large part to the debut of the game-changing iPhone from Apple Inc.,” Poletti reports.
“Jha will have to grapple with the fact that the battle for the hearts and minds of cell phone users has shifted from ultra-thin cell phones to the fast-growing smart phone market, where devices can make calls, handle e-mail, juggle schedules and surf the Web. Here, the iPhone is duking it out primarily with Research In Motion Ltd.’s Blackberry,” Poletti reports.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple iPhone vs. RIM’s BlackBerry (pick any model) is like an alien spaceship (pick any model) vs. a P-51. Meanwhile, Moto’s still making Sopwith Camels.
Poletti continues, explaining that there is still “internal debate inside the company over which side of the business will inherit the Motorola brand name… if Motorola is still so mired in this kind of minutia, it is unlikely that the company will be able to deliver any kind of serious threat to the iPhone or the BlackBerry anytime soon.”
Full article here.
Where’s the “bloodbath begins” comment we are all accustomed to from MDN?
If I’m Motorola, I don’t know if I even try to compete in the “smartphone” market anytime soon, lest they be embarrassed.
Instead, I’d focus on phones that don’t promise much but style and deliver a quality sound. There’s still a huge market for these types of phones that look cool and are functional at a few things without trying to be the iPhone.
In fact, until the iPhone has a CDMA version or a AT&T;expands its coverage into my area, that’s exactly the type of phone I need. For now, I’ll leave the other stuff to the iPod Touch.
I’d have more respect for a company that tries to just build a very good phone than I do for these other companies that are copying the exterior of the iPhone and trying to lie by insinuating it’s just as good.
Don’t rush crap to market!
there can be no bloodbath if the “new participant” is already moribund.
don’t dis the P-51!
@MDN Take
The only alien space ship I’m aware of is the one that crashed in Roswell. And that one don’t fly to well no more otherwise we would have sent monkey boy Ballmer home by now.
Victrolas for motor carriages…
Who’s behind the times?
Digits McGee,
I thought EXACTLY the same thing when I read that.
Wow! That guy worked for me at Brooktree developing video chips 20 years ago! Way to go Sanjay! And good luck (you’ll need it)
I’ll take a P-51 over an alien spacecraft any day!
Gee, I kinda like the P-51 — the best propeller-driven fighter ever built. Deployed in 1942, it was still in use during the Korean War, a decade later. I am reasonably sure it could out-dogfight most alien spacecraft.
The P-51 is a great machine, I have a wooden model in my office. On the other hand, The Enterprise (NCC-1701a) has warp drive, and phasers.
Which is about what Motorola will need to blast ahead.
Yeah, but the Enterprise isn’t alien. It’s simply what the P-51 Mustang evolved into.
I would have been more impressed if the Enterprise had .50 caliber Browning machine guns along with those phasers.
Tracer rounds would look sweet blasting through space!
I dunno. I once saw a
” rel=”nofollow”>P-51 scare off a Shuttle Craft.
Peter,
That’s great. How in the world did you find that one?
Mark me as DITTO on the Mustang. One of the coolest planes of all times ! Doesn’t deserve to be dissed.
One of my favorites is the F-82 Twin Mustang:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-82_Twin_Mustang
If you ever get the chance it’s worth your while to visit the United States Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AIr Force Base in Fairborn (Dayton) Ohio.
They have a P-51 and F-82 and a slew of other freakin’ awesome planes! Oh, and they have a gift shop where you can buy those sweet model planes which I believe are made from mahogany. They’re expensive but gorgeous.
I have a bit of a soft spot for good old Wright-Patt since I was born their while my dad was in Korea, and then lived on base when he came back.
Man, now I have a huge craving to see the Thunderbirds perform! Off we go …