Motorola Moving to Android, Windows Mobile for Smartphones

nerdyH writes "Motorola will ditch its MotoMAGX Linux stack and UIQ Symbian stack in favor of Google's Android Linux/Java stack and Windows Mobile 6.5 and 7, it announced today. The news comes after five years selling millions of Linux phones in Asia, and after a year during which many of Motorola's top US phones used the homegrown Linux stack. Motorola's current Linux phones in the US include the RAZR2 v8, E8, EM30, U9, ZN4, and ZN5." This also comes alongside news that Motorola's financial hardships are causing them to cut 3,000 jobs. It also puts into perspective their recent plans to hire hundreds of Android developers.

Motorola's financial hardships...

[morgan_greywolf]

Moto's financial hardships are mostly the result of their crappy phones no one wants because they break too easily, are too sllllooooowwwww, and just all around suck. Maybe Android will help them out.

Linux to Android? Hmm...

[Anonymous Coward]

In other words, they're switching from Linux (custom stack) to Linux (standardized stack). Normally such a move is lauded; Motorola needs to do less to upkeep their stack, offloading the work onto Google and the community. It helps standardize their software more, meaning that software can move from Motorola Phone #1 to Samsung Phone #8, which even with Java it's damned hard to do today.

It's news, but it's not earthshattering news.

WinMo upgrades

[mrsteveman1]

Last WinMo device i had, the manufacturer simply didn't feel like updating the software for my specific device when a new version came out, even though it could in fact support the newer version. A hardware manufacturer shouldn't have that level of control over the software.

That was the last WinMo device i bought and it's going to stay that way. Of course most of these upgrades to WinMo amount to "Now with 15% less suck!" so I'm sure i wasn't missing much, but it annoyed me into never buying one again.

Except CDMA phones = not for Sprint

[gelfling]

Sprint will continue to do what it does slow, weird, late and expensive.

Re:Let's hope they come with better software

[lysergic.acid]

mini-USB connectors are definitely a huge plus. the last time i went to Best Buy was while accompanying a friend to get a data link cable for his phone (i forget which model it was), and after looking at 10-12 different link cables, we still couldn't find one that fit the proprietary data port on his phone. the closest thing we saw was an "All-in-One Cell Phone Data Transfer Suite" which came with 10 different cables for various brands of phones, but it cost something like $90.

there's absolutely no reason to use a proprietary connector for what is basically just a USB port. it would be so much easier, and more convenient, for consumers if all handset makers just used mini-USB connectors like everyone else. you don't see digital cameras or external hard drives coming with their own proprietary USB/FireWire ports. it's such a blatant attempt by handset makers to rip off their customers with overpriced data cables--which they usually have to buy separately in addition to requiring a different one for each handset.

i mean, if you wouldn't put up with this kind of scumbag business move with your external hard drive, digital cameras, or MP3 players, then why would you put up with it with your cell phone? heck, my PSP uses Sony's overpriced Memory Stick Pro Duo format instead of the more universal Micro SD format, but it still uses a standard mini-USB connector like pretty much all other portable devices.

Re:All they need to do...

[Ritz_Just_Ritz]

Verizon doesn't want something open. They want to own your ass from the cradle to the grave. Android does not fit in their business model. If you want more functionality, they want you to PAY for it (and pay...and pay again).

Re:Shameless plug

[coastwalker]

As a European who uses text more than calling this is an endemic problem with cell phones - they are universally crap for texting because of small buttons. Maybe now that the super hype of money for nothing style over substance shallow consumerism has landed each and every one of us with a tax bill of a couple of hundred thousand dollars of future taxation to pay off fucking barking mad asset inflation - we can get back to consumer goods that do what we need them to do rather than some marketing droids dream of what might look cool in a Disney movie.

So lets get back to a user interface that works and a phone with a decent battery life instead of useless bits of fantastic technology dedicated to looking great and being totally useless in practice. I am sure that Motorola engineers, like engineers in every company that has been sucked into the vacuous dream world we have been living in will come up with the goods. Android is an excellent platform to move forward with IMHO.

Re:Except CDMA phones = not for Sprint

[mlts]

Sprint needs to turn themselves around. First, they need to get G4 service or WiMax out there nationwide, as perhaps an alternative for home Internet service other than DSL or cable. Second, they need to make people want to buy their stuff. There are a couple cool Sprint phones, but most people tend to either buy a free (with plan) handset, or an iPhone. The low end handset does what most people want... take/receive calls, some text messaging, basic addressbook. The iPhone has pretty much locked up the smartphone department, except for corporations, where Blackberries and Windows Mobile devices are used (because both offer very good security... Blackberries allow remote erasure, duress codes, remote locking, and the ability to use a CAC card reader. Windows Mobile devices allow for remote erasure. Both can encrypt their memory cards.)

What Sprint has is a lot of bandwidth. The iDEN network for example. They need to leverage this and try to get WiMax out. Then, they will have an alternative revenue stream and not have to worry as much about the whims of cellphone fashion.

Re:Motorola, the new Palm

[TubeSteak]

IMO, none of this matters if the Cell Carrier is allowed to fark up the handset manufacturer's hard work with a custom firmware that strips out features.

Re:Except CDMA phones = not for Sprint

[pcolaman]

When you call the iPhone a smartphone, god kills a kitten. Apple determines what software is allowable on the iPhone, and most of the apps on it are for entertainment purposes or is garbage. The main use for the thing, as admitted by Apple, is to basically have an iPod phone that delivers your need for both a cell phone and a music/video device. The iPhone isn't even in the same sentence as phones such as some of those made by RIM, HTC, etc in the smartphone argument. It's a music/video/toy phone. As far as WiMax, I believe in the technology but not that it will save Sprint. They have far too many financial and other issues that will end up crippling the company. Actually, wouldn't be shocked if they spin off the WiMax portion completely and just keep it called Clearwire, and then sell off Nextel. You laugh, but laugh when this becomes a reality in less than 5 years.

Re:Let's hope they come with better software

[wall0159]

"you wouldn't put up with this kind of scumbag business move with ... MP3 players"

you mean like the ipod?

(I say this as the owner of an ipod nano)

Re:Linux to Android? Hmm...

[Chandon Seldon]

In other words, they're switching from Linux (custom stack) to Linux (standardized stack).

Or the opposite, if you remember that Android supports neither native Linux applications nor J2ME applications.

Focus on the hardware

[gtada]

Motorola's software is on par with Sony's (absolutely horrendous). They really need to just focus on making solid hardware with appealing industrial design.

I tried writing software for the A780, a very interesting hardware platform with a built-in GPS. But, they never allowed access to the GPS and the other interesting bits. Really short-sighted... why would anyone want to write software for a platform sandboxed to hell?

Java, Java, Java, Java,

[Alex Belits]

Java, Java, Java, Java,
Java, Java, Java, Java,

mushroom(*), mushroom!

Java, Java, Java, Java,
Java, Java, Java, Java,
Java, Java, Java, Java,

mushroom, mushroom!

Java, Java, Java, Java,
Java, Java, Java, Java,
Java, Java, Java, Java,

Oh, snake(**), oh, snake! Oh, it's a snake!

--
(*) Obviously a hallucinogenic kind that they have at Google if they think, Java is appropriate for mobile devices

(**) Python that ironically is also developed by a person who works for Google -- and would be more appropriate for the purpose.

Exactly

[Britz]

No focus was one of the reasons they went down in the first place. Can someone tell me how many operating systems they had in use for their phones?

Off the top of my head:

1. Some JavaME thing (don't know the name)
2. MotoMAGX
3. Symbian
4. Don't they already have Windows Mobile?
5. P2K (for the low end)

Are there more?

Anyways, they now want to "focus" on "just" three. P2K, Windows, Android. IMHO they should either go for Android or for Windows. If they really want Android (Windows Mobile is a little 90s) they could just buy Windows phones from China and rebrand them for their business customers that need Windows Mobile.