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Wednesday January 24, 2007
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Motorola cut 3,500 jobs recently on declining profits, because RAZRs now sell for $1.99 with three Cap'n Crunch proofs of purchase. The company's reliance on the now-tired RAZR's success leaves it wobbly, and leaves anyone interested in phones wondering what's next.
Where's the SCPL, guys?
The SCPL - or "Scalpel" for people who like vowels - is Motorola's radical new platform. Last July, Motorola executives described phones with dual antennas that push reception to new heights, super-loud speakers borrowed from their Nextel models, and possibly even a new Linux-based operating system. The SCPL line would include low-end phones, high-end phones and smart devices. More information would come at the CES and 3GSM trade shows in January and February, they said.
But nothing appeared at CES, and I'm still vainly trying to figure out if Motorola will announce anything radical at 3GSM. Instead, the only "new ideas" we have from Motorola so far this year fit into three categories: tired, evolutionary and limited-release.
Tired: The Motorola KRZRs for Sprint and Verizon haven't thrilled people the way the RAZR did, maybe because they're basically a RAZR in a different case. The new SLVR for Sprint is definitely more powerful than the original SLVR, but you just can't shake the fact that it looks exactly like a year-old phone.
Evolutionary: At CES we saw some more RIZRs, a Motorola slider that hasn't yet come to the US. But the RIZR is like the KRZR -- a filling-in-the-blanks member of the RAZR family in a new form factor, not a genuinely fresh idea.
Limited release: And then you have the MOTOFONE, the first SCPL. I hear it's full of amazing new technologies, and sells for a radically low price. I "hear," because it's only available in India. I've also heard some interesting things about new Linux-based ROKR music phones, but they're not available in North America either.
For innovators to continue to lead, they need to keep innovating. What's funny - funny sad, not funny ha-ha - about Motorola's momentary troubles is that they have already set out their own solution. They've revolutionized the mobile phone world several times before, with the original brick phone, the first flip phone and the RAZR. But they need to act fast to whip out the SCPL, or they'll be seeing more cuts. I'm hoping to see some good news from them at 3GSM in Barcelona, where I'll be from February 12 to 14.
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January 24, 2007 2:55 PM
Man, my Cheerios give me nothing.
January 25, 2007 11:49 AM
Nothin' in my oatmeal this morning, either. I feel cheated.