Looks like there will be more motorola's coming this way

[vikingjunior]

We will be seeing alot more motorola in the near future, and hopes of getting to PTT nextel, end of 2006 that is along time.
Motorola Bets on High-Speed Services for Sprint
Wed Dec 22, 2004 05:16 PM ET reuters

By Deborah Cohen
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Motorola Inc. (MOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is betting it can win more business from U.S. mobile phone company Sprint Corp. (FON.N: Quote, Profile, Research) as a result of Sprint's planned takeover of Nextel Communications Inc. (NXTL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) , Motorola's chief strategist said.

Motorola's share price suffered in recent weeks on concern the planned 2005 merger would threaten the company's exclusive supplier relationship with Nextel. Motorola, the world's No. 3 cell-phone maker, is Nextel's supplier for a cellular technology known as iDEN which includes walkie-talkie-style communication; it also makes most of Nextel's handsets.

Sprint and Nextel announced their planned $36.3 billion merger, which had been widely expected, on Dec. 15.

Motorola, which has had a tough time selling its cell phones to Sprint, rejects the notion that the deal will have a negative impact. It recently won a $450 million contract to build Sprint infrastructure, including base stations, software and wireless technology.

"I view this as a very big opportunity, an opportunity to have more traction with Sprint," Richard Nottenburg, the company's chief strategy officer, told Reuters in an interview earlier this week.

Motorola is currently developing phones that will work on Sprint's network, which runs on a widely used technology known as CDMA, as well as Nextel's iDEN.

Nottenburg wouldn't estimate a time frame for the dual-mode phones, but Nextel said it hopes to have the phones available by the end of 2006.

By far the biggest chance for Motorola to win new business at Sprint will be the development of new products for future high-speed networks, Nottenburg said.

"What's in this deal for Motorola is that they'll continue to participate ... beyond 3G (third-generation high-speed wireless data services) -- that's really the pony here for us," he said.

HIGH SPEED

Beginning next year, Sprint is planning to install a technology known as EV-DO on its national cellular network. Motorola sees potential for growth with additional high-speed services that Sprint could develop.

Along with the wireless airwaves Sprint and Nextel use for their cellular services, both companies own airwaves spanning much of the country in the 2.5 Gigahertz frequency band.

They have not said what they plan to do with this spectrum after the merger, but Sprint has said in the past it might use its 2.5 GHz spectrum for a future generation of high-speed services covering metropolitan areas.

It has said it would consider using the WiMax standard. Motorola is working on developing a mobile version of the long-range wireless WiMax technology, and hopes its history with Nextel will give it a leg up in supplying Sprint with this technology, Nottenburg said.

"We have the opportunity because iDEN provides incumbency," he said. "We helped them create their business."

He also believes Wall Street has been too dismissive of the investment that Nextel has made in iDEN, a technology he predicts will have staying power beyond 2008. Nextel said it could potentially continue using iDEN beyond that time frame, but has not yet made a decision.

The technology has helped Nextel develop a loyal following among lucrative business customers such as government agencies and construction and transport companies.

"You don't just rip an infrastructure out overnight," Nottenburg said. "The iDEN infrastructure could have significant value even going far into the future."

Motorola shares ended 13 cents higher at $17.44 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday. (With Sinead Carew in New York)

© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved. (Article)

Feel free to move to the merger section.

[tuolumne]

Yeah, it was said in the press merger anouncement that Motorola was in the process of creating a hybrid device...

[vikingjunior]

Yeah, it was said in the press merger anouncement that Motorola was in the process of creating a hybrid device...


Is samsung getting down with the hybrid thing.

[Deval]

doubt it...moto always makes iDEN phones

[tuolumne]

Is samsung getting down with the hybrid thing.

A hybrid Bluetooth + wifi phone, yes...i730

[Deval]

not CDMA + iDEN, which the article was refering to

[tuolumne]

not CDMA + iDEN, which the article was refering to

Nevertheless, the Samsung i730 will have BT + wifi, QVGA screen, SDIO support, slide out keyboard, megapixle camera, stereo speakers, and WM 2003 2nd edition...

GET IT SPRINT!

[Deval]

ok back to real topic...yeah I think in a year or so, we will see a phone like that

[tuolumne]

ok back to real topic...yeah I think in a year or so, we will see a phone like that

I want to see a Pantech phone on Sprint...Maybe a Hyundai :confused:

[macaddiict]

I'd sure like to see more Motorolas down the road. I'm not a fan of their interface, but if they get some iTunes interoperability I'd be drooling...

[bluecoyote]

I'm curious to see what the iTunes phone looks like.

[Jaggrey]

I'm curious to see what the iTunes phone looks like.
That would be huge if that made it to Sprint.

[tuolumne]

That would be huge if that made it to Sprint.

keep dreamin'

[Chris4434]

since motorola is going to be providing a lot of the new sprint/nextels phones... i wonder what this means for sayno? maybe they will start to produce phones for other companies.

[tuolumne]

since motorola is going to be providing a lot of the new sprint/nextels phones... i wonder what this means for sayno? maybe they will start to produce phones for other companies.

I don't see how they could survive in the US market if they don't start...Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, and LG all make phones for the other US carriers including SPCS at an equal level to Sanyo (Samsung). Sanyo is stuck only to Sprint in North America, which doesn't seem a ver desirable place to be with this merger comming up...

[bluecoyote]

I think Sanyo is just fine where they're at. Sanyo has a solid reputation with Sprint PCS. I'd rather buy a Sanyo than an LG.

[Floyd]

I would rather have a Sanyo then a Motorola any day of the week. Had a V60 when I was with Verizon and that phone was crap

[Andy769]

Ill stick with sanyo for life ever since owning the moto t720 and just recently the moto mpx220, which caused me a huge headache of switching back and forth from cingular to sprint, caused me to lose my old plan, and caused me to lose my number, but thats a story for another thread. Im following sanyo wherever they go. After the mpx, I promised myself that I will never own another motorola again.

[tuolumne]

I think Sanyo is just fine where they're at. Sanyo has a solid reputation with Sprint PCS. I'd rather buy a Sanyo than an LG.

But if Sanyo wants to expand their CDMA North American operations, Sprint can't be the only provider they have a presence at...

[bluecoyote]

You don't think Sprint-nextel's larger customer base is enough to satiate them?

That said, not ALL Motorola phones are crap- just a lot of them are. I have an i860 and an i730 and think they're wonderful- the all-metal construction is slick. I've heard nothing but praise over the V3, which puts the 10-times-more-expensive Mobiados and Vertus to shame.

Every manufacturer (except Nokia, it seems) has a certain percentage of bad phones. Look at Samsung with the N400 and A680. Look at Sanyo and the 4900. Look at LG and the G4050, and their lower-end ones right now Cingular sells.

[Jaggrey]

What happened with Sanyo and the 4900s?

[hmouta]

Ill stick with sanyo for life ever since owning the moto t720 and just recently the moto mpx220, which caused me a huge headache of switching back and forth from cingular to sprint, caused me to lose my old plan, and caused me to lose my number, but thats a story for another thread. Im following sanyo wherever they go. After the mpx, I promised myself that I will never own another motorola again.

what was the problem with cingular and the mpx220. i've been kinda eyeing it so i'd like to hear your personal experience. why did u lose your number? didnt u port it?

[fatboy]

I for one can't wait to say Hello Moto :p

[tuolumne]

You don't think Sprint-nextel's larger customer base is enough to satiate them?

That said, not ALL Motorola phones are crap- just a lot of them are. I have an i860 and an i730 and think they're wonderful- the all-metal construction is slick. I've heard nothing but praise over the V3, which puts the 10-times-more-expensive Mobiados and Vertus to shame.

Every manufacturer (except Nokia, it seems) has a certain percentage of bad phones. Look at Samsung with the N400 and A680. Look at Sanyo and the 4900. Look at LG and the G4050, and their lower-end ones right now Cingular sells.

What happened with the A680...?

[Deval]

the ringer speaker blew out, video sucks

[RattDawg]

the ringer speaker blew out, video sucks
I second that

[c1971ace]

What happened with Sanyo and the 4900s?


Yeah really....i have two of them and no problems with them....

[NocTurnerV]

what was the problem with cingular and the mpx220. i've been kinda eyeing it so i'd like to hear your personal experience.

It's got *lots* of problems...working for Cingular, I can attest to seeing several come back for very screwy software/firmware issues, which is eerily similar to what happened to the MPX200 back when we were AT&T Wireless. The MPX220 has had a host of issues just getting to market, with a bona-fide product recall about a month ago, if that tells you anything.

I like my company and all, but this phone is just not market-ready, and it's obvious once you actually use it.

[Deval]

I second that

yeah, not to say its a bad phone, but that kinda sucks about the phone...i see them returned daily

[Jaggrey]

I second that
I 3rd it!!!

[Deval]

yeah jag...that was like what? 4 replacements?

[bluecoyote]

The A680 - bad battery life, crummy ringer speaker, useless web browser, dissapointing inner screen.

My friend bought a 4900 back in the day I had my Nokia 3360. The 4900 was a painfully slow phone- he downloaded a colour version of the Space Impact game I had on my phone, and he could barely run it. Sound quality was terrible, as was his reception- he'd be down to 1 bar in my house, and would miss calls when it was in his pocket, where I walked around with full signal. My Toshiba gets 3 bars. Bars aren't scientific, but missed calls are missed calls.

Just a phone that was frustrating to use on either end. Didn't perform nearly as well as a cheap Nokia.

[tuolumne]

The A680 - bad battery life, crummy ringer speaker, useless web browser, dissapointing inner screen.



I could come up with a list for any phone Sprint sells that long...the real truth is that no manufacture, including Samsung have ever made an all perfect phone

[tuolumne]

I 3rd it!!!

Jagg...get a good avatar! That great A680 one will be dearly missed :joy:

[bluecoyote]

I could come up with a list for any phone Sprint sells that long...the real truth is that no manufacture, including Samsung have ever made an all perfect phone

You could, except the battery life was atrocious. A blown ringer speaker significantly kills the usefulness of the phone, as well. While phones such as the Toshiba VM4050 have their own shortcomings (35kb cache) , none seriously functionally impair the phone, and the phones excel enough in other areas to make up for it- where the Samsung A680 didn't (unless you just go nuts over size.. which was a moot point if you bought the extended battery.)

[Jaggrey]

yeah jag...that was like what? 4 replacements?
sure was.... dam samsung :mad:

[Jaggrey]

Jagg...get a good avatar! That great A680 one will be dearly missed :joy:
yea i'm not too fond of this avatar... just something to have til i get the accessory faceplates for the 7400 :D Gotta have that blue!

I won't be missing the A680... it gave me more grief than good times. 4 replacements is not cool at all. The A700 was cool too when it wasn't freezing.

[tuolumne]

You could, except the battery life was atrocious. A blown ringer speaker significantly kills the usefulness of the phone, as well. While phones such as the Toshiba VM4050 have their own shortcomings (35kb cache) , none seriously functionally impair the phone, and the phones excel enough in other areas to make up for it- where the Samsung A680 didn't (unless you just go nuts over size.. which was a moot point if you bought the extended battery.)

Samsung A680 is a phone that no other manufacture will emulate (sp) in the future...Can you see Sanyo or Toshiba with the huge ungodly devices they manufacture, make something so sexy, small and feature packed...? No...

A740 fixes all of the A680's problems

[tuolumne]

yea i'm not too fond of this avatar... just something to have til i get the accessory faceplates for the 7400 :D Gotta have that blue!

I won't be missing the A680... it gave me more grief than good times. 4 replacements is not cool at all. The A700 was cool too when it wasn't freezing.

*cough*Nicer UI, clearer *cough* earpeice*cough*

[Jaggrey]

*cough*Nicer UI, clearer *cough* earpeice*cough*
*cough*useless if the phone is frozen*cough*

[tuolumne]

*cough*useless if the phone is frozen*cough*

*cough* warantee replacement *cough*

[Halo2Proz]

yeah but how many need to replaced? I would take 1 solid Sanyo over 4 "clearer earpieced" Samsungs

[Jaggrey]

yeah but how many need to replaced? I would take 1 solid Sanyo over 4 "clearer earpieced" Samsungs
ditto. Maybe u have the time to go to the Sprint store on a weekly basis for warranty replacements but I sure don't.

[Halo2Proz]

exactly...I deal with them on the other side of the counter

[bluecoyote]

exactly...I deal with them on the other side of the counter

To be fair...

1) My sister has exchanged her 8200 a dizzying amount of times. It is NOT a solid phone. I've even witnessed its defects.

2) My mom's A700 is a great little (big) phone. She loves it, and it gives her little problems. It's a great phone for technophobes who still want a lot of features. It does not freeze on her at all.

3) My Toshiba has a better earpiece and mic than both IMO. It also gives me little fuss. While it has its quirks, none of them are serious (I've never had a "redialing" bug, nor has the phone randomly shut off like hers did.)

[tuolumne]

yeah but how many need to replaced? I would take 1 solid Sanyo over 4 "clearer earpieced" Samsungs

And the 5500...? All phones have their fualts..