MOTOROLA: Revisiting an Iconic Brand

Lenovo “buries an icon” of the mobile world: on January 8 the Chinese manufacturer, that has owned the Motorola brand since 2014, announced at the CES in Las Vegas that it was discontinuing communications related to the Motorola brand. Let us clarify, however, that Lenovo does not wish to lose the historic brand's reputation, will keep the M logo, and continue to develop the MOTO and VIBE names in relation to the range of smartphones and wearables.

Let us recall that Motorola is THE BRAND that started the mobile phone era, being the company that launched the first mobile phone in 1973, thus taking part in making the mobilephone more democratic. Motorola also dominated the world mobile market until 1997, especially in the US.

At the time of the Motorola purchase from Google in 2014, Lenovo was looking to competewith the two giants - Apple and Samsung by 2020; however, the CES announcement is evidence of a certain strategic failure.

Let us take advantage of this announcement to recap the history of this emblematic brand:

1928: the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation (specializing in electronics and telecommunications) is founded by the Galvin brothers in Chicago

1930: the Motorola brand is registered, and the first car radios are rolled out

1940: the first walkie-talkie is developed; the US Army will be equipped with it during World War II

1947: the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation changes its name and becomes Motorola

1973: the first call is made on a portable wireless phone designed by Martin Cooper

1989: MicroTAC, the smallest and lightest telephone in the market, is released

1993: The StarTAC is released in the US market: it's a huge commercial hit

2004: the release of RAZR, the most popular flip phone in the history of cellular phones

2005: Motorola is named No. 6 by the PC World Magazine in its "50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years" rankings

2006: In July, Motorola announces the shipping of the 50-millionth Razr and becomes No. 1 as the manufacturer of the most popular clamshell phone in the world

2011: Google purchases the Motorola Mobility division for US $12.5 billion

2014: Lenovo purchases Motorola Mobility for US $2.9 billion

Telephones that are Hallmarks of Generations

StarTAC

The StarTAC, Motorola's flagship product and very popular in 1997, contributed to the democratization of the cellular phone with about 60 million units sold. Equipped with a flip system that was both esthetically pleasing and practical, it could claim the privilege of being the smallest phone on sale at the time. The StarTAC was featured in a number of movie classics, such as 8MM with Nicolas Cage. There are as many as a dozen models, including the very famous and rare Rainbow (see below).

StarTAC™ Rainbow

Rolled out in 1997, the StarTAC Rainbow has a one-of-a-kind design some say "Lego" style)which makes it very sought after even today. Way back when, the StarTAC Rainbow cost 2.400 Francs (400 €), a small fortune! Some rare models (there was a range of colors available) make it a true "Geek fashion accessory".

Razr V3

Motorola won the thinnest phone distinction with the Razr V3 which was released in the market in 2004 and became the most popular flip phone in history and the world's No. 1 best seller (130 million units sold between 2004 and 2006). Principal advantages: ultra-thin design (98x53x13.9 mm weighing 95 grams), Bluetooth connectivity, MPEG4 video and MP3 audio playback as well as a 0.3 megapixel digital camera.

ROKR E1

The Rokr E1 was built in collaboration with Apple and released in 2005 at the same time as the iPod Nano. It is equipped with a mobile version of iTunes and was, therefore, referred to as "iPhone"! When the iPhone is announced in January 2007, Apple breaks off its partnership with Motorola.