03 Feb 2008 0924H

Motorola may get out of cellphone biz

Read this in the Trib the other day. Given how hard this stuff is to do, it isn’t surprising that they lost their way. I was cautiously optimistic when their ex-CEO Ed Zander said the way forward was more RAZRs, but, because their culture is both behind and unlike Apple’s, Motorola failed to fix existing problems, look for new opportunities, and generate innovative product. They seemed almost locked on the surface of the solution — different shapes, sizes, and colors — instead of thinking about how the cellphone or other devices like it fit into the lives of different groups of people and monetizing those relationships. By that point, of course, everyone who wanted a Razr already had one and the product had commodified itself out of competition. Sad, but it is so often the case that real design begins with solutions to problems — functions, not forms. Had they taken that tack, perhaps they would have out-iPhoned the iPhone by now.

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