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Supplier's Voice: For Motorola, Success is a Four-Letter Word
By James Burke
More than 20 years ago, Motorola introduced the world’s first commercial portable cellular phone — the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x. Weighing in at two pounds, the DynaTAC was quickly dubbed “The Brick” and sold for a hefty $3,995. Yet consumers lined up in droves to own this mobile luxury, marking the start of the mobile technology boom.
Fast forward to 2006, where the number of global wireless subscribers has grown from approximately 300,000 in 1984 to more than 1.2 billion, and mobile phones have morphed from extravagance to convenience and from necessity to accessory. Whether thin, oval or built-in to your clothing, today’s mobile phone is the new American Express card — no one leaves home without it. With a long history of developing groundbreaking products — including the number-one selling phone of all time, the Motorola StarTAC, and the super-slim RAZR, which has become a household name and sold over 12.5 billion phones in less than one year — Motorola has built a reputation as the industry leader in mobile phone design.
But in the $400 billion a year telecommunications industry, how does Motorola
continue to break through the clutter, delivering iconic products for consumers, ranging from the fashion-conscious to the technosavvy? With a passion for understanding consumers and a commitment to delivering the experiences that different groups value in their devices. This vision illustrates Motorola’s philosophy about what it means to be “premium,” ensuring that the company delivers bestin- class products that also satisfy consumer demand. And, it’s about more than just features crammed into a phone.
Motorola also focuses on the user and getting the experience right first — functionality and design working together to create a “must have” product. The Motorola PEBL, launched late last year, delivers a Zenlike simplicity and feel, yet still delivers industry-leading capabilities in a comfortable, non-intimidating way. Motorola’s Q, hitting shelves soon, is a very different product, delivering a best-in-class productivity experience for unapologetic techno-enthusiasts. The
designs of these two models exemplify Motorola’s design ethos, but each user experience will be very different because the priorities for the people who purchase the products are different.
Challenges
The primary challenge that any phone manufacturer faces is creating a handset that provides the best voice and communication experiences. After all, it is a communication device, first and foremost.
