People mock American cars for poor engineering, but there’s no mocking their mobiles. Motorola mixes with the best the Finns and the Japanese have to offer.
Click through to find out how it became the third biggest handset seller in the world, and which innovations and handsets propelled Motorola into the mobile blower big leagues.
Founded: 1928
How Motorola started out
Motorola began as Chicago based company Galvin Manufacturing Corporation as a radio and communications pioneer. Its success with two ray radios turned to in-car telephones by the mid-twentieth century, and by 1973, Motorola had invented the first portable phone prototype. Called the DynaTAC 8000X, it didn’t go on sale for another ten years, but it was still the world’s first commercial cellular phone on launch.
What it does now
Motorola lost its early lead in the market during the late 1990s as Nokia’s phones became more user friendly, but bounced back in the early 2000s with its v series of handsets, incorporating new technology such as colour screens and integrated cameras. It struck a goldmine in 2004 though with the release of the first super-thin RAZR phone, the RAZR V3. A storming success helped in no small part by a David Beckham marketing campaign, the clam shell design has gone on to influence almost every Motorola model since, from the SLVR to the PEBL.
Key innovations
First past the post - Motorola was the first company to sell cellphones on a large scale. It’s used its reputation as a trendsetter to good effect ever since.
Hello Moto - Motorola’s user-friendly revamp circa 2002 helped bring customers flocking back.
Pocket size - The first RAZR’s key selling point was that it combined style with a slimline design. Motorola’s been working off that principle ever since.
Milestone handsets
Motorola DynaTAC 8000X
Launch date: 1983
It’s the size and weight of a brick, but also the world’s first phone that didn’t need to be plugged in.
Motorola RAZR V3
Launch date: 2004
This sexy flip phone revitalized Motorola’s mobile division.
Motorola Z3
Launch date: 2006
A slide out rather than a clamshell, but incorporating all of the style of a RAZR still.
Motorola RAZR2 V8
Launch date: 2007
Despite being anorexic thin (but far more attractive), the V8 manages to squeeze in an external colour screen too without chundering.
Motorola Z10
Launch date: 2008
A slick smartphone update to the Z series that’s more like a cradle than a slider, to better fit your face when talking.
See all Motorola phones available on The Link >>
Check out the evolution of Motorola mobiles in our gallery below >>
100% secured payment
