Motorola

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This article is about the original company prior to its split in 2011. For the present-day companies of this
name, see Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions. For other uses, see Motorola (disambiguation).

Motorola, Inc. (/ˌmoʊtəˈroʊlə/[2]) was an American multinational telecommunications company based

in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded in 1928 as Galvin Manufacturing Corporation by brothers Paul
and Joseph Galvin.[3] The company changed its name to Motorola in 1947.[4] After having lost $4.3
billion from 2007 to 2009, Motorola was split into two independent public companies, Motorola
Mobility and Motorola Solutions, on January 4, 2011.[5] The reorganization was structured with
Motorola Solutions legally succeeding Motorola, Inc., and Motorola Mobility being spun off.[6]

Motorola, Inc.

"Batwing" or "Emsignia" logo introduced in 1955, still in use by successor businesses.

Local branch in Glostrup, Denmark

Formerly

Galvin Manufacturing Corporation (1928–1947)

Company type

Public

Industry

Telecommunications

Founded
 September 25, 1928; 95 years ago

Founders

Paul Galvin

Joseph Galvin

Defunct

January 4, 2011; 13 years ago

Fate

Split into Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions

Successors

Motorola Mobility

Motorola Solutions

Freescale Semiconductor

ON Semiconductor

Arris Group (General Instrument)

Cambium Networks

Headquarters

Schaumburg, Illinois, U.S.

Area served

Worldwide

Products

Tablet computers

Mobile phones
Smartphones

Two-way radios

Networking systems

Cable television systems

Wireless broadband networks

RFID systems

Mobile telephone infrastructure

Number of employees

53,000 (2010)[1]

Divisions

Mobile Devices

Home & Networks Mobility

Enterprise Mobility Solutions

Website

www.motorola.com (archived December 31, 2010)

Motorola designed and sold wireless network equipment such as cellular transmission base stations and
signal amplifiers. Motorola's home and broadcast network products included set-top boxes, digital video
recorders, and network equipment used to enable video broadcasting, computer telephony, and high-
definition television. Its business and government customers consisted mainly of wireless voice and
broadband systems (used to build private networks), and public safety communications systems like
Astro and Dimetra. These businesses, except for set-top boxes and cable modems, became part of
Motorola Solutions.

Motorola's wireless telephone handset division was a pioneer in cellular telephones. Also known as the
Personal Communication Sector (PCS) prior to 2004, it pioneered the "mobile phone" with the first truly
mobile "brick phone" DynaTAC, "flip phone" with the MicroTAC as well as the "clam phone" with the
StarTAC in the mid-1990s. It had staged a resurgence by the mid-2000s with the RAZR, but lost market
share in the second half of that decade. Later it focused on smartphones using Google's open-source
Android mobile operating system. The first phone to use Android 2.0 "Eclair", the Motorola Droid, was
released in 2009 (the GSM version launched a month later, in Europe, as the Motorola Milestone).[7][8]
The handset division, along with the cable set-top box and modem businesses, were later spun off into
Motorola Mobility.

History edit

Motorola was founded in Chicago, Illinois, as Galvin Manufacturing Corporation (at 847 West Harrison
Street)[9] in 1928.

Paul Galvin wanted a brand name for Galvin Manufacturing Corporation's new car radio, and created
the name "Motorola" by linking "motor" (for motorcar) with "ola" (from Victrola), which was also a
popular ending for many companies at the time, e.g. Moviola, Crayola.[10] The company sold its first
Motorola branded radio on June 23, 1930, to Herbert C. Wall of Fort Wayne, Indiana, for $30.[11][12]
The Motorola brand name became so well known that Galvin Manufacturing Corporation later changed
its name to Motorola, Inc., in 1947.[4][3]

Galvin Manufacturing Corporation began selling Motorola car-radio receivers to police departments and
municipalities in November 1930. The company's first public safety customers (all in the U.S. state of
Illinois) included the Village of River Forest, Village of Bellwood Police Department, City of Evanston
Police, Illinois State Highway Police, and Cook County (Chicago area) Police.[13]

Many of Motorola's products have been radio-related, starting with a battery eliminator for battery
powered radios (during the burgeoning electrification of rural homes), through the first hand-held
walkie-talkie in the world in 1940,[14] defense electronics, cellular infrastructure equipment, and mobile
phone manufacturing. In the same year, the company built its research and development program with
Dan Noble, a pioneer in FM radio and semiconductor technologies, who joined the company as director
of research. The company produced the hand-held AM SCR-536 radio during World War II, which was
vital to Allied communication. Motorola ranked 94th among United States corporations in the value of
World War II military production contracts.[15]

Motorola went public in 1943,[16] and became Motorola, Inc. in 1947. At that time Motorola's main
business was producing and selling televisions and radios.

Post World War II edit

Motorola vacuum tube carton

The last plant was listed in Quincy, Illinois at 1400 North 30th Street where 1,200 employees made radio
assemblies for both homes and automobiles.[17]

In 1969, Neil Armstrong spoke the famous words "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for
mankind" from the Moon on a Motorola transceiver.[18]

In 1973, Motorola demonstrated the first hand-held portable telephone.[19]

In 1974, Motorola introduced its first microprocessor, the 8-bit MC6800, used in automotive, computing
and video game applications.[20] The 6800 was the basis for the more popular MOS Technology 6502
which was made by former Motorola employees. That same year, Motorola sold its television business
to the Japan-based Matsushita – the parent company of Panasonic.

In 1980, Motorola's next generation 32-bit microprocessor, the MC68000, led the wave of technologies
that spurred the computing revolution in 1984, powering devices from companies such as Apple,
Commodore, Atari, Sun, and Hewlett-Packard.[21]