US mobile phone manufacturer Motorolahas stated that its focus in 2009 will be on releasing Android smartphones over the course of the year. The company, who just revealed that its mobile phone revenues fell by 51 per cent in the last quarter of 2008, said it plans to improve its prospects by stepping up its Android handset development.
Through these plans, the company could capitalise on the burgeoning success of smartphones and the popularity of mobile applications, like email features and social networking access. It's a market on which the first - and so far only - Android phone, the T-Mobile G1 has already made its mark, since its release in the last quarter of 2008.
Motorola co-CEO Sanjay Jha told Computerworld that Motorola's Android phone would be "lower down in [price] tiers and differentiated" from its competitors, and would "deliver a much more highly integrated social networking experience". He also said: "We are completely committed to making the handset business work. The path we are on is the right path." Motorola's announcement comes just as several other mobile players declare their intentions to release more Android smartphones.
To date, T-Mobile, Samsung and Sony Ericsson all rank among the firms who have thrown their hats into the Android ring for 2009. It also follows two surveys - from the ABI and Juniper Research - which state that smartphones will weather the economic recession in the coming years.
Juniper Research's report - titled "Next Generation Smartphones: Players, Opportunities and Forecasts 2008-2013" - predicts that annual smartphone sales will rise by 95 per cent to over 300 million in 2013, largely due to the popularity of the iPhone and BlackBerry handsets.
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