Interesting numbers from Motorola handset business. Another example of what happens when you stop innovation. Apple has had 10 years of steady innovation. That is not easy to maintain, and why Apple is so great.
Easier said than done. I don’t think you can find evidence of Motorola “stopping innovation” – it’s not a conscious decision any sane manager makes. The process of innovation is harder than it looks.
I’d beg to differ. The RAZR was great hit for them(although the OS sucked), and it stopped there. It took them at least two to three years to come up with newer RAZR. Instead of keeping the RAZR as a high end brand, and releasing subsequent models, they choose to milk it. It went from $600 USD to free with no new releases. Their music phones were also too little too, too late. I think that innovation is up to the managers. The RAZR team was a huge success in it’s inception, just like iPhone team. One of the keys to innovation is the DNA imposed by managers. The lost it really fast, while Apple has been able to keep up with it.
Easier said than done. I don’t think you can find evidence of Motorola “stopping innovation” – it’s not a conscious decision any sane manager makes. The process of innovation is harder than it looks.
Comment by Allan — 10.30.08 @ 8:44 pm
I’d beg to differ. The RAZR was great hit for them(although the OS sucked), and it stopped there. It took them at least two to three years to come up with newer RAZR. Instead of keeping the RAZR as a high end brand, and releasing subsequent models, they choose to milk it. It went from $600 USD to free with no new releases. Their music phones were also too little too, too late. I think that innovation is up to the managers. The RAZR team was a huge success in it’s inception, just like iPhone team. One of the keys to innovation is the DNA imposed by managers. The lost it really fast, while Apple has been able to keep up with it.
Comment by Jonathan Tarud — 10.31.08 @ 12:01 am