Motorola said on Wednesday [2 Apr 2008] it will stop making mobile phones in Singapore by the end of the year, a move that will result in the loss of 700 jobs. The U.S. firm will continue to base its headquarters for Asia-Pacific in Singapore where it also has units engaged in research and software development. Motorola had said last week that it would split into two publicly traded entities in 2009 to separate its money-losing handset division from the rest of the business which makes devices including television set top boxes and network equipment.
- Motorola has had a troubled history with its mobile phone division and never really had a follow-up hit to its Razr, which was a very good update of its previous hit, the Motorola StarTac. The StarTac CDMA was my first "real" mobile phone, having used the disastrously limited "Zone Phone" before that. It has been Nokia for me all the way since, and today I continue with my preference for the "slim and lean" design with my Nokia E51.