My Lowes
Posted by Josh Seidemann on Friday, September 9, 2011 · 
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Responding to Home Depot’s provision of Motorola handheld devices to employees, Lowes is set to issue 42,000 Apple iPhones to its retail staff. Bloomberg news reports the provision of about 25 iPhones per store will supplement the introduction of “MyLowes,” an online tool that will enable customers to access everything from user’s manuals to paint formulas. According to reports, Lowes also plans to add WiFi to in-store locations in order to enable customers to use their smartphones.
The handheld battles are not limited to home improvement stores: Read more
Motorola to Offer Mediaroom Hosting for Small IPTV Providers
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, November 22, 2010 · ·
Starting next year, Motorola announced that it will offer a hosting service for Microsoft’s Mediaroom platform, giving smaller carriers a way to deploy the IPTV middleware without having to also deploy the servers.
“This is a solution primarily aimed at small operators, where you may have a couple thousand, maybe 5,000, subscribers,” Mike Laraia, vice president of sales and services for Motorola Mobility, told Light Reading Cable. “This will let us address the smallest of the small that really want to deploy video.” Read more
Motorola Selects Eden Rock for Rural WiMAX Integrator
Posted by Jesse Ward on Thursday, August 5, 2010 · ·
Motorola has selected Eden Rock Communications to serve as a system integrator for its WiMAX end-to-end, low teledensity (i.e. rural) solutions. Eden Rock will provide system engineering services, integration and testing.
“Motorola’s WiMAX low teledensity solution offers small operators the opportunity to take advantage of the same benefits that larger WiMAX operators have realized for quite some time,” said Chaz Immendorf, president and CEO of Eden Rock Communications. “The services offered by Eden Rock enable smaller operators to create their own ‘virtual 4G technology team,’ leveraging the same support resources as some of Motorola’s largest WiMAX customers.”
Motorola first announced its low-density WiMAX solution back in February. The product line includes a gateway which can serve 24,000 subscribers or fewer and easily scale for larger deployments, and plug-and-play customer premises equipment that Motorola says is designed for “price-sensitive” consumers. Read more
Motorola and Verizon Partner on Tablet for FiOS TV
Posted by Jesse Ward on Thursday, August 5, 2010 · ·
Motorola is collaborating with Verizon on an Android-based digital tablet device that will allow users to watch FiOS television on it, according to a report in the Financial Times that has been widely quoted in other tech media outlets.
The device is said to have a 10-inch screen and is expected to closely tie to Verizon’s FiOS digital pay-TV service. It could launch as early as this fall in the United States. Read more
Cincinnati Bell Offers Whole-Home DVR
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, August 2, 2010 · ·
Cincinnati Bell has joined the whole-home DVR movement, deploying Motorola’s multi-room digital video recorder (MR-DVR) solution to its subscribers.
The MR-DVR solution uses a media software application running on a combination of up to eight DVR and non-DVR DCX all-digital high-definition set-top boxes. The system enables Cincinnati Bell subscribers to pause live TV, record and play back content, and manage their recorded library and DVR settings on any set-top in the home, even if it is not a DVR set-top. Read more
Nokia Siemens Networks to Acquire Certain Wireless Assets of Motorola
Posted by Kevin McGuire on Monday, July 19, 2010 · ·
Nokia Siemens Networks today announced a $1.2B deal in which they will acquire “the majority of Motorola’s wireless network infrastructure assets.” As with acquisitions of this size, it is subject to closing conditions and regulatory approval, but they expect the deal to be done by the end of 2010.
So what does a majority of assets mean? Read more
I Think the Droid X Launched Today
Posted by Kevin McGuire on Thursday, July 15, 2010 · ·
Believe it or not, the Droid X launched today, but the lack of coverage had me wondering if I had my dates confused. You’ll remember that when the iPhone4 reception debacle was first heating up, they took out an ad which fed on those frustrations, stating:
“And most importantly, it comes with a double antenna design. The kind that allows you to hold the phone any way you like and use it just about anywhere to make crystal clear calls.”
Yes, it appeared that Verizon, Google and Motorola were going to monopolize on this infrequent misstep by Apple. But July 15 is here and who’s dominating the media? Why, Apple, of course. A Google search for “Droid X” brings up a paltry 900 or so news articles, while a search for “iPhone4″ yields nearly 5,000. Even CNN.com’s home page has a poll asking users if Apple should recall the iPhone4, and nothing about the Droid. Prominent tech blogs have more coverage on the upcoming press conference than they do on the Droid (Gizmodo has a decent Droid Xreview if you are so inclined).
They say there is no such thing as bad publicity, and while Apple may argue, their issues have overshadowed the launch of a worthy competitor. Perhaps it was by design, and tomorrow they’ll announce free bumpers and a $20 iTunes credit for everyone — knowing that the cost to keep all eyes on them was worth every penny. But just in case, I’m going to stock up on duct tape.