Live from Motorola's Android announcement at Mobilize 09
We're at GigaOM's Mobilize conference today, where Motorola and CEO Sanjay Jha has come to reveal (or so we hope, anyway) its first volley of Android hardware -- hardware that could very well make or break the company. Follow the break for all the action live and in full color!
11:11AM And that's all she wrote!
11:11AM Everying Jha is saying leads to the same conclusion: this is Motorola's near-singular way forward. He's amped about delivering additional Android phones before the year's over and a lot more stuff in 2010.
11:09AM Jha: "Over the past year, I've been preoccupied trying to improve Motorola phones, because they've needed improvement."
11:08AM Om's asking whether Android or iPhone OS came first. "You know, I have no idea." We believe him, too.
11:06AM Rubin's talking up the fact that Android's serving as a foundation here, not an endgame -- he seems genuinely pleased at the way that Android is already giving rise to skins and code forks. We're wary, but there's no question BLUR's beautiful.
11:05AM "One of the competitive advantages we see for ourselves is that we do both hardware and software."
11:04AM On the product bringing Moto back from the brink: "It's a start. Is this phone the make or break point? No." Jha says this is a starting point, the beginning of a volley over the next 12-18 months.
11:02AM Wow! Jha talking about Motorola's relationship with Google and Rubin: "Two drunks finding each other in a bar and realizing the other was the only solution they had." Not sure that's what he really meant.
11:00AM Jha, holding the Click: "I can't imagine that in 5 to 7 years time, people don't view this as their primary computing device."
10:58AM Rubin on the disruptive nature of personalized phones like the Click and other Android phones: "This is Moore's Law applied to something very personal that you can carry around with you 8, 10 hours a day."
10:55AM Om's asking about the definition of a smartphone; Jha thinks that it has to do with a great, rich browser to start. We'd agree.
10:54AM Om Malik's playing with the Click. Lucky!
10:54AM Q&A time in the form of a "fireside chat" with Andy Rubin and Jha once again. This should be good.
10:53AM That's all from Jha!
10:52AM Click coming internationally as the DEXT on Orange, America Movil, and Telefonica!
10:52AM Jha says they're taking the Click and MOTOBLUR "global" with more announcements in 2010.
10:51AM "Best-in-class HTML browser."
10:51AM Spec time: 3G, WiFi, 5 megapixel camera with 24fps video, 3.5mm headphone jack.
10:50AM That's it for Cole -- he's stepping off the stage. Sanjay's thanking him for his efforts.
10:49AM Click coming in the fourth quarter in two colors: Winter White and Titanium.
10:48AM "Our customers text message more than any other carriers' customers in the world." Wow.
10:47AM From what we're seeing so far, the Click is way more attractive than the Morrison prototypes. We're not hearing sighs of relief in the room, but you can sense them.
10:46AM He's mentioning T-Mobile's rich tech history with the Sidekick, the G1, WiFi calling, and now, the Click. Hallowed company there.
10:45AM It'll be available in time for the holidays, and it's a T-Mobile exclusive. "The first phone with social skills."
10:45AM The Motorola Click has been announced for T-Mobile!
10:44AM Cole Brodman, CTO of T-Mobile, is taking the stage!
10:44AM "MOTOBLUR servers" were just mentioned -- like Palm with the Palm Profile, this is going to require some cloud stuff on Moto's end, it seems.
10:43AM Remote wipe! Sounds enterprise-y, but obviously, this is useful to everyone.
10:43AM As you might imagine, MOTOBLUR aggregates contacts as well. You can see status updates when they call -- think of it like a dynamic photo caller ID. Very cool.
10:42AM Messages can be browsed in an aggregated view across sources, or by account. It's like Synergy... but, you know, for Android. And seemingly more functional.
10:41AM Now we're seeing a messages widget, which really looks the same as the status widget -- it's just got messages instead of status updates.
10:40AM Now we're seeing a widget that allows you to flick through recent status updates from friends. You can tap it and reply to the update that's currently showing.
10:40AM Demo time! Social status widget on the home screen -- it can update all of your statuses at once, regardless of site. You can also update statuses individually.
10:39AM We've gotta say, this is giving Sense a run for its money visually.
10:39AM "It comes with built-in live widgets that bring the content you want forward."
10:38AM "MOTOBLUR syncs emails, contacts, photos from sources like MySpace, corporate email, Gmail, and serves it up on the home screen just the way you want it."
10:37AM Sounds like Moto Blur is the tradename for Moto's skin. Looking good so far.
10:37AM Moto Blur - Motorola's solution to many email addresses and social networking accounts!
10:36AM He's hanging on the social networking stuff -- there must be a TON of social integration in this Android shell we're about to see.
10:35AM "In the coming weeks, I'll be showing with you a second device" that'll be available in time for the holiday season! The Sholes, maybe?
10:34AM "In a few minutes, I'll be showing you a new, differentiated smartphone."
10:34AM Consumers are "overwhelmed" by smartphone capabilites; they want to be able to choose just the features they want depending on who they are and what they're doing.
10:33AM He's really driving home the importance of multithreading. We remember the subtle iPhone digs at the Pre announcement, and it's happening again here. Zing! Zing! Zing!
10:33AM A "Multi-threaded, multi-tasking graphical OS" is critical to smartphones, and he says that Android fits the bill.
10:32AM "Smartphones are the background upon which mobilization of the internet will occur." He's lamenting the fact that there's no standard definition of "smartphone" (we can say conclusively the RAZR isn't included, but yes, we agree).
10:31AM Jha's suggesting that communication is moving from "one to one" to "one to many" -- a shift from SMS and the like to social networks. Given the rumors that Moto's Android effort is going to be social-focused, we see where this is going.
10:30AM He's talking some really incredible numbers regarding adoption of mobile internet use over the past year -- and as we're sure he knows well, Moto's been missing out on that trend.
10:29AM "500K is a good working number" for mobile broadband. We'd like more, of course, but we'll take what we can get.
10:29AM "During the last year or so, we've seen tremendous change in the mobile industry." The biggest, he says, could be ubiquitous mobile broadband.
10:28AM Says Jha: "Good morning, everyone. GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE!"
10:28AM Introducing Sanjay Jha!
10:27AM jkOnTheRun's Kevin Tofel is taking the stage -- things are getting underway.
10:22AM No mood music, stylized photos projected onto the wall, or intimate lighting, but there's still an electricity in the air -- people are amped. No sign of Jha yet.
10:05AM We're seated way, way early, and it's a full (albeit small) house. We've heard rumors that there are over 200 members of the press on hand to cover this thing, so we're guessing this is big. Either that, or you're going to see one of those ultra-rare media riots -- laptops being swung like maces, notepads flying everywhere, utter bedlam.
