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Times are tough. Especially so for once-giant phone maker Motorola. Facing economic slowdowns and a softening mobile phone market, Motorola previously announced that the company is preparing to lay off some 4,000 employees in 2009. The company is apparently kicking things off with the announcement that 77 employees at Motorola’s Plantation, Florida development facility will be getting their pink slips on March 27.
Motorola has also announced that it will be ceasing new Windows Mobile development at the facility. The news fuels speculation that Motorola will shift it’s focus from the Windows Mobile platform to the open-source (and free!) Android OS. Motorola recently boosted its Android development-squad, so it’s clear that Android smartphones are in store for Motorola’s future, but Motorola has denied that it will be ditching Windows Mobile altogether. Still, Motorola move to cease WinMo development at its Plantation facility is somewhat telling of the company’s direction.
Motorola’s move to the Android platform for its smartphone portfolio could result in significant savings on Windows Mobile licensing fees. But, will be be enough to save the company?
[Via: WMPowerUser]
About The Author
Will Park
Will hails from The City of Angels - Los Angeles, California. He spends his time playing with his numerous gadgets and looking forward to seeing what future holds for mobile technology. An avid promoter of a fully "digital" life, he promotes the widespread adoption of truly mobile, paper-less living. He dreams of the day when he can go completely digital. No more snail mail, paper receipts, bound books, notepads/spiral notebooks, credit cards, hard currency. He's a digital warrior - fighting for the converged life. He is an idealist and a realist - he has a perfect view of what the world should be but knows that the world is not perfect. Can we ever hope to see Will's dream become reality? We'll see...
