Motorola Betting Big On Google's Android To Take On Apple, Rivals

Ed: Motorola, Nokia, Sony, Samsung, and the Taiwan companies need to learn that the cell phone is no longer just a low-price, hardware business. 

• Companies like Apple, RIM, and Palm have converted into an integrated SaaS offering. 
• It won't be long before web 2.0 tools for social media become a necessary part of the business. 
• Microsoft will enter, when it is too late to build.

Entrepreneurs, ramp up and get sold. 

Motorola Betting Big On Google's Android To Take On Apple, Rivals

Motorola (MOT) continues to overhaul its depleted cellphone division under new CEO Sanjay Jha, who came over from Qualcomm (QCOM) this summer. Among the big changes, which the Wall Street Journal says could be detailed during the company's Q3 earnings call Thursday morning:

• Thousands of layoffs.
  
• A new mobile phone strategy that includes betting big on Google's (GOOG) Android mobile operating system.

The Journal says Motorola will stop working on several mobile operating systems (and could cancel dozens of phone designs) to focus on three platforms: Android for consumer-focused phones, Microsoft's Windows Mobile for business-focused phones, and an internal platform for lower-end phones.

This sounds smart to us. Android, while not as elegant as Apple's industry-best iPhone software, is equally as powerful -- and with some software and user interface updates, matched with good hardware, could be a strong mobile platform. (Certainly as good or better than anything else Motorola has shipped recently.) Windows Mobile needs work, but it can handle enterprise stuff pretty well, which Android doesn't yet.

One thing that could be tricky to juggle: Making Motorola's flavor of Android unique (and good) enough that its phones don't simply become a hardware commodity, while still allowing them to run apps designed for other Android phones.

What this also means: AT&T (T) and Verizon Wireless (VZ), the two biggest U.S. wireless carriers, will eventually have to suck it up and start selling Google-powered phones. So far no. 4 T-Mobile (DT) is the only U.S. carrier to sell an Android phone, while no. 3 Sprint Nextel (S) eagerly awaits theirs.

Motorola Speed Dials Cell Overhaul

New Mobile Chief Plans to Slash More Jobs, Focus on Google Software to Simplify Design and Cut Costs

By SARA SILVER

Motorola Inc.'s new cellphone chief is moving quickly to scale back the struggling division, simplifying the way it makes devices and cutting additional jobs.

Sanjay Jha, who also became Motorola's co-chief executive in August, has decided to focus on Google Inc.'s Android operating system as the software platform for Motorola's showcase phones, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mr. Jha is expected to detail his plans -- which will likely include thousands of layoffs -- as early as Thursday when the company reports earnings, these people said.

The company has announced 10,000 job cuts since early last year. Motorola ...

Will Motorola Go All-In On Android? It Has No Other Choice.

Motorola’s new co-CEO Sanjay Jha has a plan to save the beleaguered mobile handset maker: go all-in on Google’s Android mobile operating system. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal (behind the pay wall):

Sanjay Jha, who also became Motorola’s co-chief executive in August, has decided to focus on Google Inc.’s Android operating system as the software platform for Motorola’s showcase phones, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mr. Jha is expected to detail his plans — which will likely include thousands of layoffs — as early as Thursday when the company reports earnings, these people said.

The rumor is that Motorola will focus all of its efforts around three core operating systems for its phones, with Android becoming the central platform for “mid-tier” phones with Internet capability. The other two operating systems it will support will be Windows Mobile on the high end and its own P2K on the low end. In other words, Android phones will become its bread and butter.

Given this potential strategy, the 350-person Android team that Motorola is recruiting while it considers another massive round of layoffs elsewhere makes more sense. It’s Android-powered social networking phone looks like it will be the first of a long line of Internet-capable phones.

Betting the farm on Android would be a gutsy move, as it is still an unproven operating system. And, as Om points out, it could be too little, too late for Motorola’s cell phone business, which has not turned a profit since late 2006...

Economic downturn benefits budget travel and cruises

Ed: Luxury travel? Wait for the October report!

Economic downturn benefits budget travel and cruises

UK Internet traffic to travel websites fell by 4.6% between September 2007 and September 2008, but certain sectors are thriving despite, or in some cases because of, the squeeze on household budgets. UK Internet visits to a Hitwise custom category of budget travel firms increased by 5.3% between September 2007 and 2008. The top 10 budget travel companies in the UK accounted for 7.1% of traffic to Travel websites in September 2008, up from 6.4% the previous year.

EasyJet had the most popular budget travel website in the UK during September, accounting for 1.7% of UK Internet visits to travel websites, while Travelodge’s was the fastest growing. The hotel chain, which recently announced plans to open 22 new hotels before Christmas, experienced a 34% increase in UK Internet visits between September 2007 and 2008.

Each of the top three budget travel websites in the UK – EasyJet, Ryanair and Travelodge – has experienced at least a 20% increase in UK Internet traffic over the last 12 months. This online growth is also reflected offline; in addition to Travelodge’s expansion, both EasyJet and Ryanair announced significant increases in passenger numbers in their latest results. However, the big challenge for travel providers is to monetize these traffic increases in the face of falling prices and rising costs.

A Spot Of Trouble At Spot Runner

by Erick Schonfeld 

There is no escape from the advertising recession. Not even for hotshot TV advertising startup Spot Runner. Despite having raised more than $111 million, half of that as recently as last May, the LA-based company may be in for a major round of layoffs next week following the election (and the associated last-minute media blitz).

As many as 25 percent of its more than 300 employees may find themselves without a job come next Thursday. While the exact number has not yet been determined, I have been able to confirm that the company is currently going through a cost-reduction planning process and is looking at all options in light of the deteriorating advertising environment...

Blogger Changes Complement tEarn Exitmercial

Ed: Blogger changes that complement tEarn exitmercial, like simple comments and follower list that enable 3rd party exits; and increase your earnings. Check them out.

Publish to your Blogger blog from iGoogle

Today, we’re releasing our Blogger Post Gadget for iGoogle. Now you can edit and publish posts directly from your custom iGoogle homepage, making it even easier to share your thoughts with the world.

To get started, just click that “+ Google” button to have the Blogger Post Gadget added to your iGoogle page.

Show off your Followers

Would you like to know who enjoys reading your blog? Or stay updated with your favorite blogs right from your Blogger dashboard? You can do those things and more with Blogger’s new Following feature. 

By following your blog, your readers tell you and the world that they’re a fan of what you post. Your Dashboard now shows you how many followers each of your blogs has. With a click on the Followers icon, you can browse your followers, see what blogs they write, and read the other blogs they’re following.

Now that you know who your Followers are, you can show them off by adding the Followers gadget to your blog’s sidebar. From the“Layout | Page Elements” tab, click “Add a Gadget” and select “Followers” from the gadgets list. The Followers gadget shows the profile pictures of your followers and gives your readers a “Follow This Blog” link to join up, too.

Your followers can stay updated with your blog with the Reading List that we’ve added to the Blogger Dashboard. The Blogs I’m Following tab automatically shows the latest posts from all the blogs you follow. You can follow any blog from your reading list, even blogs that haven’t added the Followers widget or aren’t hosted on Blogger. Just click the “Add” button and type in the blog’s URL.

Commenting made easier

Today we’re bringing the embedded comment form out of Blogger in draft and making it easily available to everyone. This feature puts the comment form at the bottom of each post page, below the comments, instead of on the separate, Blogger-styled page.

The embedded comment form is more convenient for your readers because they can use it to post a comment immediately, without clicking over to a different page. It also looks better, since it matches your blog’s style and colors.

If you’re logged in to Blogger with your Google Account, you can also subscribe to comments via email by clicking the “Subscribe” link. Unlike with the full page comment form, you don’t need to post a comment to subscribe.

To enable the embedded comment form for your blog, go to the Settings > Comments page and look for the Comment Form Placement setting. Change it to Embedded below post, save your settings, and go check out a post to see the new form in action.

Welcome AOL Journals Users!

As some of you might know, AOL has recently decided to sunset its AOL Journals service. To help Journals users continue to share their thoughts online, Blogger has built a simple migration tool to move an AOL Journal to Blogger. We'd like to welcome our new Blogger users to the community and are looking forward to hearing what they have to say!

We've been hard at work here at Blogger and have added a number of new features in the past few months. If you're a Journals user who wants to explore our features, or even if you're already a Blogger user but you want to see what's new, check out our features page. Over in our user group you can share your blog with others or find new blogs to follow. If you're still hungry for more blogs, the Blogger team regularly posts interesting and noteworthy Blogger-powered blogs atBlogs of Note.