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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest in Vertex Standard:
from
money.cnn.com
on
January 17, 2008
Website:
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/AQW06916012008-1.htm
View comments about this article!
Motorola Successfully Completes Tender Offer for Controlling Interest in Vertex Standard Co., Ltd.:
See the full story here:
LINK
This article has expired. No more comments may be added.
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by AI2IA on January 17, 2008
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"The joint venture is expected to expand and develop a comprehensive suite of products to address the rapidly growing demand for 2-way radio solutions. Vertex Standard's strength in the Amateur, Marine and Airband (Avionics) segments provides Motorola with access to new business opportunities. .... The venture also provides additional engineering talent for Motorola."
Perhaps, just perhaps, we might see innovative amateur radio products from Motorola/Vertex Standard farther down the pike.
What do you think of that, gloom and doom hams?
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by K1CJS on January 17, 2008
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Well, are you ready for the big three--Icom, Kenwood..... and Motorolasu? ;-)
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by WB4JZY on January 17, 2008
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Motorola will drop the low margin ham division like a bad habit.
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by KE4MOB on January 17, 2008
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"What do you think of that, gloom and doom hams?"
I've been through too many of these in my career. The company being acquired NEVER fares well. I said this when this deal was first announced, and I'll say it again. Expect six to nine months of Motorola examining the "synergies" in the organizations. Then everything good (employees, products, divisions, technology) will go to Motorola. Everything else will be sold or killed.
Now will ham radio in the new organization survive? Probably not. The market is too competitive and the product line too low volume. I see a spinoff.
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by KI6CDF on January 17, 2008
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One thing is for sure. Motorola has been emminently successful at screwing up their own business. I just hope that Motorola's business "savvy" doesn't rub off on Vertex, the new subsidiary.
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by K7BAB on January 17, 2008
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They should have stuck to car radios!
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by W5NM on January 17, 2008
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I was greatly dismayed to hear that Motorola might
buy out Vertex-Standard...
I worked briefly for Motorola years ago and was
offered a high paying sales job which I turned down
due to some terrible company policies.
History has shown anyone who is paying attention,
that Motorola is its own worst enemy and their
upper management strategies are simply disastrous.
I believe it safe to say that the Yaesu Amateur
Radio division is doomed if this merger takes place.
Not gloom or doom but the truth.
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by WB9QVR on January 17, 2008
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Although it remains to be seen how this acquisition/merger will affect the employees, it isn't necessarily a bad thing for the amateur radio product line.
In the 70s Yaesu was a market leader (the FT-101 series). However, by the mid-80s their radios seemed to suffer from short-cut designs and QC issues. By my admittedly non-scientific observations those issues were markedly improved when Yaesu merged with Standard. Of course every manufacturer has some good and some bad products but for the most part Yaesu/Vertex offers a much better line of transceivers today as compared to those of the pre-Standard days. My guess is that Standard's expertise in the commercial market had an impact on Yaesu. Perhaps Motorola's will as well.
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by AI2IA on January 17, 2008
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Well, being true to their colors, the gloom and doomers have stepped forward and told us what they think about the merger. At least they are consistent.
There have been one or two optimists, too!
Time will tell.
It's another day and the air waves are beckoning. Be of good cheer!
We will come back and consult the gloom and doomers again on a future issue.
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by W9WHE-II on January 17, 2008
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"Motorola has been emminently successful at screwing up their own business. I just hope that Motorola's business "savvy" doesn't rub off on Vertex, the new subsidiary"
TIME FOR A REALITY CHECK:
Motorola is the OVERWHELMING 1st choice of buyers in the land mobile market. When quality and reliabillty count, Motorola leads the pack. The same cannot be said for Vertex, which has a tiny market share, 1/10th that of Motorola.
Yaesu's quality control PROBLEMS and RECALLS are legendary. Motorola is widely recognized as a quality LEADER, supplying the finest and most reliable equipment on the planet.
Motorola's radios are simple to operate. The same cannot be said for Yaesu's products.
Frankly, I'm HOPING that Motorola's quality, innovation and expertise will rub off on Vertex.
W9WHE
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by K1CJS on January 17, 2008
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"Motorola's radios are simple to operate....."
Sure they are. There isn't much to screw up when all you have is off/on volume, squelch, and a channel selector--which is what most of Motorola's line was. Add in a couple more channel/bank selectors and you have what they have today. I shudder to think what the radios would look like--or work like--if Motorola had their design teams working on them. Nor would I want to try to work one.
Of course, Moto might just leave the designing and building to Yaesu, but knowing the way they do business, I doubt it.
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by K1CJS on January 17, 2008
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A couple of other points. Usually Motorola radio sets are built like a brick--and are about as heavy too. Also--just how much are those rigs going to cost? Motorola radios are priced high, about three times the price of others depending on the rigs maker. Just how is Motorolasu going to price the rigs? If they can't make a good profit on them they won't bother with them at all. Like someone else said--goodbye Yaesu.
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by N5RMS on January 17, 2008
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"a rapidly growing demand for two-way radio" HA, HA! The only users of 2-way radios are public service and large contruction companies. A Large reduction of demand is more like it!... Cellular has delt this market a large punch in the stomich.
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by K9GLN on January 17, 2008
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I have mixed feelings. I hope Motorola does not damage Vertex Standard like they did to their own public safety product line. I have seen the hey day of Motorola and also have seen the company spiral down to one commonly used with several expletive deleted words. ALL my own radios are Yaesu. (HF and VHF)
I hve many good friends that work for Motorola and the people are great, the management is bad.
A few years before I retired I was the Chief of Support Service for a suburban Chicago Sheriff's Dept. (online bio says it all). This division included the communications section. While in that capacity I had close involvement with radio system procurement. We had much trouble with Motorola quality and service and switched all of our mobile units to Kenwood. The Kenwood radios very seldom if ever needed service. In fact they were the most dependable radios we ever had. We changed all our portables over as well. Motorola products were over priced and under valued. Some of the portables spent more time in repair service than in police service. Spending public funds required the lowest qualified vendor so Motorola priced themselves out of our business. Not just our agency switched, but most the police and fire agencies in the area changed.
I began the quest for a new 800 trunked radio system to replace our aging repeater system. We hired consultants to examine the different options, write the bid specs and define the system needs. Mid project I was placed in charge of Police Operations and lost touch with the radio side. There were two bidders, Motorola and MA/Com . Motorola came in far and away the less expensive trunked radio option. I am retired for two years but I understand that this spring the 12 million dollar system will be operating. I hope it is a good system and early reports look promising.
Motorola WAS the benchmark and WAS always known as quality. Buy American was no more. Most of their radios were labeled assembled in Malaysia. I hope with this acquisition they find their roots and return to the great company they once were.
I guess this turned it to "War and Peace". I will take a deep breath and just hope this does not mean the end to the quality of their amateur radio products.
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by KE5OFO on January 17, 2008
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Well I think this will be intresting to say the least. I have used Motorola radios of and on for years. I currently have a few right now. I just hope that they keep producing affordable radios for the amateur market. The cost of new Motos and then getting the programing hardware and software is very expensive. I know of one major company that is in the process of getting rid of thousands of wide band Motorola mobile and HT VHF radios and going to Kenwoods to meet the new FCC narrow band requirments because of the downturn in quality in the Motos and the ease of programing of the Kenwoods.
I have been looking for some used commercial grade VHF radios for some linking projects and wanted Motos but have been thinking about going with Kenwwods just due to the ease of programing.
Kerry
KE5OFO
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by WA1RNE on January 17, 2008
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Ray, you're a real gas.....you still have the "Brownie Meter" pegged at full scale.
Motorola is still a player in this business and the Vertex acquisition should open up some new opportunities - both for Motorola and Vertex employees.
I'm sure the ham radio community would be very impressed with a VHF/UHF solution like this one, both in terms of general specifications and design for reliability under severe conditions - i.e. -22-140 F operating temperature. See page 9 (green shaded section) for the environmental testing they put this radio through:
http://www.motorola.com/governmentandenterprise/contentdir/en_
US/NonXMLDocs/Revised%20PM1500%20End%20User%20Brochure.pdf
....WA1RNE
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RE: Motorola makes the very best
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by W9WHE-II on January 17, 2008
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Ask ANY competent communications professional, and they will tell you the Motorola makes the very best. The most stable, reliable, & durable. Yet, so many hams have an irrational hatred of the very best. Is it really any wonder that ham radio has stagnated and fallen from a hoby of innovators to a hobby dominated by appliance operators?
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by KC5R on January 17, 2008
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I cannot get upset when a US company buys-out a foreign owned one. Congrads goes out to Motorola on buying out it's competitor in the land mobile arena, and I hope they realize that keeping the Yaesu product line healthy is in their best interest.
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by WA4KCN on January 17, 2008
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"I cannot get upset when a US company buys-out a foreign owned one. Congrads goes out to Motorola on buying out it's competitor in the land mobile arena, and I hope they realize that keeping the Yaesu product line healthy is in their best interest."
This is a very good point. But the answer to the question - is keeping Yaesu in their best interest - will be the determining factor in the future of yaesu. Motorola as with any publicly traded concern has corporate standards for every measurement the company makes. As such there is a threshold profit margin on each product line. If the amateur radio division is below the forcasted margin and attempts to improve the margin fail, Yaesu is history. It must be that way since Motorola is in business for only one reason - profits translating into dividends and/or stock price growth. IF margins are below standards, executives at Motorola will contemplate - it's either me that goes or Yaesu and it ain't gonna be me.
Let's all hope that Yaesu remains.
73 Russ WA4KCN
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by K9GLN on January 17, 2008
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OK as far as Motorola keeping Yaesu and the amateur equipment I can only add this. Several years ago I was attending the APCO convention in Montreal. All the big vendors were trying to wine and dine me for the potential 12 million dollar system my police agency was planning. One Motorola executive commented that one of the reasons the pubic service agencies could not get " frequencies" was the lack of available bandwidth. They were explaining the whole dilemma with Nextel and the TV channels 65-66 (700 MHz) being reallocated to Public Safety.
For some public safety users, expansion of their 450-470 MHz system radios was out of the question due to lack of available channels. The Motorola Exec pointed out the Amateur 440 allocations that were NEEDED for the public safety users but used as a HOBBY. Guys this is still a big topic. Keeping public safety users happy is BIG BUCKS.
Here is a Dec 2007 International Assoc. of POLICE CHIEFS of Police article that tries to explain the problem to the Chiefs. http://tinyurl.com/3yr3op
I'm not all gloom and doom, but if money is the driving factor, the Public Service sector has a much deeper pocket than the Hams out there. What will Motorola do?
73 Glenn
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by K3AN on January 17, 2008
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Kiss Yaesu goodbye, probably before the end of this year. But there's still Ten Tec, Elecraft and Icom, plus Kenwood if you don't need a high-end HF transceiver.
Two out of four are U.S. manufacturers. That's great.
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by K0ZN on January 17, 2008
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Suggestion to the "Optimists" out there.
READ. Read the Wall St. Journal and follow corporate merger and market history.
The odds of a large corporation like Motorola messing with a small (I'll be the "optimist" here), and at best, STAGNANT Amateur Radio market are probably in the order of 10%.
It is not "goom and doom" it is about MONEY. There is no way they can make the margins or volume on ham equipment Motorola management will demand.
I have worked in the Avionics industry for a lot of years; 90% of the time when a big corporation buys a small successful corporation to to "obtain" their product line, with in a couple of years quality and marketing prowess and what made the product and company successful in the first place are gone, killed by the "financial geniuses" in the pin stripe suits.
If you want to be a Realistic Optimist... the the "Up side" of all this is it will increase volume at the remaining manufacturers and that may be beneficial for their financial health and continued market participation; that is good.
The timing of this deal is classic....classicaly WRONG.... Motorola is buying V-S just as the odds are at about 80% that the economy is contracting into a recession. Ham radio is a discretionary consumer purchase and construction and equivalent industries are contracing.... How long are the executives at Motorola going to tolerate falling "numbers" before hacking and cutting at V-S ??
I would be happy to be wrong...but I would give any of you "happy, cheery, optimists" an 8:1 bet that Motorola/Yaesu will be out of the Amateur market in less than three years. Make that two if we have a deep economic recession. Again.... it is about MONEY.
73, K0ZN
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by K7LA on January 17, 2008
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Motorola has a history of hostilities towards amateur radio in general, so expect them to sell off Yaesu and keep the Vertex commercial business.
The other option is to simply fold up Yaesu's tent.
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by AE5EH on January 17, 2008
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I hope some folks that remember when Rockwell Intl. acquired Collins Radio Corporation will comment on that event.
73,
de ae5eh
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by AF6AT on January 17, 2008
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Rockwell - Collins
Northrup - Hallicrafters
Cubic - Swan
Who can guess what happens when a DoD contractor buys a ham radio company?
Then again, maybe Motorola will put out lines of HT's that have cool new features every 6 months and sell cheap enough for us to not question throwing them away every 2 years...
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by KF6GOM on January 17, 2008
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dosnt matter if its yaesu or motorola, the radios will be built by China makers for nickles. Sold for a great profit and we will have to buy new ones ever 2 years because no one will service them (No Labor Costs),// CEO goes to Hawaii and Gets record Profits....My 2 cents.....
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by KG6AMW on January 17, 2008
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Too soon to say anything, wait 12 months.
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by KC2FTN on January 18, 2008
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Yet another good reason to buy an Icom!
Mike KC2FTN
www.hamwave.com
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by NY7Q on January 18, 2008
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Why would Motorola do away with a viable product??
Yaesu is popular in the ham circles
I am glad to see a USA company purchase a "overseas" brand.
Wait and see.
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by AI2IA on January 18, 2008
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Amateur radio is an avocation. People participate in it because they enjoy it, they find it rewarding to help their community, they like spreading international good will, they have a happy scientific curiousity about radio electronics, and they enjoy the company of others who share their interests.
Along come the gloom and doom folks, the nay sayers, the self-hating hams, the snobs and other misfits. They bring their negative attitudes with them in packs on their backs that they carry in all endeavors of their lives. To them the economy is bad, ham radio is bad, education is bad, youth is bad, corporate mergers are bad, it's all about money, More Code is dead, ham radio will disappear in a generation, in a year, in a week, any time now, the ARRL is bad for amateur radio, etc., etc., etc.
Well, you have a choice, you can commiserate with the folks that have black clouds over their heads, or you can participate in ham radio to the fullest, enjoy what like, share what you know, and be happy, oh, and have faith in the future, too! Like I said, it's your choice. No one likes a sourpuss!
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by VE3LXL on January 18, 2008
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> Why would Motorola do away with a viable product??
Large companies will often get out of a profitable line of business simply because the business is too small to justify continued investment in it. A huge company like Motorola is dealing in product lines, like their cellphone business, that brings in hundreds of millions or billions of dollars a year. Such companies usually focus their new product development on the product lines that are earning them most of their revenue, or which they think have the potential to do so in the future. They usually don't want to use up development resources on low-profit product lines that have no real prospects of growth. Which is surely how Yaesu's amateur radio line must look to Motorola.
Under these conditions, companies usually do one of three things: (a) continue to manufacture the existing products but don't invest in new product development, (b) sell the low-profit product lines to someone else, or (c) close it down. As long as Yaesu's amateur products remain profitable, I doubt that Motorola would chose option (c), but don't be surprised if they try to sell the business to someone else. Or, if they keep it, don't be surprised if you don't see any new Yaesu products.
I'm not hostile to Motorola. They make good quality products. This isn't an issue of bad motives on their part. It's just business.
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Hostillity toward Motorola is TOTALLY unfounded
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by W9WHE-II on January 18, 2008
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Well.....
Given all of the (totally unfounded) ham hostillity toward Motorola, perhaps Motorola should fold the ham business. Afterall, why would they want to try to do business with such a hostile market? They could keep the marine, commercial and avionics business and just say sinara to the hostile hams.
MORAL: Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by WA1RNE on January 18, 2008
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Vertex Standard is actually a very good acquisition for Motorola, for a number of reasons, some of which may not be obvious at first glance.
First and foremost, Vertex adds product diversity to Motorola's product line with 3 divisions known throughout their product segments for value and reliability:
> Vertex Standard - Land Mobile and Airband Radio
> Standard Horizon Marine
> Amateur
Last I checked, Moto doesn't have a presence in the Marine ship-to-shore market - of which VertexStandard is a household name. they also don't have a presence in the amateur market, of which the FT-1000 is pretty much a household name.
2) Vertex Public service products compliment Motorola's in terms of rugged design and feature sets.
3) Vertex provides Motorola with additional design engineering talent.
4) Vertex should provide Motorola with an enhanced presence in the Asian market place, helping Motorola gain acceptance for it's own products in the region.
Yes, there are many positives going for both companies. I hope that Motorola continues to build on Yaesu's long tradition of great amateur products.
...WA1RNE
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by K9GLN on January 18, 2008
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I agree with WA1RNE in regard to this purchase expanding the market coverage for Motorola. I also use a Vertex Marine radio and it takes a pounding. The Land Mobile Division has been very sucessful and hopefully Motorola will play on the strong products currently innthe Vertex Standard stable and not try and destroy the enemy by just buying them out.
Whether or not Motorola sees value in maintaining the Amateur line will yet to be seen. As a longtime Yaesu user..I hope so.
Glenn
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RE: Motorola makes the very best
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by K1CJS on January 18, 2008
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"Ask ANY competent communications professional, and they will tell you the Motorola makes the very best."
Sorry OM, but that should read Motorola USED TO make the very best. They lost that reputation a while ago. Nowadays, ask most people and they'll say Kenwood makes the best commercial equipment now.
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RE: Motorola makes the very best
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by RX1 on January 19, 2008
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"Sorry OM, but that should read Motorola USED TO make the very best. They lost that reputation a while ago. Nowadays, ask most people and they'll say Kenwood makes the best commercial equipment now."
I don't know if Kenwood makes the best, but I do have some insight into Motorola. I've used it virtually every day of my working life. My personal opinion is that Motorola has always been overrated. I agree that it's not as good today as it was in previous years. There is a stigma that is often associated with anything for "commercial use." With that comes the automatic presumption that it's the "best." The equipment however is designed for a more generalized purpose. From that vantage point, it may be some of the best for the intended application. That doesn't always imply though, that it's the best overall.
If you've never experienced Motorola first hand, let go the false assumption that they're completely immune to intermod, or that they can withstand virtually any abuse without repercussion. Yes a basic Motorola HT may be a solid, straightforward, and dependable unit. Keep in mind though, that even on the low end they're usually around a thousand bucks. You could purchase quite a few Yaesu Ft-150's in a commercial quality chassis for the about same price. Not only would the Yaesu's be virtually as solid, but their combined lifespan would far surpass the Motorola anyway.
At my place of employment, we use the HT1250's. They receive moderate wear, but nothing drastic. Nonetheless, we have batteries that don't properly seat on the backs of the rigs. They get stuck and are sometimes difficult to remove. In addition, the stock mics aren't the slightest bit better than the typical stocks on most amateur rigs. They're less complex than many Amateur mics, which accounts for at least some reliability. The overall quality however, does not justify the price in my opinion.
Now is Motorola better overall than the majority of Ham equipment? Generally speaking I'd say yes. On the other hand, that's not true in every case. In addition, the pricetag is MUCH Higher in most cases. When you consider that aspect, what you're getting often doesn't justify the price. Sometimes it's the "perceived" status of the name that drives some to use it. Make no mistake, Motorola is certainly making their fair share of stuff in China, and a HUGE line of consumer quality FRS and related junk.
In the long run, Hams often don't realize how good they have it. The bottom line is that for what we pay as opposed to the majority of "commercial" gear, we get pretty darn good quality.
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RE: Motorola makes the very best
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by RX1 on January 19, 2008
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"The equipment however is designed for a more generalized purpose."
For clarification, I meant to say that it's designed for more specialized purposes.
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RE: Motorola makes the very best
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by W6EM on January 20, 2008
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RNE Says:"Last I checked, Moto doesn't have a presence in the Marine ship-to-shore market - of which VertexStandard is a household name. they also don't have a presence in the amateur market, of which the FT-1000 is pretty much a household name."
True on both counts. They *jettisoned* marine radio business interests back in the early days of synthesizers. I still have a scavenged // marine VHF radio as a curiosity.
As others have said, //'s only entry in the amateur market was a crystal-controlled transceiver back in the '80s.
"2) Vertex Public service products compliment Motorola's in terms of rugged design and feature sets."
Rugged design, well, hmmm. Drop one or their newer HTs and see.
As to "feature sets", give me a break. Channel (or "mode" as // calls it), is a rocker switch. Dim the lights and set the volume. That's about it for Motorola VHF/UHF. Of course, they do APCO 25 digital, that's why W9WHE loves them....
"3) Vertex provides Motorola with additional design engineering talent."
To replace what they've already fired? Doubtful. Its to lower the cost (fire) some of what they have left.
"4) Vertex should provide Motorola with an enhanced presence in the Asian market place, helping Motorola gain acceptance for it's own products in the region."
Now, that's a laugh. The Chinese have been cloning the // designs (that they manufacture for // over there) for years. The Chinese have probably a half-dozen manufacturer names already selling // clones all over the world. And, probably to such throngs as the outlaws running amoc in the middle east.
"Yes, there are many positives going for both companies. I hope that Motorola continues to build on Yaesu's long tradition of great amateur products."
Hope is not a reason why that competitors are purchased. Its plainly for the reasons the Sherman Anti Trust Act was written years ago: To limit competition, primarily. If offered the chance to eliminate competitors on the cheap without government interference, its common practice to do so. To reduce competition and lower costs of operation. Eliminate redundancies. Simple as that. As to who gets eliminated, it depends on who's lowest cost. Are engineers in Tokyo less expensive than engineers in Schaumberg, Phoenix or Ft. Lauderdale? Think about that one. If amateur radio doesn't make money (or is perceived as a threat to widespread trunked gravy-train deployments) it will be jettisoned.
Just look around at bank mergers as an example. Has their been one recently where more branches were opened as a result? Elementary.
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by WA2RCB on January 23, 2008
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Motorola just posted an overall profit loss of 70% for the 4th Quarter on Wall Street. Nice! Perhaps this event will give us a couple extra month's time to purchase an original Japanese made Yaesu before the stuffed-suits in Motorola's Boardroom gut Yaesu-Musen to the bone and toss the leftovers to some unknown Chinese Telecommunications Firm. My Engineering and QA/QC colleagues know of what I mean. The Chinese Company with a glitzy web page loaded with 'Engrish' and lots of lovely color photos of electronics products on lovely 8-point color photo backgrounds, which in fact really hides yet another dirty filthy electronics contract manufacturing firm located someplace in Guangdong Provence with filthy floors, non-existent ESD preventative measures, the use of banned lead based solders and dubious ISO-9000 and similar Certifications. Of course Yaesu will then be another 'in-name-only' boilerplate that's made by the same people who bring you those off-brand Chinese VHF/UHF radios you see on e-Bay for $59.95 Either that or it will be the same people who make the bubble-packaged junk for Cobra, Midland and others you see at WalMart. Oh well. I'm glad I got that old Yaesu FT-301D that's built like a tank some 20 Years ago, and sorry but it's not for sale either.
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by W6EM on January 23, 2008
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// may have actually thought here's a chance to return to their roots, since they must have known inside the company that things were ripe (as in smelly) in the cell phone business.
Yes, little doubt that they will cast Yaesu aside. Just a matter of time.
The best thing for //other batwing would be to indeed return to its roots. The stupid decisions to dump its semiconductor businesses was really d u m b.
ON, for example, its former linear and RF business has a nice profitability record and is doing just fine.
Buying back into what they once commandeered might not be a bad strategy. Return to its strengths. Or, should I say, former strengths. (They can buy out my interest in ON at $20 per share.)
73.
Lee
W6EM/4
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by K9GLN on January 24, 2008
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Schaumburg-based Motorola Inc. said Wednesday its fourth-quarter profits plunged 84 percent and next quarter could be worse, news that sent its stock into a free fall. I dumped my Moto stock when it was still in the $20's.Boy am I happy, but sad to see anyone lose money. The huge Cell Phone plant they built in Harvard Illinois for 40 million and employed over 4000 people was closed down and is still shuttered. Everyone lost their jobs and they sold the still vacant factory to some holding company for a fraction of the value.
The news about their stock plummeting makes me wonder if I will even chance buying a Yeasu product again. I'm afraid that it will be a white elephant in a few years. Doen't look good for Motorola.
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by W6EM on January 24, 2008
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Even with John McCain pulling strings for them (the 700MHz spectrum for public safety Bill) it still wasn't enough to compensate for many bad decisions.
Like those that dispensed with semiconductors and microprocessors, essentially making M a cell phone and two way radio assembler. And, off-shore assembly in China, Mexico and Israel. Where copyright laws are, well, hmmmmmm, questionable, at best.
It was once said that M liked to compete with itself. Well, cell phones just about killed its two way business until McCain's boon dogle came along (to sell trunked junk to hapless public safety agencies with federal grant money).
So, now it bought a small Japanese competitor in land mobile that it hopes will help it narrow the competition in land mobile. It would have been better to have junked the cell phones.
We may see MOT at $5 a share or less. It wouldn't surprise me.
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by W9WHE-II on January 25, 2008
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Motorola's dropping sales figures are, by and large, due to Nokia's increase in call phone market share. Motorola still dominates the PS markets.
You can but a Motorola XTS5000R up against ANY other HT and it wins, hands down, that's the fact.
But, given all the UNjustified hostillity toward a US company that is an industry leader, Motorola might not want to do busines with hams. Would you want to do business with such an UNjustifiably negative market?
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR, YOU MIGHT JUST GET IT.
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by K9GLN on January 25, 2008
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[Quote]You can but (put) a Motorola XTS5000R up against ANY other HT and it wins, hands down, that's the fact.[unquote]
Not based upon any scientific field testing. If so then why after the US Marines completed their rigorous field testing, was Motorola one of the first to be disqualified? Why did the NYPD choose Vertex Standard and not purchase Motorola after their testing? As I remember the Motorola's were shown to be far inferior to the other vendors. Why did the Navy choose Ma/Com not Motorola?
This is not the first time that Icom or Kenwood has been awarded a contract with the US military. Only 2 years ago Icom America won a multi-million dollar contract with the U.S. Army for the provision of 22,000 IC-F3S VHF transceivers. Those being supplied to specific Ranger, Airborne, Air Assault, Light Infantry and Mechanised Infantry units. I remember the press release specifically stated Motorola radios
failed in the rigourous jungle testing.
Earlier I posted that our HT1000's spent more time riding in UPS truck back and forth to service than riding in squads. We switched to Kenwood as have a large majority of other public service agencies.
I don't wish anything bad upon Motorola, I just wish they'd get back to basics and be the company they were twenty years ago. HAms are not hostile toward Motorola, they want quality and don't want to see anyone come in a screw up a good thing.
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Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Interest
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by KM6CZ on January 27, 2008
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The purchase is not about quality, its about growing marketshare. Ham radio, whether you chose to believe it or otherwise, is dying or as they say in the marketing world, in a harvesting mode. So long as Yaesu's profits make the the joint company's internal rate of return, Yaesu should be ok... if it falls below for a couple of quarters, odds are Motorola will divest itself of ham radio. There just isn't sufficient growth in ham radio for a large conglomerate to maintain this segment. This is not necessarily negative, another company may be able to obtain the rights to the Yaesu name and intellectual property and succeed in the ham radio niche.
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RE: Motorola Completes Offer for Controlling Inter
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by W6EM on January 31, 2008
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Finally, some rational behavior out of Schaumberg:
""We are exploring ways in which our mobile devices business can accelerate its recovery and retain and attract talent while enabling our shareholders to realize the value of this great franchise," Chief Executive Greg Brown said."
(in response to a 1/31 statement concerning spinoff of its cell phone business)
Get back to your roots, and jettison anything related to cell phones, including TRUNKED RADIO. Its a clunker.
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