Before Motorola was split into two in 2011, it was a telecommunications company that had achieved worldwide recognition. While it was famous as a mobile phone company, Motorola also manufactured other gadgets. Like most companies in the tech space, the once-giant firm has received its fair share of ups and downs, including billions of dollars in losses and the development of unforgettable inventions over time. Here are some facts that you may not have known about Motorola.
1. A Motorola Engineer Made the First Cell Phone
On October 17, 1973, Martin Cooper made the first mobile phone. After years of research, the Motorola engineer created a radiotelephone system that would facilitate a call from one mobile phone to another. Using this technology, Cooper built and assembled the DynaTAC 8000X mobile phone.
After its launch in 1983, the first mobile phone cost $3,995. It could only call for 30 minutes and had to be charged for 10 hours. It was also pretty bulky compared to modern smartphones. Though expensive, by the end of its first year in the market, the DynaTAC 8000X had been bought by around 300,000 people.
2. Motorola Used to Manufacture Missiles
Besides Motorola’s contribution to the cell phone industry, the company also ventured into manufacturing missiles during the 1980s. For instance, in 1984, Motorola was awarded a contract by the United States government to upgrade AIM-9Cs missiles into AMG-122A. It was an air-to-surface anti-radiation missile. Motorola upgraded about 700 missiles over four years.
3. Motorola’s First Invention was a Battery Eliminator
Two brothers, Paul and Joseph Galvin, founded Motorola in 1928. At the time, they went by Galvin Manufacturing Corporation. Interestingly, their first invention was a battery eliminator whose purpose was to enable battery-powered radios to run on home electricity.
From there, they came up with another product – a car radio, which the two brothers called Motorola, and that’s where the brand name came from. Motor referred to car, and ola meant sound. Their car radios were a huge success and were mostly used by the police department and first responders like ambulances.
4. Motorola Introduced an Edible Password Pill
In 2013, Motorola invented an edible password pill, which, when swallowed, would interact with the gastric juices and transmit an 18-bit EKG signal from the stomach. As a result, the pill inside your body can unlock smartphones and other gadgets nearby because it acts as a password beacon if it remains inside the stomach. Motorola introduced this pill to make authentication more humane. It was approved by the FDA and is safe for consumption.
5. The Motorola ROKR E1 was the First Phone Compatible with iTunes
After Apple released iTunes and iPods in 2001, the company conquered the digital music sales industry. Steve Jobs got the idea to incorporate iTunes into mobile phones. However, the iPhone hadn’t been invented yet. So, Apple partnered with Motorola and integrated iTunes into the Motorola ROKR E1. The partnership was a bit shaky because Apple thought that Motorola would eat off the profits from iTunes.
6. Motorola Pays Lucasfilm for Using Droid in Its Phones
In the Motorola Droid, the last phrase is used under license from Lucasfilm. The latter trademarked the word “Droid” from the Star Wars film. So, Motorola has to pay for using the Lucasfilm trademark on their phones.
7. Motorola Also Invented Pagers
In 1956, Motorola invented pagers, which they called Handie-Talkie radio pagers. These were used in hospitals and would transmit messages within a radius of 40 km.
8. Motorola Relayed the First Words from the Moon
Everyone remembers Neil Armstrong’s first words when he landed on the moon. However, most people don’t know these words were relayed using the Motorola Solutions S-Band transponder in 1969. The transponder was placed aboard Apollo 11, transferring radio signals from earth to the moon. This wasn’t the only time Motorola facilitated communication from space. The same device was also used in the Apollo 15 mission in 1971.
9. Lenovo Currently Owns Motorola
After significant losses in the 2000s, Motorola split into Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions. A year later, Google bought Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. In 2014, Google sold Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91 billion. However, Lenovo agreed that Google would retain some of Motorola’s patents. As for Motorola Solutions, it was acquired by Zebra Technologies for $3.45 billion.
10. Motorola Made the First Flip Phone
In 1996, Motorola released the StarTAC, the first flip phone on the market. In an era where people were used to bulky phones, the StarTAC was super lightweight, weighing less than 4 ounces and was a very popular option back then. Throughout history, Motorola has attempted to release numerous lightweight phones, such as the Motorola Edge 30, which weighs 155g.