Ina Fried

Recent Posts by Ina Fried

The New Motorola Is Still Looking to Accessorize

Under Google, Motorola has exited markets, cut thousands of jobs, and sold its cable set-top box unit.

But the company has apparently decided to stick with its business of making accessories that complement its phones. Motorola is putting the finishing touches on a new lineup of Bluetooth headsets and other add-ons.

Twitter user @evleaks, known for accurately predicting past moves, posted a photo on Friday of several new audio accessories under the “Sonic” brand name. Products include the Sonic Boom and Sonic Sliver II earpieces, as well as a Sonic Hub and Sonic Buds Bluetooth headphones.

Motorola is also working on a new external battery unit, tentatively being slated to carry the Atomic brand name, according to sources. That unit is designed to play on the need for better battery life, a focus at Motorola that predates the Google acquisition.

However, both the Atomic and Sonic names are still subject to change before launch, a source cautioned.

While the arrival of a new lineup of headsets and a battery charger isn’t exactly earth-shattering, it suggests that the new Motorola is interested in continuing in the business.

Company watchers have been studying each move to get a sense for what the new Google-run Motorola will look like.

A Motorola spokesman declined to comment.

Without giving details, Google executives, including CEO Larry Page, have been talking up the company’s coming products.

Asked at the recent D: Dive Into Mobile whether Motorola would be focused solely on phones, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said: “Think of it as phones-plus.”

Expect to hear more about Motorola’s future at our D11 conference at the end of May, where Motorola Mobility CEO Dennis Woodside and SVP Regina Dugan will be interviewed onstage.

Latest Video

View all videos »

Search »

Nobody was excited about paying top dollar for a movie about WikiLeaks. A film about the origins of Pets.com would have done better.

— Gitesh Pandya of BoxOfficeGuru.com comments on the dreadful opening weekend box office numbers for “The Fifth Estate.”