Motorola Inc seems to have blown it mightily in cellular phones with the arrival of the digital generation. According to Dow Jones & Co, its share of the world cellular phone market has slumped to 37% now from about 50% in 1994. It has no clear-cut advantage in the digital market where, because the single Groupe Speciale Mobile standard is ubiquitous across Europe, 10 digital phones are sold in Europe for every one in the US and Nokia Oy and L M Ericsson Telefon AB are reaping the advantage. The seeds of many of today’s travails must have been sown on George Simpson’s watch but he is safely gone to work miracles on the highly miracle-resistant Eastman Kodak Co, leaving Gary Tooker to face the flak, although many of the problems at the company , such as the miserable state of the memory chip market, are completely outside Motorola’s control.
