[Image via: Engadget]
Dustin over at DroidDog has the lowdown on Motorola's busy week of earnings calls, rumors, and rumor confirmations. The part that you probably care most about? Moto is at work with Google on what we'll call the Nexus Two, aka the next Google-branded smartphone to be sold direct via the fledgling Google online store. During an earnings call, Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha had this to say about Motorola, Google, and Android:
"We plan to launch at least 20 devices, including at least one direct-to-consumer device with Google."
So I take two things from that statement: First, Nexus Two, or whatever it winds up being called, will be a Motorola device. That based on Dr. Jha's quote from this week, and the fact that he was at the Nexus One launch even though that phone was made by HTC, not Motorola. As a CEO, you don't show up for the launch of somebody else's device unless you've got some assurance from a higher power that you'll be cut in on the action in very short order. And oh yeah, he also kinda said so in an interview with Engadget.
What wil the device look, feel, and be like? Dustin's got an image of the Moto "Shadow" up on his DroidDog post. So I figured I'd put one on my post, too. Seems reasonable enough.
Second, Motorola's putting their eggs in the Android and entry-level phone baskets and likely going to abandon - or all but abandon - the whole "messaging phone" segment that AT&T and Verizon are apparently trying to squeeze every last penny out of. Also makes sense, seeing as smartphones are pretty much on the verge of sending messaging phones on that proverbial long walk off a short plank. But Moto can't turn into an Android-only shop because there's still a huge market for low-end voice and text phones in many, many corners of the globe.
Oh, and one other thing. Get ready for Blur, Blur, and more MotoBlur in 2010. MotoBlur's gonna be all over the 18 or so Android phones Motorola's supposedly set to roll out this year. And Blur is going to expand beyond social networking to media functionality and other applications, too.
