The importance of Motorola as a phone vendor in Australia was reinforced today by the attendance of several members of the Telstra board at the keynote address of Motorola’s Chairman and CEO, Ed Zander, who delivered the lead-off keynote address at this year’s CES 2007 Expo in Las Vegas.
Zander laid out the growth of mobile communications in his speech claiming that 40 million new mobile users per month globally. “You haven’t seen anything yet,” Zander said, adding that 25 mobile phones are sold every second while 4 births happen in the same time period. Arriving onstage astride a bright yellow bicycle, Zander outlined some of the company’s new mobile entertainment and set-top box initiatives.
Wielding an old Neil Diamond LP, Zander said his company was working with Warner Music Group to make more information about artists available to accompany their digital music, including bios, album covers, videos, and cell phone wallpaper. Zander suggested that album covers once provided this kind of richer fan experience.
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Motorola’s new Razr Z6 phone will be able to purchase music from 200 online music stores around the world including the 3 network in Australia, Zander said, going on to demonstrate new software that makes it easier to transfer songs between a PC and phone.
Aping technology that is already available in the USA, Zander unveiled Mobile Remote, a feature that allows consumers to examine a TV program guide on their mobile phones, and select shows to be recorded on a Motorola set-top box at home.
Zander said that Companies like Telstra had already begun offering “Follow Me TV” in conjunction with his company’s equipment, which enables subscribers to Verizon’s IPTV service to send a digitally-recorded program from one set-top box to other screens in the home. Comcast’s version of “Follow Me TV” will launch this year, Zander said.
Zander’s yellow bicycle, it turned out, was part of a Motorola research project to allow cyclists in developing countries to recharge their phones while commuting.
