In the world of technology, it's rare to find a story of rise and fall as compelling as Motorola's. From the first radios to revolutionary mobile phones, this company was more than just a participant in the technology race - it was a pioneer and a driving force behind it. So what happened? Here's a quick recap.

How Motorola came into being

The future founder of Motorola Paul Galvin was born in 1895 in the city of Harvard. From an early age, he showed entrepreneurial skills, selling sandwiches and ice cream at the railway station, and did it without a licence, hiding from the authorities. In 1914 Galvin joined the army as an artilleryman and fought in the First World War. Upon his return, he graduated with a degree in technology from Illinois.

In 1920, Paul took a job in a Chicago factory that manufactured batteries. Employment did not attract him, and a year later he and a school friend created their own company producing batteries and accumulators. The company lasted only two years and was closed down by the government due to non-payment of a large amount of taxes. Three years later, Galvin made a second attempt in the same direction, but this business failed to compete in the emerging electricity market.

However, the failures did not break the entrepreneur. At an auction, where the property of his company was sold, Galvin for $750 bought equipment for the production of network power supplies. In 1928, together with his brother Joseph, who invested $565, he founded Galvin Manufacturing with an initial staff of only five people. It was a difficult time for the start-up - the Great Depression had begun.

The turning point came when one of the engineers suggested that they start manufacturing car radios. At first Galvin was sceptical about the idea, believing that the radio would interfere with the driver. But when he saw an ad for a converted car radio for $250 (almost a third of the cost of the car itself), he realised the market potential.

In 1930, the company introduced its first Motorola-branded radio for only $110. The name combined the word ‘motor’ and the then-popular suffix ‘ola’ used for sound equipment. Despite some initial problems (one of the first receivers is known to have caught fire), the product was successful. Galvin created his own network of salesmen and invested heavily in advertising.

By the end of the 1930s, the company began producing police radios, and with the outbreak of World War II, it focused on military developments. In 1940, the revolutionary SCR-536 (Handie-Talkie) was introduced - the first walkie-talkie weighing 2.3kg that could be held in one hand. This was followed by the more powerful SCR-300 (Walkie-Talkie) weighing 17.3kg, which became the standard for military communications.

In 1947, the company was renamed Motorola, and management was taken over by a new generation, the founder's son Robert Galvin. He began his career with the company at age 16 as a storekeeper and worked his way up to president. In the late 1940s, the company made a breakthrough in the TV market by releasing the Golden View model at a revolutionary price of $180, while the average price of competitors was about $300.

At the same time, the company strengthened its position in the automotive market. After acquiring the loss-making Detrola, which had contracts with Ford, Motorola was able to install its radios in 50 per cent of Ford and Chrysler cars. By the mid-1950s, a contract with American Motors was added.

This period of growth and innovation mirrors the modern ambition seen in ventures like wantedwin casino no deposit bonus which offer competitive advantages and rewards to stand out in their industry.

In 1955 the famous Motorola logo in the form of a stylised letter ‘M’, created by Chicago designer Morton Goldscholl, appeared. In the same year, the company entered the transistor market by opening a plant in Arizona, which laid the foundation for future development in electronics.

An era of innovation

In the 1960s, Motorola began an active international expansion. Production moved beyond the United States with the opening of a plant in Mexico. By this time, the company was already operating in eight countries, including Japan, which it saw as a springboard to Asian markets. A Japanese office opened in 1961, and in 1968 the Motorola Semiconductor Japan division was launched to manufacture semiconductors and integrated circuits.

The company continued to make technological breakthroughs in different directions. In 1962, the HT-200 transistorised portable radio weighing only 932 grams was launched. In 1966, the world's smallest portable television receiver, the Tiny Tim TV, powered by four finger batteries, was introduced. An even more significant achievement was participation in the US space programme - it was through Motorola equipment that Neil Armstrong's famous first words from the Moon were transmitted: ‘One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’.

The year 1972 was marked by the appearance of the MODAT mobile data transmission system, which allowed the exchange of information between the driver of a car and a computer. The system was widely used by police and transport companies. At the same time Motorola developed the first digital voice encryption technology, Digital Voice Protection (DVP), which was quickly adopted by US intelligence agencies.

In 1973 Motorola released the first mobile phone. A major milestone was the entry into the processor market. In 1974, the company introduced the Motorola 6800 with a clock speed of 2 MHz and 78 operations. In 1979 the even more successful Motorola 68000 appeared, which was used in Macintosh computers and successfully competed with Intel products. However, IBM's victory in the personal computer war, betting on Intel processors, subsequently significantly reduced Motorola's share of this market.

The first mobile phone

But let's return to the history of mobile telephony Motorola, which began with Martin Cooper, who joined the company in 1957. A decade later, he created a portable radio system for the Chicago Police Department, and in the early 1970s he became head of the company's communications systems division.

A historic call

Development of the first mobile phone began in November 1972. The challenge was daunting - a 15kg car communication system had to be reduced to the size of a handheld device. By the spring of 1973, the Motorola DynaTAC prototype, weighing 1.1kg and measuring about 30cm in length, was available.

On 3 April 1973, Cooper made the first ever call from a portable cellular phone on the streets of Manhattan. Symbolically, he called his main competitor - the head of Bell Labs Joel Engel. This call was a turning point in the history of telecommunications, although before the appearance of a commercial version of the phone had to wait another ten years.

Motorola DynaTAC 8000X

After investing about $100 million in development, the first commercial mobile phone, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, appeared in 1983. The 33 centimetres tall and weighing about 900 grams, the device was equipped with a retractable antenna and a monochrome display. The battery provided 30 minutes of talk time after 10 hours of charging. The memory allowed storage of up to 30 phone numbers. At a price of about $4,000, the phone became a status symbol of luxury.

In the late 1980s, Motorola decided to reduce its line of consumer brands and focus on wireless communications and computers. Therefore, the business was restructured. The television division of Quasar was sold and Four-Phase Systems, a computer and terminal manufacturer, was acquired for $253 million. Although this acquisition subsequently resulted in a loss of about $200 million, it reflected the company's desire to diversify its business.

In 1989, the company introduced the MicroTAC 9800X, the first compact mobile phone with a number display. The $3,500 device was revolutionary - it was the first ‘clamshell,’ although technically it only had a flip-out microphone (flip). The phone fit easily into a pocket, which was an incredible achievement for the time.

The golden age and the first problems

In the early 1990s, Motorola reached the peak of its power. The company controlled 85% of global mobile phone sales and dominated the pager market. By this time, the third member of the Galvin dynasty, Christopher, who replaced George Fisher and Gary Tooker, was at the helm of the company.

The main achievement of this period was the launch in 1996 of the revolutionary StarTAC, the first true folding phone in the history of mobile phones. This phone set new standards in design and functionality, reinforcing Motorola's market leadership.

However, at the same time, the first signs of future problems began to appear. Nokia was rapidly gaining momentum, offering more and more advanced digital phones. The Finnish company realised before others that mobile phones were becoming an important part of everyday life and should offer a variety of functions beyond calls. Another serious competitor, Samsung, which was actively developing in the Asian market, also appeared.