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Motorola
History
The
company was founded by Paul V. Galvin as the Galvin
Manufacturing Corporation, in Chicago, Illinois, in 1928. Its
first product was a "battery eliminator," allowing
consumers to operate radios directly from household current
instead of the batteries supplied with early models. In the
1930s, the company successfully commercialized car radios
under the brand name "Motorola," a word suggesting
sound in motion. During this period, the company also
established home radio and police radio departments;
instituted pioneering personnel programs; and began national
advertising. The name of the company was changed to Motorola,
Inc., in 1947.
The
decade of the 1940s also saw the company begin government work
and open a research laboratory in Phoenix, Arizona, to explore
solid-state electronics. By the time of Paul Galvin's death in
1959, Motorola was a leader in military, space and commercial
communications, had built its first semiconductor facility and
was a growing manufacturer of consumer electronics.
Under
the leadership of Robert W. Galvin, Paul Galvin's son,
Motorola expanded into international markets in the 1960s and
began shifting its focus away from consumer electronics. The
color television receiver business was sold in the mid-1970s,
allowing Motorola to concentrate its energies on
high-technology markets in commercial, industrial and
government fields. By the end of the 1980s, Motorola had
become the premier worldwide supplier of cellular telephones
and in 1996 produced the 3.1 ounce, pocket-sized StarTACTM
wearable cellular telephone.
Following
the merger with General Instrument Corporation, Motorola
became a leader in cable modems and set-top terminals. Today,
Motorola is harnessing the power of wireless, broadband and
the Internet to deliver embedded chip system level and
end-to-end network communication solutions for the individual,
work team, vehicle and home.
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