Oct/Nov 2006

Will the Symbol name survive or die following the acquisition of the company by Motorola? After all the speculation among commentators over the past month or so, that's the most basic unanswered question. Current wisdom is that it will probably be dropped in due course, but we don't have confirmation of that yet.

The deal itself, which is valued at just under $4 billion, brings together the world's leading rugged handheld computer manufacturer and one of the world's great names in mobile telephony and wireless communication.

Most observers see it as bringing Motorola the benefit of a rapid entry into the world of rugged business mobility solutions. The price it has paid is not cheap, but arguably it is less than it would have cost Motorola to carve its own presence in this sector. At a stroke, it is expected to double the size of Motorola's enterprise business to $2 billion.

Alongside its mobile devices, Symbol has also built up expertise in wireless terminal hardware, and particularly in RFID, and these aspects are also believed to have appealed to Motorola.

 

Whilst the product ranges of the two businesses are in many respects complementary, Motorola does already has a presence in the ruggedised PDA market, having developed units in recent years for major operators such as Securicor Omega (now part of DHL) and FedEx. With Symbol's recent very large contracts to supply TNT and UPS, it now has a complete set of customers in the global express parcels market.

Motorola also produces a range of microprocessors suitable for running Windows CE-based hardware, though it is likely to keep offering Intel chips in Symbol's successful range of handhelds.

Initial indications are that Motorola intends to keep on Symbol's headquarters in Symbol's Holtsville, New York, and make this the core of its global enterprise mobility business (possibly a clue to the eventual name of the operation).

For UK customers, the likelihood is that it will be business as usual for the foreseeable future, with perhaps some signs of new convergence between PDAs and mobiles as the integration progresses.