Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sawtooth who wrote (9015)	3/3/1998 12:57:00 PM
From: Teri Skogerboe	Respond to of 152472

Interesting article from NY Times yesterday. 03/02: Motorola, Once a Darling Among Technology Stocks, Has Made Some Missteps By BARNABY J. FEDER As the wireless communications industry transforms itself from analog to digital technology, Motorola Inc., whose reputation for innovation, high-quality products and smart strategic thinking flourished in the early 1990s, has looked surprisingly clumsy at times. The latest embarrassment stemmed from reports last week of a falling out with Primeco Personal Communications LP, which has a $500-million contract with Motorola to help build a nationwide digital wireless phone system. Primeco has apparently become so annoyed with disruptions in service that it is planning to cancel the contract and perhaps take the drastic step of ripping out equipment already purchased. Analysts say the direct impact of ending the Primeco relationship would be minimal; Motorola had nearly $30 billion in annual sales last year. But the news certainly does not help a corporate image tarnished by several missteps in new markets in recent years, missteps that make analysts worry that other customers may become more hesitant to sign major new contracts with Motorola. Making matters worse, Motorola is also confronted with some challenges beyond its control. The biggest is the economic crisis in Asia, where it got 26 percent of its revenue last year. No wonder Motorola, the Schaumburg, Ill.-based semiconductor and telecommunications giant, has Wall Street anxiously wondering how the company will regain the momentum that made it so popular among investors in the early 1990s. "The range of earnings projections for Motorola this year and next is wider than usual," said Charles Hill, director of research at the First Call Corp., which monitors reports from 29 analysts at brokerage firms that follow the company. Nine of those analysts have strong "buy" recommendations on the stock, but one has an outright "sell" recommendation -- rare for Wall Street -- and 12 others list Motorola as a "hold," which is about as negative as most analysts will get. For many, the biggest uncertainty comes from the same questions hanging over much of American industry: how deep will Asia's financial woes get and how long will they persist? Asia affects Motorola in two ways. Demand for semiconductors and other key products has weakened during the months of financial turmoil in the East Asia. Telephone companies in struggling nations like Indonesia have put big-ticket contracts for new cellular telephone network equipment on hold. And Asian manufacturers selling products like cellular phones are likely to be tougher competitors, if they are based in countries like South Korea where the local currency has plummeted in value, giving them a sizable cost advantage. But Wall Street has also been worried -- and far more frustrated -- by the ways Motorola has been hurting itself. As the Primeco episode highlights, the biggest such problems at the moment are in wireless communications products, especially the cellular telephone business. Much of the luster investors attached to the Motorola name -- the stock is still rivaled only by Intel as a favorite technology holding of investment clubs -- was gained when demand for its pagers skyrocketed and its analog cellular technology dominated the market along with that of L.M. Ericsson of Sweden. But over the last three years, Motorola ranked 97th of the 100 largest publicly traded companies in the total return it offered its investors. Industrywide downturns in the huge semiconductor business hurt. So did the failure of the Power PC microchip Motorola developed with IBM to grab significant market share in the personal computer business. And cable modems, which allow consumers to connect to the Internet over cable television lines, failed to take off as anticipated. The last thing the company needed was another blow to its image as a technology pioneer. But that came last Monday when Crain's Chicago Business reported that Primeco wanted to cancel its contract and remove already-installed Motorola equipment. On Tuesday, after The Wall Street Journal published additional details, Motorola's shares fell nearly 5 percent, to $57.625. They closed on Friday at $55.625, down $1.625. In July, it reached its 52-week high of $89.9375. Neither company was willing to discuss the reports in detail. Analysts fret that the problem with Primeco will scare away some potential customers. It drew attention to unrelated trends, like the sharp decline for prospects of semiconductor growth in Asia. It also reminded Wall Street of the other problems Motorola has had getting competitive products to market quickly and keeping customers happy. For instance, Motorola's models of special digital telephones are just reaching the consumer market, far behind nimble competitors like Nokia of Finland. Monday, March 2, 1998 Copyright 1998 The New York Times

To: Sawtooth who wrote (9015)	3/3/1998 3:37:00 PM
From: JMD	Respond to of 152472

Tim A, rhetOric: thanks guys for the info on eudora and up to date. I think both of you are right--the boys in San Diego are gonna bundle all of that stuff in a Q phone but I'll bet you a 6 pak it ain't gonna "integrate with a Palm Pilot" it's gonna REPLACE the Palm Pilot. The Q phone is the thinnest of thin clients (I actually bagged this idea from Chaz on the Q Motley thread). Is that way cool or what? swelling violins, blaring trumpets, CDMA jihad, yes lord I BELIEVE. MOT files chapter 11, Ericy invents 3rd gen CDMA and it doesn't work worth a lick, and Nokia begs to pay higher royalties, and that's just the opening paragraph in the prayer book. How we doing so far? Surfer Mike