Motorola Solutions, Inc., is a leading provider of communications services and manufacturer of electronics systems. The company develops and supports the operation of cable television equipment and computer networks. It also produces electronic navigation and communication systems for automobiles. Motorola invented many of the technologies that make mobile communications possible, including the first mobile phone. The company has headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.
Two American business executives, Paul V. Galvin and his brother Joseph E. Galvin, established Motorola in Chicago in 1928 as the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation. The company’s first product was a device that enabled people to use household electric current to operate radios designed to run only on batteries. In 1930, Galvin Manufacturing produced the first practical, affordable radios for use in automobiles. Paul Galvin created the name Motorola for the car radio to suggest sound in motion. In 1947, the name of the corporation was changed to Motorola, Inc.
Motorola went on to play important roles in the development of handheld two-way radios and television picture tubes. The company’s early work with transistors, beginning in 1949, led to its role as a major developer of computer chips. In 1973, Motorola demonstrated the first public telephone call on a portable cellular phone, using a brick-size, 30-ounce (850-gram) phone. Ten years later, the company introduced mobile phone service to the public with a 16-ounce (454-gram) phone. In contrast, today’s mobile phones weigh as little as 3 ounces (85 grams).
In 2004, Motorola spun off its computer chip division as an independent company, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., of which Motorola retained majority ownership. In 2011, Motorola separated into two companies, Motorola Solutions, Inc., and Motorola Mobility, Inc. Motorola Mobility included the company’s cell phone and cable video management divisions. Google Inc. acquired Motorola Mobility that same year. Google makes the Android operating system run by many Motorola smartphones. Motorola Mobility changed hands again in 2014, when Google sold the division to the Chinese electronics company Lenovo.
