In April 1973, Motorola engineer Martin Cooper starred in a fact that would revolutionize technology. That day, exactly 50 years ago, he made the first successful call from a cell phone. He prophesied that he “knew this was just the beginning” and that these first 5 decades “They were just a warm-up exercise”. It couldn’t be more right. Mobile telephony today is the center of global innovation.
Motorola was born setting new directions and creating patents. For example, in 1930, two years after its founding in the United States, it launched the first car radio. Only in 1983, 10 years after the historic phone call, managed to introduce the DynaTAC 8000xthe first mobile phone in history. He led the business for many years, but in 2014, after a deep crisis, was acquired by the Chinese conglomerate Lenovo.
The cell phone has evolved in such a way that it has replaced computers like the backbone of communications, information and entertainment. Technological advances have enabled the incorporation of text messaging (2G), the Internet, email with mobile broadband (3G), full resolution video (4G) and now the multiple connection of electronics, automobiles and machines (5G) . Argentina is no stranger to these developments.
Motorola was a giant in the mobile phone industry. But with time, it was first replaced by the Finnish Nokia at the beginning of the new millennium, which also fell into disgrace due to the irruption of smartphones and touch screens implemented by iPhone Samsung and Appleconsidered the two largest producers in the world.
The sector today is going through a very particular moment. 1,210 million units were sold in 2022 (11% less than the previous year), the lowest number since 2013. The ranking is led by Samsung (21.6% of the market) and Apple (18.8%). Three Chinese brands follow: Xiaomi (12.7%), Oppo (8.6%) and Vivo (8.2%). Motorola has a strong presence in Latin America.
As an appendage of Lenovo, Motorola is the second best-selling brand in Argentina. Together with Samsung they concentrate over 90% of the total market. He was co-responsible for the first mobile phone call in the country with Movicom, in November 1989, made with a brick-shaped telephone that was carried in a suitcase. It was made by the then controller of ENTel, María Julia Alsogaray (his name was Carlos Menem), 6 years after the debut of mobile telephony in the United States.
“In 1993, Telecom and Telefónica began to compete with Movicom through Miniphone,” says consultant Enrique Carrier. In 1990, one year after the official launch, just 15,000 lines were in service in the country. The first big leap occurs in 1997, which closes with more than 2 million devices in use. “That’s when the caller pay mode came into effect,” recalls Carrier.
In December 2014, 4G was commercially launched in Argentina (4th generation), “which lays the foundations for current mobile communications”, adds the specialist. From that year the number of lines stabilized between 55 and 62 million lines, a figure that varies according to the economic context. For its part, Motorola maintains its validity in several Latin American countries, including Argentina.
In recent months, the brand has resisted the advance of Xiaomi, which has launched an offensive in the region, in many of which it is fighting for first place. In Argentina it is associated with the Etercor group, which has a foot in Tierra del Fuego with its company Solnik. The squeeze on imports has complicated the more aggressive plans to enter the market, which also include the development of a chain of stores in the main cities of the country.
Motorola likewise claims to be a pioneer in introducing the first mobile phones suitable for 5G technology and the first foldable devices in Argentina.
Source: Clarin
