Motorola seeks to hire up to 300 Google Android developers
Palm may not have much of an appetite for Google's Android platform for mobile phones, but Motorola definitely does.
Reports in Top Tech News and elsewhere suggest that Motorola is looking to hire hundreds of Google Android developers. Indeed, a quick search of Motorola's job openings suggests that, indeed, Android is set to become a permanent fixture at Motorola, which has long built Linux-based phones but hitherto used MontaVista's Mobilinux.
The goal? Move from an internal development pool of 50 Android-savvy developers to 350.
Motorola, recognizing that most developers won't have deep experience with Google Android, is looking for a somewhat general skillset, as this job posting for a Principal Engineer suggests:
We are looking for an Application Developer to work on new client applications and services for Motorola phones based on the Google Android platform. Main responsibilities will include programming in Java, designing and documenting feature implementation plans, and general troubleshooting.
"Java and Google Android programming experience" is listed as "highly desirable," but not required.
Given that many of Motorola's problems stem from product marketing - figuring out which handsets to build - and brand marketing - actually making consumers want to buy the handsets - this attempt may not be enough. Motorola's biggest problem isn't its technology platform: few prospective buyers care what software the phone is running. Motorola may be making a big bet on a platform that won't materially change its own inability of late to build compelling phones.
Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay. 
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I mean look at the G1. It's already getting a lot of attention and it doesn't even look very nice. If you take G1's interface, features, ect and combine it with Motorola design, you end up with a very desirable phone.
- by zzzphone October 14, 2008 2:17 AM PDT
- hi john
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(4 Comments)if your interested in a follow up story to your earlier story on zzzphone in new york times please read this; you can call me at xxxxxxxxxx for more details Java and Google Android programming experience. also we have the names of 3 MIT students who have been working summers for google android. they have been offered full time after post grad from MIT. the MIT android team were awarded $350,000 in the contest while our 4 submissions were thrown out. we have since applied for china and USA patents on our 4 software/hardware apps.
further we have been bad mouthed on the official google android blog , saying we are not recognized by google. while the android system is revolutionary and complements our revolutionary process of custom making each cell phone to each customers requirement,(including free uploading 3 android softwares of customers choice),it is anything except "open source"
as david killed goliath, we are beating google to worldwide markets (except we lose the first battle by 1 month in USA). and with a far superior, unlocked(really open sourced), 2 sim card phone. at less than half the true google phone price($179 plus $840 in extra t-mobile charges over 2 years) price.
to my knowledge only google and zzzphone are taking orders as of now.
our engineering team has 22 Chinese in shenzhen as opposed to the 1000s working in the "alliance" you can see the press release (attachment) and our phone at www.zzzphone.com beta
larry horowitz, president