Motorola, Verizon to Sell Droid Business Phone

Motorola Inc said on Tuesday Verizon Wireless would sell the Droid Pro, the mobile phone maker’s first device for business customers based on Google Inc’s popular Android operating system. Boasting push email with corporate-level security among the phone’s features, Motorola is aiming squarely at the market dominated by Research In Motion’s Blackberry, which is also sold at Verizon Wireless, the No. 1 U.S. mobile operator. Verizon’s heavy promotion of Motorola’s first two Droid phones the Droid and the Droid X, has helped Motorola revitalize its ailing phone business since late last year. Motorola said the new device will supports Adobe Systems’ Flash software and has Wi-Fi short-range wireless connections that can be used in areas of spotty cellular network coverage. The Droid Pro somewhat resembles a BlackBerry, with a keyboard bar as well as a 3.1-inch touchscreen display, which is smaller than other Droid models.

Motorola did not reveal pricing, and said the Droid Pro will be available in the coming weeks through the mobile venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone. “There is a particular trend, which is consumerization of the enterprise,” Motorola co-CEO Sanjay Jha said in an interview on Tuesday ahead of the CTIA trade show in San Francisco. CTIA-The Wireless Association, an international trade group, represents all wireless communication sectors. “We’ve added a lot of the business functionality that will allow the CIO (chief information officer) to say you can buy that device and bring it to the enterprise,” he said. Motorola also announced a slew of new consumer smartphones based on Android, including a cheaper model named Citrus, which will also be sold at Verizon Wireless in the fourth quarter. Citrus comes with a Qwerty key-board and features Microsoft Corp’s Bing search engine. Motorola competes with Apple Inc’s iPhone and Samsung Electronics in the fast-growing smartphone market.

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