Conventional wisdom holds that Apple's iPhone will be such a smash hit in the marketplace that rival Motorola -- which has already seen its cell phone business under pressure -- could be devastated. And that may or may not come to pass. But Apple's
sale of an estimated 700,000-plus iPhones this week also put the spotlight on one of Motorola's new
strengths in technology.
At Apple stores, company retail employees have been using Motorola's Symbol wireless, hand-held point-of-sale devices to scan credit cards and complete iPhone sales. Given that estimates are that Apple scanned in up to $350 million in business this week (some from online and AT&T store sales, too), and there was nary a complaint from anyone who waited online during last week's Nerdstock campouts as they purchased their beautiful devices, it's not outrageous to think that Motorola (which bought Symbol earlier this year for $3.9 billion) had a pretty good week too.
When Apple planned one of the most important product launches in industry history, it turned to Motorola to keep the lines moving and the money flowing. Put it this way: If Motorola's POS systems crashed, we'd have all heard about it.
Apple may be putting pressure on Motorola's cell phone sales now, but it's giving its rival it a chance to show how the Schaumburg, Ill.-based company can cash in over the long term with enterprise mobility.
