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A Legacy of Innovation: Timeline of Motorola History, 1928-2008
Since 1928, Motorola has been committed to innovation in communications and electronics. Our company has achieved many milestones in its 75-year history. We pioneered mobile communications in the 1930s with car radios and public safety networks. We made the equipment that carried the first words from the moon in 1969. We led the communications revolution with the first commercial handheld cellular phone in 1983 and the first all-digital high-definition television (HDTV) technical standard in 1990. Today, as a global industry leader, excellence in innovation continues to shape the future of the Motorola brand. See Motorola history highlights below, or download the complete text: A Timeline Overview of Motorola History, 1928-2008 (1076 KB PDF, 20 pages).
To view the Motorola timeline in other languages, please make a selection below:
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1928: Founding of Company |
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| On September 25, 1928, Paul V. Galvin and his brother, Joseph, incorporated Motorola's founding company — the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation — in Chicago. |
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1928: Battery Eliminator |
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| Galvin Manufacturing Corporation's first product was a 1928 battery eliminator. The device allowed battery-powered radios to run on standard household electric current. |
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1930: First Motorola Brand Car Radio |
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| In 1930 Galvin Manufacturing Corporation introduced the Motorola radio, one of the first commercially successful car radios. Company founder Paul V. Galvin created the brand name Motorola for the car radio — linking "motor" (for motorcar) with "ola" (which implied sound). Thus the Motorola brand meant sound in motion. |
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1936: Police Cruiser Radio Receiver |
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| In 1936 Galvin Manufacturing Corporation introduced the Motorola Police Cruiser radio receiver, a one-way car radio designed to receive police broadcasts. The heavy duty radio was tuned to a single frequency specified by the customer. |
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1940: Handie-Talkie SCR536 Radio |
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| In 1940 Galvin Manufacturing Corporation (later Motorola) engineers developed the Handie-Talkie SCR536 AM portable two-way radio. This handheld radio became an icon on World War II battlefronts. |
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1941: First Motorola Commercial FM Two-Way Radio System |
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| Galvin Manufacturing Corporation introduced its first commercial line of Motorola FM vehicular two-way radio systems and equipment in 1941. The first Motorola FM system was installed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. |
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1943: First Motorola Public Stock Offering |
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| Galvin Manufacturing Corporation sold its first Motorola public stock in 1943 for US$8.50 per share. |
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1943: World's First FM Portable Two-Way Radio |
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| In 1943, Galvin Manufacturing Corporation (later Motorola) designed the world's first FM portable two-way radio, the SCR300 backpack model, for the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Weighing 35 pounds, the "walkie-talkie" radio had a range of 10 to 20 miles (16-32 kilometers). |
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1946: Car Radiotelephone |
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| On October 2, 1946, Motorola communications equipment carried the first calls on Illinois Bell Telephone Company's new car radiotelephone service in Chicago. |
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1947: Company Name Change |
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| In 1947 Galvin Manufacturing Corporation became Motorola, Inc. |
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1947: Motorola's First TV |
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| Motorola's first television, the 1947 Golden View model, was affordable and popular. More than 100,000 units sold in one year. |
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1955: First Commercial High-Power Transistor |
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| A 1955 Motorola germanium transistor for car radios was the world's first commercial high-power transistor. It was also Motorola's first mass-produced semiconductor. |
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1955: Stylized "M" Motorola Logo |
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| In June 1955 Motorola introduced a new brand logo, the stylized "M" insignia, or "emsignia." A company leader said the two aspiring triangle peaks arching into an abstracted 'M' typified the progressive leadership-minded outlook of the company. |
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1956: Robert W. Galvin, President |
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| Robert W. Galvin, son of company founder Paul V. Galvin, became president of Motorola, Inc. in 1956. |
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1958: Motrac Vehicular Two-Way Radio |
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| In 1958 Motorola introduced the Motrac radio, the world's first vehicular two-way radio with a fully transistorized power supply and receiver. Its low power use enabled the radio to transmit without running the vehicle's engine. |
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1963: World's First Truly Rectangular Color TV Tube |
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| In 1963 Motorola introduced the world's first truly rectangular color TV picture tube. The tube, developed in a joint venture with National Video Corporation, quickly became the industry standard. |
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1969: First Words From the Moon |
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| A Motorola radio transponder relayed the first words from the moon to Earth in July 1969. The transponder aboard the Apollo 11 lunar module transmitted telemetry, tracking, voice communications and television signals between Earth and the moon. |
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1973: Prototype DynaTAC Portable Cellular System |
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| By 1973 Motorola demonstrated a prototype design for the DynaTAC (DYNamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage) portable radiotelephone cellular system. A low-power handset was a fundamental element of the system. |
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1983: World's First Commercial Portable Cellular Phone |
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| The world's first commercial handheld cellular phone, the Motorola DynaTAC phone, received approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in 1983. The 28-ounce (794-gram) phone became available to consumers in 1984. |
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1986: Six Sigma Quality Process |
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| Motorola invented the Six Sigma quality improvement process in 1986. Six Sigma provided a common worldwide language for measuring quality and became a global standard. |
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1990: First HDTV Technical Standard |
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| In 1990 a Motorola business — then known as General Instrument Corporation — proposed the first all-digital high-definition television (HDTV) technical standard. |
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1991: First GSM Cellular System |
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| Motorola demonstrated the world's first working-prototype digital cellular system and phones using the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standard in Hanover, Germany, in 1991. |
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1994: iDEN Digital Radio |
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| In 1994 Motorola introduced iDEN digital radio, the world's first commercial digital radio system that combined paging, data and cellular communications, and voice dispatch in a single radio network and handset. |
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1995: World's First Two-Way Pager |
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| In 1995 Motorola introduced the world's first two-way pager, the Tango two-way personal messaging pager. It allowed users to receive text messages and e-mail, and reply with a standard response. It also could be connected to a computer to download long messages. |
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1996: StarTAC Wearable Phone |
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| When introduced in 1996, Motorola's StarTAC wearable cellular telephone was the world's smallest and lightest. It weighed just 3.1 ounces (88 grams). |
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1999: iDEN i1000plus Handset |
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| Introduced in 1999, Motorola's iDEN i1000plus handset was the world's first to combine a digital phone, two-way radio, alphanumeric pager, Internet microbrowser, e-mail, fax and two-way messaging. |
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2000: World's First GPRS Cellular System |
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| In June 2000, Motorola and Cisco Systems, Inc. supplied the world's first commercial General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) cellular network to BT Cellnet in the United Kingdom. The system also used the world's first GPRS cellular phone, the Motorola Timeport P7389i model. |
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2000: Mission-Critical Wireless Data |
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| In 2000 Motorola tested the world's first 700 MHz wideband high-speed data system for public safety users, enabling advanced mission-critical solutions. Police, fire and EMS services deployed the trial system in Pinellas County, Florida, in 2001. |
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2002: World’s First Wireless Cable Modem Gateway |
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| In 2002 Motorola’s SURFboardAE SBG1000 cable modem gateway was the world’s first to combine a high-speed cable modem router with an ethernet switch and wireless home gateway. It enabled cable TV subscribers to use their cable connection to share Internet access and to network multiple computers wirelessly. |
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2003: A760 Cellular Phone |
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| Introduced in 2003, the Motorola A760 cellular phone was the world's first handset to combine a Linux operating system and Java technology with full PDA functionality. |
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2004: MOTORAZR V3 Cellular Phone |
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| In 2004 Motorola introduced the RAZR V3 cellular phone, an ultraslim, metal-clad, quad-band flip phone. The 13.9mm thin phone used aircraft-grade aluminum to achieve several design and engineering innovations, including a nickel-plated keypad. |
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2005: MOTOMESH Broadband Radio Network |
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| In 2005 Motorola's MOTOMESH wireless mobile network was one of the first multiradio mesh networks to combine 4.9 GHz licensed mobile broadband radios and unlicensed Wi-Fi radios into a single access point. Mesh networking allowed public safety users to rapidly create a network of wireless devices linked in a relay system. |
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2006: Motorola MING Smart Phone |
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| Motorola introduced the MING touch screen smart phone in Asia in 2006. It used advanced handwriting software to recognize more than 10,000 handwritten characters of the Chinese alphabet. |
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2007: Symbol Technologies, Inc. |
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| Motorola and Symbol Technologies, Inc. merged in 2007 to provide products and systems for enterprise mobility solutions, including rugged mobile computing, advanced data capture and radio frequency identification (RFID). |
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2007: Best Corporate Citizen Award |
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| Motorola ranked fourth among America's 100 Best Corporate Citizens, published by CRO magazine for performance in governance, environment, community and employment practices. The 2007 ranking marked the second year in a row that Motorola earned the fourth spot on the list and the fourth time that Motorola appeared in the top 10. |
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2007: World's First WiMAX 802.16e Mobile Handoffs |
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| Motorola demonstrated the world's first WiMAX 802.16e mobile handoffs in downtown Chicago on September 26, 2007. Users experienced live Web browsing and video streaming sessions on wireless computers while traveling in the city. |
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2008: Gregory Q. Brown, CEO |
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| On January 1, 2008, Gregory Q. Brown became chief executive officer of Motorola, Inc. |
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