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Motorola's software developer networks join forces

The mobile-phone maker figures developers in different camps can learn from each other.

Tom Krazit Former Staff writer, CNET News
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Google, as the most prominent company on the Internet defends its search juggernaut while expanding into nearly anything it thinks possible. He has previously written about Apple, the traditional PC industry, and chip companies. E-mail Tom.
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Tom Krazit
Motorola is consolidating its software developer networks into a single organization in hopes of making it easier for developers to write applications for its products, the company is expected to announce Monday.

Motodev will replace the three separate developer networks--called Motocoder, Iden and Horizon--that Motorola has maintained, said Christy Wyatt, vice president of ecosystem and market development for Motorola's mobile devices group. Motocoder was a support group for application developers working on mobile-phone software, while Iden catered to developers of business applications, and Horizon focused on home entertainment applications for set-top boxes.

Software is becoming an increasingly important competitive arena for mobile-phone vendors, Wyatt said. For years, they sold phones based on slick designs like Motorola's Razr phones, but as mobile phones grow more sophisticated, the devices are capable of running much more demanding software applications, she said.

The company says that consolidating its developer networks will allow participants to see what other developers are doing and come up with new ideas to improve their own products, Wyatt said. The networks provide developers with the tools and support needed to create their applications.

Motorola CEO Ed Zander is putting a lot of emphasis on improving software development across Motorola's businesses, Wyatt said. Zander ran Sun Microsystems' software business before coming to Motorola.