page_title: Motorola
section_title: Post World War II
hierarchical_section_title: Motorola / History / Post World War II
caption_attribution_description: English: Dr. Martin Cooper, the inventor of the cell phone, with DynaTAC prototype from 1973 (in the year 2007). Deutsch: Martin Cooper mit einem etwas größeren DynaTAC-Prototypen von 1973 (im Jahr 2007) Русский: Мартин Купер, изобретатель сотового телефона с прототипом DynaTAC 1973 года (в 2007 году) 中文（台灣）‎: 馬汀庫柏博士，全世界第一隻商用手機的發明人。
context_page_description: Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company founded on September 25, 1928, based in Schaumburg, Illinois. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company demerged into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011. Motorola Inc. was renamed Motorola Solutions and is legally the direct successor to the original company after the demerger from Motorola Mobility. Motorola Mobility was sold to Google in 2012, and acquired by Lenovo in 2014.
  Motorola designed and sold wireless network equipment such as cellular transmission base stations and signal amplifiers. Motorola's home and broadcast network products included set-top boxes, digital video recorders, and network equipment used to enable video broadcasting, computer telephony, and high-definition television. Its business and government customers consisted mainly of wireless voice and broadband systems, and public safety communications systems like Astro and Dimetra. These businesses are now part of Motorola Solutions. Google sold Motorola Home to the Arris Group in December 2012 for US$2.35 billion.
context_section_description: In October 1946, Motorola communications equipment carried the first calls on Illinois Bell telephone company's new car radiotelephone service in Chicago. The company began making televisions in 1947, with the model VT-71 with 7-inch cathode ray tube. In 1952, Motorola opened its first international subsidiary in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to produce radios and televisions. In 1953, the company established the Motorola Foundation to support leading universities in the United States.
  In 1955, years after Motorola started its research and development laboratory in Phoenix, Arizona, to research new solid-state technology, Motorola introduced the world's first commercial high-power germanium-based transistor. The present "batwing" logo was also introduced in 1955 (having been created by award-winning Chicago graphic designer Morton Goldsholl in late 1954).
  Beginning in 1958, with Explorer 1 Motorola provided radio equipment for most NASA space-flights for decades, including the 1969 Moon landing. A year later it established a subsidiary to conduct licensing and manufacturing for international markets. Motorola created numerous products for use by the government, public safety officials, business installments, and the general public.
  In 1960, it introduced the world's first large-screen portable (19-inch), transistorized, cordless television. According to the 1962 Illinois Manufacturers Directory (50th-anniversary edition), Motorola had 14,000 employees worldwide of which at least 5,823 employees in 6 plants were located in Illinois. The company headquarters were at 9401 West Grand Avenue in Franklin Park and it listed TV receivers, stereo hi-fi equipment as the products at this plant made by 1,700 employees. The Communications Division was in Chicago at 4545 West Augusta Blvd. where 2,000 employees made electronic communications equipment. The Military Electronics Division was at 1450 North Cicero Avenue, Chicago where 923 employees made microwave and industrial equipment. Two more Chicago locations were listed at 4900 West Flourney Street and at 650 North Pulaski but no employee count was listed for these. The last plant was listed in Quincy, Illinois at 1400 North 30th Street where 1,200 employees made radio assemblies for both home and automobile.
  In 1963, it introduced the first rectangular color picture tube. In 1964, the company opened its first Research and development branch outside of the United States, in Israel, under the management of Moses Basin. The modular Quasar brand was introduced in 1967.
  In 1969, Neil Armstrong spoke the famous words "one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" from the Moon on a Motorola transceiver.
  In 1971, Motorola demonstrated the first hand-held portable telephone.
  In 1973, Motorola introduced its first microprocessor, the 8-bit MC6800, used in automotive, computing and video game applications. That same year, Motorola sold its television business to the Japan-based Matsushita, the parent company of Panasonic.
  In 1976, Motorola moved its headquarters to the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Illinois.
  In 1980, Motorola's next generation 32-bit microprocessor, the MC68000, led the wave of technologies that spurred the computing revolution in 1984, powering devices from companies such as Apple, Commodore, Atari, Sun, and Hewlett Packard.
  In September 1983, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the DynaTAC 8000X telephone, the world's first commercial cellular device. By 1998, cell phones accounted for two-thirds of Motorola's gross revenue. The company was also strong in semiconductor technology, including integrated circuits used in computers. In particular, it is known for the 6800 family and 68000 family of microprocessors and related peripheral ICs; the processors were used in Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, Color Computer, and Apple Macintosh personal computers and in the early HP laser printers, and some 6800-family peripheral devices were used in the IBM PC series of personal computers. The PowerPC family was developed with IBM and in a partnership with Apple 
caption: Dr. Martin Cooper of Motorola made the first private handheld mobile phone call on a larger prototype model in 1973. This is a reenactment in 2007.
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