Motorola and Microsoft can still be friends

MOBILE PHONE OUTFIT Motorola has offered the hand of friendship to the company that is trying to sue it for nicking its technology.

Microsoft claims Motorola's Android-based phones violate nine Microsoft patents covering the synchronisation of email, calendars and contacts, scheduling of meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power.

Motorola co-CEO Sanjay Jha told the Wall Street Journal that patent-infringement cases are part of the modern business environment, but that is no reason why Microsoft and Motorola could not be still mates.

Jha said he is open to developing devices that run Windows Phone 7 as the only reason that the outfit went to Android in the first place was because Microsoft did not upgrade its operating system in 2009.

He added that he is open to finding ways to work with Microsoft, but it has to be a "compelling offering". Although he had not seen Windows Phone 7, he said he understood that it is a "rational offering". We are not sure if "rational" is the same as "compelling".

Motorola aims to return its mobile-phone operations to profitability in the fourth quarter, which it will manage to do thanks to Android, Jha claimed.

Jha said that when he took over Motorola's cellphone business in 2008, he wanted to work with both Microsoft and Android. He said the first call he received as co-CEO was from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

However when Windows Mobile 2009 didn't show up, Jha released that if he didn't deliver a smartphone in 2009 the company would have been toast. µ

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