For more information please contact: David A. Pinsky 847-523-8755
Each Battery with Hologram Image Clearly Identifies Item as a Motorola OriginalTM Accessory - Not a Counterfeit or Imitation Battery
LIBERTYVILLE, Ill., - July 23, 1998 -- In an effort to protect consumers from potentially poor battery performance and possible safety hazards when charging their wireless phone batteries, Motorola has announced an initiative to distinctly and clearly mark its phone batteries with a holographic image directly on the battery. The company has taken this action to help consumers distinguish Motorola Original batteries from those which may be counterfeit or imitations. Non-authorized Motorola batteries may potentially prove to be detrimental to cellular phone use and inhibit consumers from realizing optimum talk and standby times.
"The popularity of Motorola phones worldwide has spawned a number of counterfeit or imitation batteries that do not meet Motorola's specifications or quality standards for performance," said Gayle Landuyt, Motorola's Vice President and Director of Worldwide Accessories. "Additionally, consumers should be aware that using invalid or counterfeit batteries may in fact diminish the performance of their phones because non-Motorola branded batteries do not incorporate the appropriate software to ensure maximum charging."
New Motorola Original cellular phone batteries will have a unique, built-in safety feature - a programmed EPROM. The charging system in the wireless phone communicates with the battery to help ensure that the proper battery charging rate is safely delivered. This system is designed to allow Motorola to improve charge time, extend battery life and most importantly, to help ensure consumer safety with high energy batteries, such as Lithium Ion batteries.
The new hologram battery designs are featured on batteries packaged with phones manufactured since May and will also be included in phone packages set for future commercial availability.
New Motorola GSM and GSM 1.9 StarTACTM phones include new authentication software that read the proprietary charging information and authenticates the battery. Only authentic batteries will charge properly on Motorola phones. Additionally, future phone models are scheduled to incorporate this authentication software as well. Motorola phone models which currently include the authenticated software are: the StarTAC phone series of analog, GSM and GSM 1.9 phone models.
Counterfeit batteries can be used to power on a Motorola cellular phone but because they lack the unique Motorola verification information, they can not be charged properly with Motorola products. When the counterfeit battery is attached to the Motorola phone, the phone's display will read "invalid battery" and it will emit an audio alert or the battery icon on the phone display will not flash indicating to the user that their battery cannot be charged. When the battery is placed into a Motorola desktop charger, the charger will blink its red LED light indicating that the battery is not charging.
In addition to the battery authentication feature, Motorola takes great care in the design and manufacture of its batteries, incorporating numerous safety features into the batteries and subjecting them to rigorous internal and external tests designed to help ensure that consumers receive Motorola quality, properly functioning batteries. For that reason, Motorola recommends that consumers only use Motorola Original batteries with Motorola products.
Motorola is one of the world's leading providers of wireless communications, semiconductors, and advanced electronic systems, components, and services. Major equipment businesses include cellular telephone, two-way radio, paging and data communications, personal communications, automotive, defense and space electronics and computers. Motorola semiconductors power communication devices, computers and millions of other products. Motorola's 1997 sales were $29.8 billion.
