Motorola was slow to join the smartphone bandwagon, but that’s all about to change. The firm has promised to launch no fewer than 20 top-end mobile phones next year.

During the launchof Motorola’s most prominent smartphone of recent months, the Droid (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/10/29/droid_confirmed/), Sanjay Jha, Motorola’s CEO, announced that the firm will launch “multiple tens” of new smartphones during 2010.

When pressed for a more detailed figure, he revealed that 20 Motorola smartphones will arrive next year.

It’s widely expected that Droid – the first phone to ship with Android 2.0, aka Éclair, pre-installed - will launch this month. In Europe, it will be called the Milestone (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/11/02/moto_milestone_near/).

However, Motorola's boss didn't say whether all or just some of next year's many smartphone models will be based on Android or other operating systems. ®

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