Focus on Design Bolsters Motorola

Technology always trumped good looks at Motorola, whose distinguished 77-year résumé includes the first car radio, walkie-talkie and cellphone but not a lot of technology beauty prizes.

People like Jim Wicks, working for a competitor a decade ago, were impressed with its well-engineered products but winced at their industrial look and relentlessly black and gray colors.

"I thought, 'Wow, great products but why are they so ugly?"' recalled Wicks, now Motorola's chief phone designer.

Today, plain is out and sleek and stylish are in as a new focus on design wins back customers and market share at Motorola.

The symbol of the resurgence is the ultrathin Razr, whose success helped vault the company over Nokia, the worldwide leader, as the top phone seller in North America last year and, even more noteworthy, stamped pioneer Motorola as the trendsetter again in innovative design.

The $450 Razr embodies "a departure from the stodgy, engineering-driven , midwestern company that was Motorola," said John Jackson, an analyst with Yankee Group.

Those core values may make for a strong foundation but they do not necessarily resonate in an age where so many consumers want their choice of cellphone to define cool.

"These guys have to evolve from an engineering-focuse d company to a hip, slick, dynamic, rapidly moving consumer