Motorola Backtracks On CEO Comments Blaming App Developers For Poor Device Performance

Just a few days ago, Motorola's CEO Sanjay Jha blamed poorly developed third-party Android apps for the poor performance of the company's Android phones and tablets. He even stated that 70 percent their returned devices were rejected because third-party apps affected usability. Now, the company is trying to backtrack those comments and play nice with developers.

Jha's comments were a shock to the Android developer community and certainly a huge faux pas if he wants better developer support for Motorola's future devices. During a webcasted presentation of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Technology conference, Jha said:

"We're beginning to understand it and understand why 70 percent of the devices are coming back: because they are downloading third-party applications and the impact that that has on the performance of the device."

Motorola attempted to clarify his comment today with the following message:

"He did not state that 70% of smartphone returns was due to third-party applications, but that examples of potential contributing factors are battery life, sluggish operation and third-party applications... We're trying to clear up that was not the point he was trying to make." – Becki Leonard, a Motorola spokeswoman.

Either way, his statements can be found in this video here, so there's no way he could have been misquoted. Misinterpretation is possible, but either way, trying to lay blame for Motorola's unsuccessful Android devices on factors beyond the company's control still doesn't come across that well.

[via ComputerWorld]