Motorola Inc. and SiRF Technology Holdings Inc. said they have identified a solution for the software glitch that affected six Motorola iDEN phones sold by Nextel Communications Inc. and are testing it for deployment. The glitch is in the interface between the SiRFLoc Multimode A-GPS software module incorporated in the affected Motorola handsets.
The glitch, affecting Motorola’s i205, i305, i710, i730, i736 and i830 iDEN phones, forced Nextel to disable the transmission of A-GPS-enabled location information for E911 Phase II location services for the handsets until a permanent fix is found. Nextel said its Phase I 911 service, which transmits a caller’s callback number and the nearest cell site to a public-safety answering point, is still available.
Meanwhile, A-GPS commercial location services capabilities, typically used for locating fleets of vehicles or to download real-time weather information, are fully functional on the Motorola i58 and i88 iDEN devices, Motorola said. Applications including cellular calling capabilities, Direct Connect, text messaging, short message service, voice mail and caller ID are also still in use on the affected phones.
Nextel said it will continue selling its current line of Motorola iDEN phones, implementing updates as necessary.
Shares of Motorola dropped 7.58 percent, to trade at $14.87 per share, after market close Wednesday.
