Motorola Agrees to Add RealNetworks Software

Lining up another important partner in the wireless phone industry, RealNetworks Inc. announced that Motorola Inc. had agreed to add Real’s software to some of its forthcoming mobile phones.

Motorola, the world’s second-largest manufacturer of mobile phones, plans to start using Real’s technology for playing digital audio and video files next year on phones running the Linux operating system. The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, came a year and a half after Real announced a long-term alliance with Nokia, the world’s leading supplier of wireless phones.

Motorola also has a deal with Real archrival Microsoft Corp., and AT&T; Wireless already is selling Motorola phones that use Microsoft’s software. But Ian Freed, Real’s vice president of mobile products and services, said his company’s alliances with Nokia, Motorola, Vodafone Group and other wireless-industry leaders added up to “several orders of magnitude” more influence over the market than Microsoft has today, particularly in audio and video services.

-- Jon Healey