Motorola Abandons Macintosh Clones

Motorola Inc., citing Apple Computer Inc.’s change of heart about sharing its technology, said Thursday that it will stop making clones of the Macintosh personal computer.

The decision marked the second time in less than two weeks that a major clonemaker effectively has been eliminated as a competitor to Apple, which has seen copies of the Mac eat into its own sales.

Motorola, which started cloning the Mac only a year ago, said it was unable to reach an “acceptable” licensing agreement with Apple. Apple recently decided not to let licensees make Macs using a new hardware standard and has been seeking higher fees for clones built with current technology.

“This announcement brings to an end our effort to reach agreement with Apple on terms that would have supported our continued Mac OS investments,” said Joe Gugliemi, general manager of Motorola’s computer division.

Apple spokeswoman Katie Cotton said the company respects Motorola’s decision.