Motorola woes could help TI: Delagi

ORLANDO, Fla.: Troubles at mobile phone maker Motorola Inc. could help, rather than hurt, Texas Instruments Inc., TI's wireless chip business head Gregory Delagi said on Wednesday.

Motorola mainly uses Freescale semiconductors for its advanced phones, but the handset maker issued a profit warning earlier this month, partly blaming supply problems with its existing chip maker.

TI, the world's biggest wireless chip maker, recently extended its supply agreement with Motorola. Its plan to make advanced phones with TI chips was not expected to result in mass production until 2008.

Delagi said that while it could be difficult for the companies to bring products out together any sooner, Motorola's woes may mean that it intensifies its efforts to push out advanced phones.

"We believe there's going to be more intensity around the product ... but it's hard to say how much you can accelerate it," Delagi told Reuters in an interview at the CTIA wireless show.

"You can't make a baby in four and a half months with two women," he said.