Motorola, WorldGate end video telephone agreement

NEW YORK: Motorola Inc. and WorldGate Communications said on Tuesday they will end their agreement to distribute WorldGate's Ojo video telephone, less than a year after launching it.

WorldGate will be responsible for all sales, marketing and distribution of its videophones going forward, the companies said in a statement.

Officials at both companies declined to say how many phones they sold. The decision "had nothing to do with the sales of the product," a Motorola spokesman said.

Motorola and WorldGate announced their partnership in May 2004. They debuted the Ojo, which delivers video service through a high-speed Internet connection, in May 2005.

The Ojo was sold at stores such as Harvey Electronics, Magnolia and Tweeter, the spokesman said.

Motorola shares were flat in after-hours trade after closing at $21.57 on the New York Stock Exchange. WorldGate shares were up 1.35 percent to $1.50 after closing down more than 4 percent to $1.48 on the Nasdaq.