Motorola talks Moto X/Maker expansion, high-end devices, and the Lenovo deal

posted by Michael H. / Feb 25, 2014, 6:06 PM

Motorola talks Moto X/Maker expansion, high-end devices, and the Lenovo deal

Motorola took some time to answer quite a few questions on Twitter today, and there were some very interesting answers to various questions regarding the expanded release of the Moto X and Moto Maker, as well as a bit of insight into what to expect from the company once it is officially acquired by Lenovo.

On the topic of the Moto X, we already heard that the follow-up to the Moto X is planned for late summer, but before that the current Moto X is going to continue its expansion into new territories. According to Motorola, the Moto X will be launching in India and Australia in the "next few weeks"; and, the Moto Maker customization options are expanding just as we expected. Motorola says that in Q2 of this year, Moto Maker will be made available in western Europe and Mexico.

Obviously, Motorola couldn't be too forthcoming in terms of the Lenovo deal, but it did clear up a few questions that we have had. First off, Motorola is going to continue focusing on Android, even after the acquisition, because otherwise Motorola would "have to compromise if we spread across ecosystems." It also mentioned the "big opportunity" in China with its "partner" Lenovo.

Maybe most telling of all, Motorola was asked about selling "high priced" devices, to which it responded: "Great smart phones should be available to everyone & days of $600 phones are limited." It should be noted that neither the question, nor the response made mention of "high-end" or "high spec" devices, but rather specifically on "high priced" handsets. Maybe Motorola will be continuing with the Moto X pricing as is.

source: @Motorola 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5

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14 Comments

1. grahaman27

Posts: 364; Member since: Apr 05, 2013

maybe not high priced, but I still want a premium phone. I would rather the new moto x cost a little more if it meant being the best.

posted on Feb 25, 2014, 6:25 PM 0

2. aditya.k

Posts: 496; Member since: Mar 10, 2013

Wow! Moto X in India in next few weeks? Didn't expect that! But first take care of Moto G, the 16 gig version is still out of stock!

posted on Feb 25, 2014, 7:46 PM 0

3. 14545

Posts: 1835; Member since: Nov 22, 2011

I'm really liking the new direction of Moto. Even if it may head in a different direction soon enough. Just add a few more hardware features, at least an IR blaster and 64 gb options, and I won't buy anything else.

posted on Feb 25, 2014, 8:28 PM 1

4. cretinick

Posts: 148; Member since: Jan 25, 2011

I like it too. But... I think they are going too slow... They are losing potential clients that are getting tired of waiting for their releases. When they release the MotoX in those new countries, people is already looking for the newest releases. They should bring a new flagship right after HTC (who will release right after the S5 get in the stores). When they bring the MotoX V2, in late summer, many of potential clients will have S5, Z2, New One and others in their pockets. That's why I think Motorola still has lost money, with one Phone that everybody likes and praises.

posted on Feb 25, 2014, 8:55 PM 3

5. 14545

I agree....Kinda. But that is a double edged sword. By that, I mean if you release a new phone just 6 months after you released the last flagship, then you run the risk of turning off those customers that were early adopters of your current devices. Don't get me wrong, I do kind of agree, however, it is a risk. I think it would be smart to stat teasing their devices to keep more people interested enough to hold off until their release. Then move the release up to say June-July. If your product development staff can handle that.

posted on Feb 25, 2014, 9:01 PM 2

10. cretinick

Agree... Too short release cicle are bad too. Your strategy of teasing the audience is good. However, they can start to get more close to the release cicle of other brands. If they will not use the latest technology, later releases puts their products more and more behind. But they take too much time to launch the Moto X in many key markets, like Europe and India...

posted on Feb 26, 2014, 6:24 AM 0

6. weedl

Posts: 50; Member since: Oct 05, 2012

moto g please come to indonesia....

posted on Feb 25, 2014, 9:12 PM 0

7. Sniggly

Posts: 7305; Member since: Dec 05, 2009

If the Moto X successor sells for 400 dollars off contract and offers a good improvement on the original (especially in storage capacity) as well as being offered more widely at launch, it'll probably be a much bigger hit than its predecessor.

posted on Feb 25, 2014, 11:56 PM 0

8. Scott93274

Posts: 6031; Member since: Aug 06, 2013

I am currently content with storage capacity, though I won’t turn my nose up at the chance of getting 32GB, but it would still have to have a "vanilla" Android OS and a battery equal to that of the current Droid Maxx for me to drop the money to buy it off contract.

posted on Feb 26, 2014, 2:55 AM 1

9. Sniggly

I can see myself buying it on contract or off contract, depending on how much money I save and its respective prices. I'd almost prefer buying it unlocked and off contract, since it'll then be mine no matter what. I will definitely continue to get a Motomaker version as well; I'm hooked on the personalization aspect of the buying experience. My Moto X is most definitely mine, with my identity wrapped up in it.

posted on Feb 26, 2014, 3:07 AM 1

12. milesboy5

Posts: 179; Member since: Nov 07, 2012

I think that off contract is the way to go. Before owning my current Moto X I had the HTC One...not a bad device but I didnt like the interface of Sense. So I switched and bought the Moto X off contract and had it customized through motomaker. It is currently one of the best phones I have used to date.

posted on Feb 26, 2014, 11:11 AM 0

11. salaal

Posts: 109; Member since: Dec 08, 2013

it would probably have a Snapdragon 610/615

posted on Feb 26, 2014, 7:00 AM 0

13. 7thspaceman

Posts: 1597; Member since: Feb 14, 2011

Windows smart phone fans like me are ready for the Windows 8.1 version of the Motorola MOTO phones. the Android folks have had their fun! Now it's our turn. Lenovo is now a Windows smart phone partner so look out windows smart phone fans Windows MOTO 'smart phones are on the Way due the upgrades in the Windows 8.1 OS

posted on Feb 26, 2014, 7:20 PM 0

14. Sniggly

It's not going to happen, mate. Motorola straight up said that they would have to compromise if they made phones for multiple operating systems, so they're sticking to Android.