Whilst praising the assets that Motorola brings to Google's table, Pichette undercut the undisclosed list of devices that came with Motorola, claiming they're "not really to the standard that Google would say is 'wow, innovative, transformative'", much to the dismay of fans of Motorola and noted reviewers of their more recent products.
In response, Android Central's Phil Nickinson posted to his Google+ followers, an image of a collection of Motorola's handsets, wherein the caption asked individuals to 'spot the "wow"'. The image was inundated with views of fans and users who mostly reminisced about their past and present Motorola loves, effectively seeking to make a point about Motorola's ability to capture consumer's attention, and hinting that frail ol' Moto has 'still got it'.
But what of the facts behind the views?
Looking at things statistically, in On Device's recent customer satisfaction survey, from over 93,825 U.S. mobile users surveyed from July 2012 - January 2013, Motorola's Atrix HD and Droid RAZR M, placed in the top two spots, with Android's main rival, the iPhone 5, placing fifth.
Though these results aren't indicative of the entire U.S. population's view of their handsets, it does open up the debate to consider whether Pichette's views were poorly conceived, and better left behind closed doors in Google's offices.
Motorola's devices of late have been fairly on-point, as far as trying to provide the right amount of specs for prices that relatively suit almost all buyers. Nothing is wrong with that. The Atrix HD, though admittedly made from more plastic than finer materials of the OG RAZR / RAZR MAXX, offered consumers a first look at the company's ColorBoost screen technology, which produced vibrant, OLED-like rich colours, whilst matching the efficiency and performance on TFT LCD displays that have carried Motorola through most of its Android years. Furthermore, the device packed Qualcomm's then latest S4 dual-core 1.5GHz krait processor, which have graced the likes of the U.S. Samsung GSIII variant, the HTC One XL, Nokia Lumia 920, and other notable 2012 flagships, including the later RAZR HD and RAZR M. Most significantly however, was the fact that it was released in the U.S. for a $99 price tag on contract, which made the device accessible for buyers with just about any budget.
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| Atrix HD's display - Source: PhoneDog |
If this pricing strategy wasn't anything like Google's, despite being an on contract device, then what else can be said? The Atrix HD was undoubtedly a "wow" device for the simple fact consumers could have a high-end device, with Motorola's latest display technology, all at an affordable price-point.
The case is similar with the RAZR MAXX HD, and its industry leading 3,300mAh battery, which is still greater than the larger Note II's and full HD devices such as the Droid DNA and Xperia Z. And not to mention, for novelty's sake, the RAZR HD and MAXX's large notification light beneath the Motorola badge puts most other Android handsets to shame, including the Galaxy Nexus.
Returning to the image of Motorola's collection of Android devices, I found there were a large number of devices which wowed at least myself. Though Motorolas have never been up there on the innovative features front, though SmartActions have received great praise, most of their success has come from the company's ability to push the envelope in terms of design and build of the mobile.
We've all bore witness to the radical designs and intricate craftsmanship and materials that feature on their devices. You get the sense that this company actually put thought into their devices, and care about how they feel, and will continue to feel in individual's hands for years of use. Instead of recycling designs over and over, such as those we've seen from the likes of HTC and Sony, Motorola take certain materials, and run with them, often doing their darnedest to improve wherever they can.
Take most simply, the Defy. When they released the black and white, and later, red models, they made sure to go beyond simply changing the colour of the outer band of the device. Instead, they changed most of the materials, to the point where the black featured more gloss and smooth plastics, the white bore soft rubberised materials and gloss, and the red, a dull metallic finish, and soft rubberised matte frame.
There's also no denying that Motorola have some of the best radios on smartphones, and quite rightly, they should, given they are one of the pioneers in radio-based equipment. Their history in the technology is unsurpassed by any other OEM by miles, and it's one of those wows we frequently fail to acknowledge on every Motorola handset.
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| New Advisor to Motorola - Guy Kawasaki |
So what's all the fuss with Motorola's lack of "wow"? If Motorola's recent products have been bland by Pichette's, and possibly Google's standards, we have only months before Motorola's pipeline is drained, and Google can open the taps on the raging rapids of the new Motorola. If the recent hiring of one of Apple's marketing legends, Guy Kawasaki is anything to go by, Google may indeed have bigger things in store for Motorola than simply holding onto their patents.
As always, only time will tell, but until then - excitement ensues for the results of Kawasaki's input, and benefits he hopes to bring to Motorola.
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