Leading up to the Moto X event yesterday, there were so many rumors. Some we were really hoping were true, like the low price tag. I had also heard from many people on Google+, and Twitter that were 100% confident that Google would sell the Moto X on the Play Store, but why? It’s not a Nexus, it’s not a Chrome Device and it’s not a Google Play Edition device. Google has been saying, ever since they purchased Motorola, that they are not going to give Motorola special treatment. Which means, no Motorola does not get early access to Android code. No, Motorola doesn’t automatically get to make the next Nexus. No, Motorola’s devices will not be sold on the Play Store, except for the Google Play Edition that’s coming “soon”.
Google owns Motorola, but Motorola is still a company outside of Google. Google does indeed control their primary revenue streams, patent portfolio, CEO and other stuff, but the day to day operations of Motorola are managed by guess who? Motorola. Yes, many of Motorola’s employees are former Google employees.
Right now, it doesn’t appear to matter to Google what Motorola does. Since Google has openly stated that they only purchased Motorola for their patents. But it does appear that Google is trying to get Motorola to improve their supply line. You can see the start of that with their new Motorola X8 Mobile Computing System. Motorola already produces some of their SoCs, and now Google has added another to them. Basically, the more Motorola can control, the better it is for the company. In the end it’s still up to Motorola to produce phones and tablets that consumers want at prices we feel we should pay for them.
With the Moto X it’s not all about specs. It’s more about the optimization and the software features. Motorola is promising all-day battery life with a 2200mAh battery. Which they did say is 24 hours. Of course, we’ll be testing that out once we get a review unit. But the Moto X is just another reminder that Google owns Motorola, but they do not run Motorola. Google is still working on turning Motorola around, so it’s going to take some time. So I wouldn’t expect a truly “revolutionary” phone for another year or so. Motorola will still be bringing in revenue because they just launched the new DROID line, well it’s launching later this month, with the Moto X. Their DROIDs always sell very well. And unlike the Nexus program, they will make a profit on the DROIDs and not sell them at cost.
So remember “Motorola – A Google Company” not “Motorola = Google”.