I think some of the earlier comments are correct. Moto had a hit with their Razr. At the time, no one else was doing thin. At least not well. Since then, they have essentially sat on their butts with mediocre attempts to recapture the lightning in a bottle that was the original Razr. Having a compact design isn't nearly enough to compete in today's cell phone market... at any level.
I think the key to today, and more importantly tomorrows mobile market is "convergence." Many manufacturer's have taken their shot at convergent devices, and most have failed. Some have had mild success, but in my opinion no one has truly succeeded yet. I know the Apple fan boys are probably writhing in their seats right now, but I think the device is still missing some basic functionality. (Where is my stereo bluetooth support?)
Consumers today want good call quality, up to date design (thin is definitely still good), and value for their money. The average consumer mobile device today should have 3G support, quality audio (sound and format support), a decent camera, removable memory, a "pocketable" design, and possibly email access. And do it all at a reasonable price. (Even if it means signing a contract with a carrier.)
The average consumer (not engadget junkie) has no need for WinMo or any other smart phone OS. They don't need to browse the web on a 2" screen. But they would like to be able to carry a single device to make calls on, take a decent picture with and listen to their favorite music on. Convergence.
Added features like WinMo, web browsers, office and other custom applications are great for smart phones, and a market Motorola definitely needs to address. But what they really need is that one phone that really captures the broadest of markets. Kind of like they did with the original Razr.
And as a frame of reference I currently use an old Razr on T-Mobile. That phone replaced a Moto A630 which replaced one of the original Nokia camera phones. I used to ride on the bleeding edge of consumer phones, but not any longer. Especially not with Motorola. Not after my experience with the last two Motos.
I'll be looking at Samsung and LG when it comes to my next mobile device.
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I think some of the earlier comments are correct. Moto had a hit with their Razr. At the time, no one else was doing thin. At least not well. Since then, they have essentially sat on their butts with mediocre attempts to recapture the lightning in a bottle that was the original Razr. Having a compact design isn't nearly enough to compete in today's cell phone market... at any level.
I think the key to today, and more importantly tomorrows mobile market is "convergence." Many manufacturer's have taken their shot at convergent devices, and most have failed. Some have had mild success, but in my opinion no one has truly succeeded yet. I know the Apple fan boys are probably writhing in their seats right now, but I think the device is still missing some basic functionality. (Where is my stereo bluetooth support?)
Consumers today want good call quality, up to date design (thin is definitely still good), and value for their money. The average consumer mobile device today should have 3G support, quality audio (sound and format support), a decent camera, removable memory, a "pocketable" design, and possibly email access. And do it all at a reasonable price. (Even if it means signing a contract with a carrier.)
The average consumer (not engadget junkie) has no need for WinMo or any other smart phone OS. They don't need to browse the web on a 2" screen. But they would like to be able to carry a single device to make calls on, take a decent picture with and listen to their favorite music on. Convergence.
Added features like WinMo, web browsers, office and other custom applications are great for smart phones, and a market Motorola definitely needs to address. But what they really need is that one phone that really captures the broadest of markets. Kind of like they did with the original Razr.
And as a frame of reference I currently use an old Razr on T-Mobile. That phone replaced a Moto A630 which replaced one of the original Nokia camera phones. I used to ride on the bleeding edge of consumer phones, but not any longer. Especially not with Motorola. Not after my experience with the last two Motos.
I'll be looking at Samsung and LG when it comes to my next mobile device.