Motorola, the company that was bought by Google last year, surprisingly hasn’t developed any Android phone yet that could impress us. However, the company says that it will manufacture their first smartphone in the United States. This would be the first phone that will be developed under the ownership of Google.
The smartphone will be named Moto X, and will be assembled in a 500,000-square-foot plant near Fort Worth, Texas. The plant will employ around 2000 people and this is the same plant that was once used to make Nokia phones. While the phone will be designed and assembled in the U.S., not every component will be made in the U.S. For instance, the processor and screen will made overseas and then brought to U.S. for assembling.
Dennis Woodside, CEO of Motorola Mobility shed more details on this long-rumored “Moto X” phone. The phone will have an OLED screen and will be launched in late summer. Mr. Woodside hasn’t revealed any other specifications of the phone but did give some clues such as long battery life and smart sensors. The phone will know it’s being pulled out of a pocket, and can adjust its settings if it’s traveling in a car.
“The device will know, whether it’s on or off, it’s traveling at 60 miles per hour. It’s going to act differently so you can interact with it safely,” Woodside said.
He further added, “The phone is more contextually aware of what’s going on around it. It allows you to interact with it in very different ways than you can with other devices.”
Woodside also hinted that Moto X will be priced below competing phones such as the iPhone 5. He said that the Motorola unit is separate from Google and the company is treated just like any Android partner.
“I’m pretty confident of the products we are going to ship throughout the fall,” he said. “They are unlike other things out there.”
For Motorola, it won’t be that easy to increase their market share as they’re already late to the party, and companies like Samsung and HTC have become the first choice for a powerful Android smartphone. For sure, Motorola is going to receive good competition and we just hope that the company’s prepared for it!
