Can half a billion dollars make Google

[V-Tech]

 

Going up against Apple?s iPhone 5S, Samsung?s Galaxy Note III, LG?s G2 and a handful of other flagship phones this fall isn?t going to be easy for the Moto X, the first Motorola smartphone that will be heavily influenced by Google. From the looks of things though, Google is covering nearly all the bases. The phone will feature more customization options than any other handset on the market, it will be built in the U.S., it will reportedly feature a nearly stock version of Android Jelly Bean, it will be packed to the gills with sensors and according to The Wall Street Journal, it will be supported by a $500 million marketing blitz.

 

?Google is expected to allow its Motorola hardware unit to spend several hundred million dollars?and possibly upward of $500 million?to market the highly-anticipated device in the U.S. and some overseas markets, including in Europe, said people familiar with the matter,? wrote WSJ?s Amir Efrati. The report adds that the Moto X will be available across all four major carriers in the U.S.

 

Dozens of key factors contribute to the success or failure of a smartphone but the two most popular handsets in the world, Apple?s iPhone 5 and Samsung?s Galaxy S4, each have billion-dollar marketing and advertising budgets backing them. This is no coincidence, of course; it takes money ? a lot of money ? to make money.

 

 

 

http://bgr.com/2013/07/12/moto-x-marketing-campaign/

[br0adband]

After the Atrix/Photon/Electrify fiasco where Motorola promised owners (I owned an Atrix, and then a Photon, the Electrify was a Photon designed specifically for the US Cellular networks) for almost 18 solid months they'd provide the Android 4 aka Ice Cream Sandwich update to all of us. They waited literally to the last minute (because we had a leak of a fully working Atrix ROM from someone inside Motorola but it remains "unofficial" even in spite of being about 99.9% functional and complete; they'd even started a soak test with it) and the last October they yanked the rug right out from under all of us and basically said "To hell with you people that want ICS on the Atrix/Photon/Electrify, we're not giving it to you, go buy a new phone if you want that update and here, have a $100 coupon on us..."

I swear, Motorola, never again. I don't care if the Moto X is the most awesome smartphone made yet (which it isn't, that much is a given) and I got one for free on the day it's released with a ton of goodies included - I will never use or buy Motorola products again because of them pulling that crap.

Shame on you, Motorola Mobility. And don't even try to blame it on Google, that ain't gonna happen.

Anyway, I hope someone is happy with whatever Google and Motorola Mobility finally toss out for people, I just don't intend to get suckered again.

[techbeck]

" I swear, Motorola, never again. I don't care if the Moto X is the most awesome smartphone made yet (which it isn't, that much is a given) and I got one for free on the day it's released with a ton of goodies included - I will never use or buy Motorola products again because of them pulling that crap. Shame on you, Motorola Mobility. And don't even try to blame it on Google, that ain't gonna happen. Anyway, I hope someone is happy with whatever Google and Motorola Mobility finally toss out for people, I just don't intend to get suckered again.

 

Different company, it is not the same Motorola Mobility.  It is a phone with Google's input and running stock Android. Google has always been good in pushing out updates for the Nexus devices, I dont see this being any different with Moto X.  And who knows what the Moto X is going to be all about.  So  far, very little info has been released.  Will it be the  best phone they made yet?  Who knows, again...not a lot of info released about it.

 

If MOTO, or HTC for that matter, gets their act together and produce a device that appeals to me, I would be all for it.