08-09-2005, 06:30 PM
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Executive Editor, Android Thoughts
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,233
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Motorola: Getting Its Groove Back
"It's a muggy Friday morning in mid-July and a group of Motorola designers are gathered on the 26th floor in the company's downtown Chicago design center. They're looking over prototypes for a new mobile phone when CEO Edward J. Zander pokes his head in the door: "Can I come in?" Dressed casually, in jeans and a polo shirt, he quickly gets down to business. The models on the table are for the Q, a phone with a full qwerty keyboard designed to compete with the wildly popular BlackBerry, from Research in Motion"
Our sister site, Smartphone Thoughts, posted on this article and we thought that the PPC crowd might find it equally as interesting. Apparently Motorola is aware that they need to be just as cool as some other phone manufacturers (Because I know personally, I take into account how hip a company is when I buy their products :roll: ), and have been coming up with some new hotnesses to pump up the bottom line (Scary, but it seems to be actually working). The article is a bit long, but you'll find a few tidbits in it, including the reason the Mpx was nixed. If you guessed that it wasn't marketable to children wanting ringtones and overpriced games, you're on the right track...
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Dr. Jon Westfall, MCSE, MS-MVP
Executive Editor - Android Thoughts
News Editor - Windows Phone Thoughts
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08-09-2005, 07:15 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 248
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well, outside the tech world, a phone is as much a fashion accessory as a useful device. th emoney is in the mass market not the niche market (well, the kind of money motorola needs). with taht said, I recently Purchased two RZR phones for my parents (retired) on Cingular (free). As you mhave guessed, my parents aren�t the ones to flash their new gadgets. However, they both like the RAZR. Why? It�s lightweight but the buttons and screen are big enough for them to see. More than anything else and unlike any other Motorola product (I initially typed problem by accident) it works. All Motorola phones I�ve owned or my friends have owned have been problematic in some way. Usually reception, ring volume, call volume, etc. However the RAZR seems to have none of these problems. So, it�s not only style but quality has FINALLY improved for Motorola and the are off my boycott list.
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08-09-2005, 07:41 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 172
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I really like the SLVR...says in the article its due out this fall...can't wait!
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08-09-2005, 08:17 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 270
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"He considered the ideas, particularly the MPx, examples of conventional thinking. "If we can't innovate, forget it..."
Does anyone else find this line troublesome? The MPx was very unconventional and innovative where as the Q is just a thin Blackberry.
Granted the MPx had tons of problems, but if they had spent time fixing these problems instead of figuring out how to shave some bulk off a blackberry, they would have had something.
Don't get me wrong, I think these new phones are very stylish. But that is what they are: stylish. Not unconventional or innovative.
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08-09-2005, 08:35 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 248
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I believe what is innovative is what is inside. whatever they did, it seems to work better than most phones.
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08-09-2005, 09:04 PM
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Thoughts Media Review Team
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 749
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I seem to remember seeing a picture somewhere (maybe it was engaget.com) with the RAZR sporting Windows Mobile 5.....
For me, that would be an immediate sale!
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/drt
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08-09-2005, 11:15 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 718
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by don dre
well, outside the tech world, a phone is as much a fashion accessory as a useful device. th emoney is in the mass market not the niche market (well, the kind of money motorola needs). with taht said, I recently Purchased two RZR phones for my parents (retired) on Cingular (free). As you mhave guessed, my parents aren�t the ones to flash their new gadgets. However, they both like the RAZR. Why? It�s lightweight but the buttons and screen are big enough for them to see. More than anything else and unlike any other Motorola product (I initially typed problem by accident) it works. All Motorola phones I�ve owned or my friends have owned have been problematic in some way. Usually reception, ring volume, call volume, etc. However the RAZR seems to have none of these problems. So, it�s not only style but quality has FINALLY improved for Motorola and the are off my boycott list.
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Yeah, but are the people who are more concerned about a fashion statement the same people who are spending $300-$500 on a phone? The "coolness" factor may be of importance to younger (read: less afluent) people. Therefore, the "coolness" of a phone can be the key selling point of a phone under$100. But a $500 PDA phone has to be more than simply "cool". Unfortunately, companies aren't seeing it that way though.
In your example of the RAZR, it may have a coolness factor, but it also is good technology. Good phone, good screen, bluetooth and thin. That's why you bought it, not because it was cool. But it seems like nowadays when a company designs a good product with useful features, it's almost by accident. The "cool" was the key factor and the good quality/usefulness was merely an afterthought.
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08-09-2005, 11:37 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 652
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Well said DaleReeck. I couldn't agree with you more. That's one of the reasons I haven't upgraded my T68i yet. It may be old but the talk and standby times are hard to beat and its small yet functional.
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Making use of mobile tech like no other.
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08-10-2005, 01:15 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 176
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heh, just yesterday I got a Motorola i730 phone as a gift from a family member and now I see this post. Coincidence? Or mystery of the unknown? :rotfl:
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08-10-2005, 02:20 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 12
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I have to agree. I thought the MPX was a brilliant design. I'm so suprised not to see a follow up. Some people will disagree but the MPX was the most talked about phone in 2003/2004 due to its unique design and its potential. Unfortunately, the processor and memory etc let it down but these are problems easily overcome. Its a shock to me that the MPX design is no more.
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