Motorola to kick off comeback with US-made Moto X

There was a piece on this I saw somewhere else, that suggested Motorola had been talking about the margins on smartphones being too high. And that they could be cheaper, while still being premium, and accept less than 50% margins.

If true, that might well really piss off Samsung. I'm sure they're delighted with the huge margins they undoubtedly make on the S4, and would be sad to see it stop. It's a problem for Google. If they go cheap with Motorola to try and build back market share, then the other hardware players will be annoyed. If they allow them special features, then the others will cry favouritism. And yet if they continue to do nothing, then the shareholders will become increasingly grumpy about the $11bn they just spent on Motorola.

Hey Google! You did have a plan when you bought them didn't you?

Samsung will be p*ssed - wondered how long it would be before Google wanted to make a return on their investment?

"Motorola likes being the challenger"

It's good that they're comfortable with being last, then.

Bigger screen and more horses

I agree with another poster, if any company could come back it would be Motorola. They have had a few good devices in the past.

That said, in order to put a dent into Samsung, they need to bring out a few devices with HD screens, at least one with a 5" or so screen and perhaps one with a 4" screen or so. Quad core cpus, 2GB to 4GB ram (despite nobody really needing that much memory on a phone), removable battery, SD card slot, extra long battery, all the bells and whistels, at least a 10MP camera (but preferrably one with low light and better lens), and a solid build quality.

I don't mind the cheaper Samsung build quality as I, like pretty much everyone, puts a case around it which thickens it a bit and makes it less likely to get damaged anyway. But a metal case with good styling will be required for them to compete with the likes of Sammy and Crapple.

I'll be watching this

Big fan of their "large ass battery" policy, have a Droid RAZR MAXX HD myself. Wouldn't want a handset with a significantly smaller battery.

'Contextually aware' power saving features?

Maybe if google fixed their own apps then they would't drain the power!

Maps is terrible at draining my battery, closely followed by other syncing I find, but the key thing is I need sync on for email but don't want it for other rubbish! its impossible to control exactly what you want to run in the background and what you dont!

Auto-bricking, Self-Reporting, Authentication Pill

A year or two ago, I was telling people that having a wrist or ingested token of sorts would be useful for auto-killing and auto-reporting one's phone as being lost or stolen. It would be really nice to have the ability to brick my phone should it be taken by force by assholes who don't care about the turmoil caused to victims.

One way it could work is by customizing the incremental and auto-reset, and auto reporting timing. Every few minutes, initiate a reset on a schedule or randomly in a number of clicks, taps, or screen sequence strokes. If the proximity of the device violates a preset value, have it screen-lock even if a conversation is in progress, then have it auto dial 911, broadcast it's last position, and try to snap a photo of the perp or surroundings.

If possible, and if legal, embed a self-immolation feature if such can be safely triggered based on certain handling features. Well, no, that could be dangerous. But, having an authentication, proximity, and telco-based solution means it should be possible for Motorola to PISS OFF ALL the other manufacturers, or, is that mfrs (if you know what I mean) by FORCING them to follow suit.

I declare my idea open source, and herewith prior art as of this writing, based on my prior disclosures in voice and now, by the time people read this, though it is a plan, it is free to be used by any and all. Just one condition: NOONE owns it with any right or power of depriving anyone else of using this. IOW: no asshole cockblockers, m-kay?

No access to Android code

Was just wondering about that myself. I can only assume he was talking about the Google apps - Now, Play, Maps, GMail etc which are not a part of the Open Source OS but are considered an important part of the Android Experience. If he DIDN'T mean that, then we have a pretty decent idea of why Motorola have been failing miserably of late.

I think I heard that before somewhere...

Maybe it is just coincidence, but it does seem like every time Apple announces something, Google or Samsung pipe up a few months later to say they are doing exactly the same thing. First, MacBook’s are to be built in Texas and now Google announces that so are Motorola phones. Congrats to Texas, but what is going on here? If I was Tim Cook I would be announcing that Apple was building a rocket ship – just to see if the following month would herald the arrival of Google Space and the Samsung S Shuttle.