Motorola, who had a phenomenal 2013, is poised to have an even better 2014. On the back of their Moto X and Moto G handsets, which effectively revitalized the company, Motorola is in a unique position. Backed by Google, and keenly aware of the ebbs and flow of an industry they helped create, Motorola sat down with SlashGear’s Chris Davies at CES last week. What we learned is that Motorola knows exactly what they’re doing.
Through smartphones, Motorola plans to remain contextually aware of you and your surroundings. They also understand that the smartphone, once the be-all for mobile technology, has since become part of a larger picture. With the advent of smartwatches and heads-up displays like Google Glass, smartphones have a place, but it’s increasingly competitive. Rather than diversify needlessly, Motorola wants to be really good at smartphone context. Stever Horowitz of Motorola said “we’re big believers in this idea of the phone doing the right thing in the context that it’s in.” Further hammering the point home, Horowitz had the following to add:
“Wearables is obviously an area which is getting a lot of interest in the industry; I think it’s very very early. As you’ve seen us with Moto X and Moto G, we’re trying to do just a few things and do them right, while still being very much aware of what’s going on in the industry. We’re also very aware that phones do not exist in isolation; one example of that would be our Bluetooth authentication, trusted devices.”
Motorola also went on to highlight their relationship with Google, almost hinting that their devices are meant as a way to showcase Android while making their own touches. Rather than skin Android, Motorola is becoming adept at letting Android shine where it’s good, and making subtle, important changes where they can. It’s also easier for them to update, to which Horowitz says “We are showing, and demonstrating, at Motorola that not only will we update our devices to Android releases quicker than anybody else, but we will continue to enhance our experience”.
The interview touched on a lot of topics, and we suggest you take a look. Of interest to us was a comment made about home automation, in which Horowitz said “we’re not going to go and try to create a Nest thermostat”. Interesting, considering Google announced their purchase of Nest just this morning.
