Motorola’s Flagship, they Moto X launched to much fanfare back in August. The shiny new phone marked a rebirth of Motorola after its acquisition by Google, and was meant to usher in a new era of smartphone dominance. Now the latest numbers are showing that the Moto X’s sales have fallen well below expectations, moving only 500,000 handsets so far.
The Moto X aimed to carve out a new niche for Android smartphones. Easy to use, convenient features, battery life, and deep customization instead of raw horsepower. The Moto X’s specs were fine, but certainly not cutting edge. The marketing around the Moto X centered much more around its ease-of-use and fun features, pitting it more against Apple’s iPhone than high-end Android devices. The personalization offered by the Moto Maker was also a key selling point, giving customers the opportunity to create their perfect custom device.
It all seemed like a winning formula, and the Moto X was supposed to be Motorola’s great rainbow-hued hope. The company had struggled for year, and the Moto X was meant to announce its renewed relevance under Google’s ownership and guidance. But today’s revelation didn’t do much for morale.
The Wall Street Journal broke the story, referencing Strategy Analytics‘ data. In the 3rd quarter of 2013, 500,000 Moto X’s were sold. In comparison, Samsung’s flagship the Galaxy S4 had moved more than 10 Million units in the first month following its release last April. The article also noted that Motorola had recently dropped the cost of the Moto X from $199 to $99 (with contract) across all carriers.
Today, Motorola unveiled the Moto G which is a decidedly lower-end device than the Moto X. The release of the Moto G shows a shift towards a more affordable approach from Motorola. The Moto X’s little brother will probably be a free phone (with contract) on most carriers. It’s currently priced off contract at $179 for the 8GB version and $199 for the 16GB version
[Via: WSJ]