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Hey there,
Just read the recent news that Google has sold off Motorola Mobility to Lenovo. While I can't say this is surprising news, given recent rumors, it does change the landscape for current and perspective Moto X owners. So what are your thoughts? What does the acquisition mean for the relationship between El Goog and Moto, for future support of the X, and for the brand as a whole?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
How do we know this changes anything? Does anyone really know to what degree, if any, Google was responsible for the Moto X? The only thing official that I heard was they would not be involved with Moto's day to day business.
The only changes I see coming are decisions that will be made to return Moto to profitability. Those may or may not be a good thing, but I don't see it affecting the Moto X during its life cycle.
I also think Motorola has a multi-year agreement to continue to make "Droid" line phones for Verizon.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Solutions Etcetera said:
How do we know this changes anything? Does anyone really know to what degree, if any, Google was responsible for the Moto X? The only thing official that I heard was they would not be involved with Moto's day to day business.
The only changes I see coming are decisions that will be made to return Moto to profitability. Those may or may not be a good thing, but I don't see it affecting the Moto X during its life cycle.
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Well, the design choices for the Moto X are definitely very Google in the style of the device, the focus on voice and on the phone trying to tell what you're doing by what its sensors tell it. The lack of crap-ware (at least to a bare minimum compared to Samsung and other manufacturers) is also not something you see often in the handset market. I'm not sure how much anything will impact the Moto X, but it is conceivable that it will impact it very little. However, it is also conceivable that since Lenovo desires to make a brand for itself in the handset market of the US that they are going to try to compete the same way the big players in the handset market do now. It is also the same way that Windows machines are built now, which Lenovo is very good at, load the machines up with as much crap and trialware as possible. They do this on Windows computers because say Norton pays them a large chunk of money to bundle their crap with the computer and this makes the device turn a larger profit margin per unit.
If Lenovo attempts to do the same thing with the Moto X once they have control over the platform they could very well decide to do the same thing, Verizon already does this with NFL mobile even on the Moto X. We could see an increase in trialware and other similar cruft, the note of the day for mobile devices is also currently ecosystem, is there something that Lenovo has they could try to load onto mobile devices to try to lock a person into their ecosystem, I think here to Apple's iTunes only devices but also Samsung making their devices interface with other Samsung devices to the detriment of the device experience as a whole.
I would like to see Lenovo start to take the high road and spend less time on crufting up and crapifying the OS and more time increasing value with an eye toward simplicity and the kind of 'just works' point of view that made the iPhone originally so powerful. This point of view toward simplicity and innovation also has made the Moto X so desirable.
---------- Post added at 04:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:45 PM ----------
hehfahq said:
I also think Motorola has a multi-year agreement to continue to make "Droid" line phones for Verizon.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
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I don't think the Droid line is ever going away really, it is an excellent brand with superb name recognition. It would be silly of them to stop making them, even without an agreement. Lenovo does this with the ThinkPad line that is bought the name to.
titanshadow said:
Well, the design choices for the Moto X are definitely very Google in the style of the device
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Hmm... Not if you consider what Google has chosen for the Nexus phone of late. Based on that, I'd say that it was quite the departure.
Solutions Etcetera said:
Hmm... Not if you consider what Google has chosen for the Nexus phone of late. Based on that, I'd say that it was quite the departure.
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You have a point, they are quite divergent from the Nexus line, but also from Motorola's Droid line as well. It does beg the question of who hatched the idea for the design doesn't it?
titanshadow said:
You have a point, they are quite divergent from the Nexus line, but also from Motorola's Droid line as well. It does beg the question of who hatched the idea for the design doesn't it?
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We may never know, but my money is on Motorola. I have always been a fan of their hardware. But not so much regarding the software experience. I don't think it would take a rocket scientist to make the determination that stock Android has matured enough at this point to not mess with it so much.
I think the one thing that Motorola might have taken from Google is more of a willingness to listen to your customers, and by this I mean users and not carriers. I think with the Moto X they have really stepped it up in this regard. It has resulted in the first real hit they have had in some time (with both the press and user communities). I doubt they will waiver from this discovery anytime soon.
Lenovo built IBMs Thinkpads before buying the brand, and for the most part the Thinkpad series has decent reputation. I think Lenovo will build Motorola into a formidable competitor to Samsung, which for current Motorola device owners will benefit.
Google hasn't exactly been a picnic for Motorola. Through sell-offs and layoffs they have trimmed Moto's workforce from ~20000 employees prior to their acquisition down to 3800. Hopefully Lenovo provides a cash influx into Moto, which has been hemorrhaging money for Google, and Google's continued cost cutting for Moto did NOT bode well for them.
One has to believe that Lenovo bought Moto with idea of building them up to become a force again in the handset market. What other reason could there be? Google got the patents out of them, Moto was not in direct competition with Lenovo and they're not exactly a cash cow for them to bleed dry.
I'm adopting a wait and see attitude but I really don't see the acquisition as a bad thing at this point.
to Lenovo. Makes me wonder what's in store for the future. Speculate below.
skeevydude said:
to Lenovo. Makes me wonder what's in store for the future. Speculate below.
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OMG NO! I was hoping for a real GOOGLE/motorola NEXUS. Anyways http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2629392
I'm mobile and didn't zoom in....lol
Google had this on mind since before rhey bought Moto. What they actually got off that deal were the Patents. They need it more power against apple.
Sad news
Makes me wonder if we're still going to get the official KitKat.
Sent from my MB886 using xda app-developers app
TecknoFreak said:
Google had this on mind since before rhey bought Moto. What they actually got off that deal were the Patents. They need it more power against apple.
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Against microsoft+ patent portfolio. Microsoft makes more profit per device using android on licensing than google for the entierty...
Sent from my MB886 using Tapatalk
I knew they bought Moto for the patents, but I didn't think they'd drop them this quick. That said, Lenovo buying them could be a blessing in disguise. Lenovo almost runs the low end market and isn't known for uber locked devices like Moto is. I can see futute Moto phones being a much more open platform if Lenovo sees that the closed nature (and lack of updates) of Moto is their weak point. As for us and KitKat??? I dunno. I just hope it's not a wish in one hand, crap in the other situation. We really won't know anything until Lenovo releases their business plan.
Yeah i know. Google just trying to stay strong/stronger with their nexus phones. They will try the best they can to minimize the android manufacturing market and in the future narrow it to just be google phones on their operating system that be. The way i see everything they are doing is the way i picture this. :what: :banghead:
From what I've read Google might do away with Nexus altogether and is trying to pressure manufactures to not alter AOSP and release phones without Touchwiz, Blur, etcetera. Google's trying to only do the Android software and not hardware. Apparently some manufactures (Sammy) felt Google would screw them by releasing phones with newer Android versions first and make them look bad by being behind in software. IMHO, no Nexus or Moto Mobility not being Google owned might not be a bad thing IF manufactures actually release AOSP phones -- it could make the market more competitive in terms of quality hardware and price if manufactures weren't too busy doing piss-poor skins...granted some aren't bad, but most suck, especially 2.2 Blur.
Up!
skeevydude said:
I knew they bought Moto for the patents, but I didn't think they'd drop them this quick. That said, Lenovo buying them could be a blessing in disguise. Lenovo almost runs the low end market and isn't known for uber locked devices like Moto is. I can see futute Moto phones being a much more open platform if Lenovo sees that the closed nature (and lack of updates) of Moto is their weak point. As for us and KitKat??? I dunno. I just hope it's not a wish in one hand, crap in the other situation. We really won't know anything until Lenovo releases their business plan.
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Well if their record with the IBM Thinkpad and now their own branded devices is any indication, Google is right, Lenovo will do more good/right for Motorola Mobility hardware. It isn't/wasn't Google's intention on doing anything with the phone hardware market as they stated anyways.
As I said, I would have liked a Google Motorola Nexus phone, before they handed them off, but oh well. Here's to hoping Lenovo's strengths behind Motorola bares fruit and competition for the good of the consumers.
clockcycle said:
Well if their record with the IBM Thinkpad and now their own branded devices is any indication, Google is right, Lenovo will do more good/right for Motorola Mobility hardware. It isn't/wasn't Google's intention on doing anything with the phone hardware market as they stated anyways.
As I said, I would have liked a Google Motorola Nexus phone, before they handed them off, but oh well. Here's to hoping Lenovo's strengths behind Motorola bares fruit and competition for the good of the consumers.
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The X (Dev Edition) and G are the closest to a Moto Nexus that we'll get, sadly (I don't like either, wanted a G, no video out was the deal breaker).
Keep in mind that the sale isn't complete until the American Government approves it. The sale might not go through if AG doesn't want the Chinese (Lenovo) to have IBM and MM.
skeevydude said:
The X (Dev Edition) and G are the closest to a Moto Nexus that we'll get, sadly (I don't like either, wanted a G, no video out was the deal breaker).
Keep in mind that the sale isn't complete until the American Government approves it. The sale might not go through if AG doesn't want the Chinese (Lenovo) to have IBM and MM.
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IMO X & G aren't much more / enough of a move from my Atrix HD for me.
clockcycle said:
IMO X & G aren't much more / enough of a move from my Atrix HD for me.
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My thoughts as well. I'd have really considered the G if it had some sort of hdmi out, but I can't justify the X's price for some extra low powered cores and a spiffy design. I don't have to go into the lack of sdcards...I'm pretty vocal about that.
If we get Official KitKat with HDMI fixed and a 3.2 or 3.4 kernel then this platform will keep me happy for a good while longer, though I would like a phablet sized Atrix HD....or a phablet from Moto with the same usb/hdmi configuration we have (for my lapdock) and an sd slot. I don't need a tablet, but I'd like a slightly bigger screen for reading books. Hopefully Lenovo will come through and deliver where Moto's been failing. They're ambitious and want to have an American market, no screwing us and it up will give them exactly what they want (Sammy's Business).
/BF4 + Mantle is here
//Damn Netflix movie needs to end. Finally installed the updated Catalyst driver with Mantle and the nets congested so I can't play :crying:
///Mantle let me increase some lows to medium and some mediums to high and increased my framerate from 50's to 60 smooth (single player) :victory:
skeevydude said:
My thoughts as well. I'd have really considered the G if it had some sort of hdmi out, but I can't justify the X's price for some extra low powered cores and a spiffy design. I don't have to go into the lack of sdcards...I'm pretty vocal about that.
If we get Official KitKat with HDMI fixed and a 3.2 or 3.4 kernel then this platform will keep me happy for a good while longer, though I would like a phablet sized Atrix HD....or a phablet from Moto with the same usb/hdmi configuration we have (for my lapdock) and an sd slot. I don't need a tablet, but I'd like a slightly bigger screen for reading books. Hopefully Lenovo will come through and deliver where Moto's been failing. They're ambitious and want to have an American market, no screwing us and it up will give them exactly what they want (Sammy's Business).
/BF4 + Mantle is here
//Damn Netflix movie needs to end. Finally installed the updated Catalyst driver with Mantle and the nets congested so I can't play :crying:
///Mantle let me increase some lows to medium and some mediums to high and increased my framerate from 50's to 60 smooth (single player) :victory:
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Rumored 1 of 2 devices moto has is a 6.3" device in it's lineup. Lenovo says it wont interfere with the lineup.
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clockcycle said:
Rumored 1 of 2 devices moto has is a 6.3" device in it's lineup. Lenovo says it wont interfere with the lineup.
Sent from my MB886 using Tapatalk
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Had to Google that. It's gonna be called the X Play and rumored to be released sometime this year. It better have an sd slot and the same usb/hdmi configuration or I'll be pissed....but I'd settle with 64-128gb internal if no sd is available....and an unlocked bootloader --> that's essential.
Rumors also said that Lenovo isn't gonna mess with what Moto is currently doing or their upcoming lineup. Hopefully that means our Kit Kat updagrade is still on track.
A 6.3" Moto. Now wouldn't that be nice. With it being called the X Play, I'm wondering if it'll be the X's Big Brother, with the Droid Quantum (the other rumored phone) being the new RAZR/Atrix model.
I have been interested in the Moto X ever since the release late last year and now its at such a great price... But I must ask everyone that has already made the jump, is this device what I am looking for?
At the moment I have a Galaxy S3 through At&t loaded up with CM 10.1.3 and to be honest I am happy with the phone... but am becoming more anxious for a upgrade each day, mostly due to the abysmal battery life and non-support for things I like *wallet*.
Anyways needless to say I am about ready to upgrade to something fresh and new. I am choosing to go unlocked because AT&T is offering a discount towards customers who do not take up a subsidized plan.
Naturally I checked out the Google Play edition phones and the Nexus line first, I was hoping the X would be among their ranks, after all google did own motorola up until a week ago. However all they had was the Moto G which was is the lower end sibling to the X.
So thats when I started really digging in and when I found out motorola actually sells unlocked phones through their site. The T-mobile one being the best choice because you can unlock the bootloader and it still supports at&t fully in the USA. The only other option would had been the GSM developer edition, but I would have to forgo any customization for very little benefit in the end.
But I am sitting here wondering to myself... is now a good time to get a new phone, is this the right choice, would this phone make me happy for at least a year and half?
My largest concern with this phone is its future, how much longer can/will motorola support updates for the X? Will we see the next version of android come to this device before its antiqued by motorola? If it is shelved, is the community broad enough to provide quality unofficial updates that will offer a wonderful experience?
I mean when I look at the development section just for the AT&T galaxy S3 there is numerous ROM's several of them being official groups like CM and AOKP. But then when I checked the CM site for the T-Mobile Moto-X there is nothing, it is literally blank, is it because they don't believe the Moto X yet needs CM to fill in the gaps, or is it because they have no interest in supporting it at all?
I would pick a Nexus 5, given it is guaranteed fast updates, but the Moto X just seems like a better fit for me. I love the idea of the anywhere handsfree google now, the style of the phone just looks better, and it is stock-enough for my needs.
I guess ultimately these are my biggest questions.
1. How future-proof do you guys think this is, at least update wise? Since CM does have a page for the Moto-X does that mean they will support it eventually? The phone is widely regarded and to my knowledge quite popular, I dont see why the carrier-locked boot loader would stop CM when it didn't for other handsets.
2. What is battery life like? Given alot of you have probably had the phone for a few months, hows the battery life now, is it degrading badly?
3. Overall would this be a good upgrade coming from a GS3?
4. Should I save up and get a Nexus 5 or another google play device?
5. Is it a good time to upgrade? Or should I wait a month or two?
6. How is the camera? Is it really much worse than the GS4, IP5S, and Nokia Lumina camera's?
7. Does it support google wallet? Does it lack support for any other apps on the play store?
Lastly, how is the support for accessories? I would like to get a Pebble eventually and I have a few bluetooth stereos. Does the Moto X support most of these without issue?
ZUK Mobile is going to shut down, according to analyst Pan Jiutang
I guess if this turns out to be true, it will have major impact on a lot of customers. News came originally from a weibo user (@Old Cool) who mentioned that there will be no ZUK Z3 model and then his post was replied by well known analyst Pan Jiutang who added that ZUK Mobile is going to shut down in the coming weeks!
Lenovo had already announced a couple of months ago that it was planning to integrate all of its brands under one umbrella, after facing several problems with Motorola Mobility. The original plan was for all its phone brands to be placed under the Lenovo Moto umbrella but what no one expected was for ZUK Mobile to be also included in this.
In case you don’t remember, ZUK Mobile was founded on May 28, 2015 and during these two years managed to produce 4 smartphones: ZUK Z1, ZUK Z2, ZUK Z2 Pro, and the ZUK Edge. Earlier this year we managed to see some leaked photos of an upcoming model called ZUK Edge II Special Edition but now this isn’t going to happen, and the device isn’t expected to hit the market.
In case however you loved the company’s ZUI, there are good news for you, after the announcement by Lenovo’s VP Alex Chen Yu, that it will be used for upcoming Moto phones.
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Source: http://www.gizchina.com/2017/04/26/zuk-mobile-going-shut-according-analyst-pan-jiutang/
djsubterrain said:
In case however you loved the company’s ZUI, there are good news for you...
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Yeah, both of you. For anyone who liked Moto phones for being so close to stock AOSP (and usually super-well-supported by Cyanogen/LineageOS... basically a poor-man's Nexus) however, that's gonna suck.
Yea it is very likely that Lenovo will shut down ZUK in 2017. Shame...
I was reading the Chinese news today: http://tech.163.com/17/0427/07/CJ0UCH8K00097U7S.html
Lenovo has lost the market in smart phones (dropped 26% in 2016).
They don't have the money to keep both ZUK and Moto. So they will keep only Moto.
They should hire someone like Hugo Barra for Xiaomi to sell internationally to become successful.
Hope they gonna release full source code (with drivers) of their builds for Zuk phones...
no android security updates then. maybe demote it to a musicplayer and vacation phone
So no more OTA updates as well? I might flash custom ROM if that's the case
Lenovo can go ahead and shutdown Moto if they are going to put ZUI on it.
Are OTA updates no longer available? I'm planning to buy this phone today, but this makes me hesitate...
I am looking for a new phone since my Moto G4 bit the dust last night and is no longer functional. Thank goodness for extended warranty which refunded $174.99 of the original $199.99 I paid for the phone 22 months ago.
Anyhow, I am torn as to which phone I should buy. The Moto G5s plus, G5 plus or Moto G6. I am finding conflicting reviews all over the Internet depending on what features the reviewer hold in the highest esteem. I recently bought a G5s plus for my wife and she loves it, but the camera is slow. The G6 plus is not available in the USA yet so that is not an option. I like that the G6 comes with Oreo and it seems to be a better choice as far as display and camera. But processor and speed the G5's seem to take the edge.
HELP!!! My head is spinning around in circles.
pastorbob62 said:
I am looking for a new phone since my Moto G4 bit the dust last night and is no longer functional. Thank goodness for extended warranty which refunded $174.99 of the original $199.99 I paid for the phone 22 months ago.
Anyhow, I am torn as to which phone I should buy. The Moto G5s plus, G5 plus or Moto G6. I am finding conflicting reviews all over the Internet depending on what features the reviewer hold in the highest esteem. I recently bought a G5s plus for my wife and she loves it, but the camera is slow. The G6 plus is not available in the USA yet so that is not an option. I like that the G6 comes with Oreo and it seems to be a better choice as far as display and camera. But processor and speed the G5's seem to take the edge.
HELP!!! My head is spinning around in circles.
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Take the Moto G6, it has compass and nfc
Inviato dal mio moto g(6) plus utilizzando Tapatalk
jekyll86 said:
Take the Moto G6, it has compass and nfc
Inviato dal mio moto g(6) plus utilizzando Tapatalk
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Hmmmm? Not according to Motorola's website.
You can pick up a G6 Plus on Amazon.com! I'm in the US typing on a G6+ and I love it! We are waiting for kernel sources so it shouldn't be long before we have TWRP working and there are already a few project treble based roms available such as RR Oreo, Los, or Aosp.
Sent from my moto g(6) plus using Tapatalk
Xplorer4x4 said:
You can pick up a G6 Plus on Amazon.com! I'm in the US typing on a G6+ and I love it! We are waiting for kernel sources so it shouldn't be long before we have TWRP working and there are already a few project treble based roms available such as RR Oreo, Los, or Aosp.
Sent from my moto g(6) plus using Tapatalk
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Wow! The price is higher than I expected. (G6+ = $380 - G6 =$250) Also, it is a no warranty phone so I would have to but a protection plan which jacks the price up another $80.00. Think I will go with the G5+.
pastorbob62 said:
Wow! The price is higher than I expected. (G6+ = $380 - G6 =$250) Also, it is a no warranty phone so I would have to but a protection plan which jacks the price up another $80.00. Think I will go with the G5+.
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I'm not big on third party warranty plans unless you get accidental damage coverage and if that is included then I feel it is always worth the investment even though NFC is useless for me. If the G6+ is out of your budget I understand but I think it's a great investment and since your posting on XDA I assume things like roms are important to you. In which case the G6+ is Project Treble compatible so the device will likely be wide open seeing as we have root and somewhat working TWRP. It's an awesome device though!
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Xplorer4x4 said:
I'm not big on third party warranty plans unless you get accidental damage coverage and if that is included then I feel it is always worth the investment even though NFC is useless for me. If the G6+ is out of your budget I understand but I think it's a great investment and since your posting on XDA I assume things like roms are important to you. In which case the G6+ is Project Treble compatible so the device will likely be wide open seeing as we have root and somewhat working TWRP. It's an awesome device though!
Sent from my moto g(6) plus using Tapatalk
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Yes, it is out of my budget. While I could go ahead and bite the bullet, I do have to put a limit on the purchase somewhere. I finally went for the G5+ 64 gig. The reviews and feedbacks on it were generally very positive and it gives me the options and features I want. Also it was $110.00 lower overall with the extended warranty which includes accidental damage coverage. I have had 3 phones covered with 3rd party plans and I had to use the coverage on all 3 (Ironically, all Motorola phones). So the plans have paid off well for me.
I realize that the G5+ comes with Nougat and is due for an upgrade to Oreo but that is also something I don't worry myself about. I find it amusing at how many users are constantly complaining concerning "lack of timely upgrades" from Lenova. It seems that as soon as a new version of Android is released, these forums are full of chatter about the subject of upgrades. For me, if my phone works and does everything I want as well as I want then that is good enough for me. When the upgrades come I am pleasantly surprised. I'm not one who insists on having the latest and greatest.
While I will eventually unlock my bootloader and root my phone as well as try the latest custom roms, it will be some time before I do so. I usually stay on stock for a few months before diving into the deep end. Thank you for the well informed feedback and suggestions, Didn't mean to get so verbose here but my first 2 cups of coffee have kicked in and you know how that goes. :laugh: