Not too long ago, people enjoyed having smaller cellphones. As smartphones grew in popularity, so did their screens. Steve Jobs famously said that no one wanted a 4-inch smartphone because that's too big and now Motorola is taking some of that advice and applying it to future smartphones.
Motorola isn't a stranger to going against market trends. It saw great success and a huge comeback when it debuted the ultra-thin RAZR cellphone in 2004. It built a cellphone that lived up to its name and differentiated itself from thick plastic cellphones that were on the market at the time and built a thin aluminum one in return (sound familiar?). The RAZR brought a new concept to the cellphone world in terms of design and the smartphone maker, now owned by Google, is going to try and use that recipe for success with its upcoming smartphones.
These will be the first smartphones that have been designed with Google's influence and it sounds like Motorola is going to try to shake up the smartphone world, just like it did with the original RAZR. The smartphones will be smaller and focus more on the user than specs on a sheet, and run a stock Android experience. Motorola's Chief of Design Jim Wicks spoke with PC Mag about the smartphones and the company's new strategy under Google:
"There's a sweet spot for consumers that we're currently exceeding in the market. There are some people that like a big display, but there's also a lot of people that want something that's just about right. I think 'just right' is important, and we're designing so we don't disappoint those people."
The smartphones will have smaller displays, run stock Android (no skins), have very thin bezels, and be both scratch- and drop-resistant. Motorola is moving away from the "spec wars" and wants to focus on the consumer experience.
"We believe in getting away from the spec wars that are just about specs and not about consumers. That's the simple way out: spec, spec, spec. I don't think that's the answer," Wicks said.
The company also plans to release less smartphones per year as a result of this new strategy, to have a better focus on its products. It sure sounds like someone new is in control of Motorola, and things are going to get very interesting in the smartphone world when these smartphones go on sale later this year.
