Motorola is back

[Ry]

https://www.cnet.com/news/motorola-phones-moto-z-motomods-mission-lenovo-mwc-2017/

The Motorola identity crisis is over.

Last year was a confusing time for the business. First, there was the plan to phase out the Motorola name in favor of "Moto by Lenovo," its Chinese parent. Then there was the question of how the Lenovo brand would co-exist with Moto.

With a new leadership team, things have changed. The business will no longer shy away from using the Motorola name, putting the iconic "bat wing" icon front and center. The original Motorola, after all, invented the cellphone, and Lenovo hopes to tap into that legacy.

"In 2016, we just finished transforming ourselves," Motorola Chairman and President Aymar de Lencquesaing said in an interview on Sunday. "We have clarity on how we present ourselves."

http://www.droid-life.com/2017/03/02/motorola-back-embracing-name-motorola/

Beyond that, CNET is reporting that Lenovo will eventually bring Motorola phones to almost all regions they currently sell phones, though it could take a while. Obviously, the US and Brazil are big Motorola markets already, but they see other places, like in Russia and China where Lenovo is big, that could prove to be beneficial.

 

[kramer5150]

Thats nice.... now release android wear 2.0 for the moto 360

 

[Inders99]

Wake me when they bring some of the old staff back.

 

[Ry]

Role reversal: Motorola name in on smartphones while Lenovo fades out

But something has changed inside Lenovo. According to comments from Motorola's chief marketing officer Jan Huckfeldt that were published today, the Motorola brand is not only coming back, but will be stronger than ever. Huckfeldt says that the Lenovo name is being faded out on handsets everywhere but India. It actually is a smart move by Lenovo. If you want to sell a large number of smartphones, you need to employ all of the assets you have available at your disposal. The Motorola name and batwings logo are assets that can be used to generate sales.

"We want everyone to immediately recognize a Motorola phone," says Huckfeldt. To that end, a recently leaked road map shows that in 2017, the Moto line will consist of 5 lines (Z, X, G, E, C), all with a very similar look and style. The Motorola executive states, "Where they zig, we're going to zag. When less is more, we want 'more is more.'"

 

[Ry]

Lenovo’s plan for reviving its smartphone business is basically seeing less of Lenovo, more of Moto branding

A few months ago Motorola Chairman and President Aymar de Lencquesaing had expressed similar intentions towards reviving the Motorola branding. Huckfeldt, on the other hand, had then claimed, “Give us 12 months, and everyone in the US will know the new Motorola.”

 

[Ry]

https://www.androidcentral.com/hello-motorola-oldest-phone-maker-plans-its-grand-comeback

But that isn't happening. According to Jan Huckfeldt, Motorola's chief marketing officer, Motorola is not only poised for a comeback, but the entire Lenovo smartphone strategy is rallying around the brand, which, he says, is one of the most recognizable in the world.

"A year ago, we weren't in a good spot," he tells Android Central during a press briefing in New York in late May. "We didn't really handle the challenges [of being integrated into a larger company] well." Despite the success of phones like the Moto G series in countries like Brazil, where Motorola holds over 20% market share, the company lacked a unifying message for all of its smartphones. Was it a Lenovo Moto G? A Motorola Moto Z? Or just a Moto X, no company necessary? In India, for example, Lenovo and Motorola not only sold side by side, but in some areas competed; the Moto E3 Power went up against Lenovo's Vibe K6, while the more expensive Moto G series stood next to the Lenovo Z2 Plus.

Technology companies are generally comfortable disrupting and cannibalizing their own product lines as long as the sales stay within the company, but Huckfeldt acknowledges that a lack of a unifying message was confusing consumers in a market that was already overwhelmed by choice.

"On average, people consider two brands when shopping for something like a phone. They go in and they have something in mind already." Motorola, he says, is distinctive and has a heritage that people like. They know the brand, but more than that they have good memories of it — a simpler time, before smartphones and social media and information overload.

So Motorola is going all in on… Motorola. On phones, it's phasing out the Lenovo name in all countries but India, where the Chinese vendor has significant marketing sway, and it's no longer going to hide the brand that brought you the RAZR. Don't worry, Lenovo's tablets and laptops aren't going anywhere.

 

[Ry]

Lenovo's struggling mobile business sets sight on high-end market | Reuters

A recently announced reorganisation of its China business aimed at sharpening the PC brand's consumer focus comes amid an ongoing effort to tighten its mobile branding and shift the focus to pricier models under its Moto brand.

"Our strategy is to prioritise mature markets ... which need brands and innovative products, whereas emerging markets need efficiency," Chairman Yang Yuanqing said of Lenovo's mobile business at a press conference in Hong Kong on Thursday.

"So we will have two teams catering to the two kinds of markets with different product lines."

Lenovo faces its toughest battle in its home base of China, where it has slipped out of the top 10 smartphone vendors. Shipments domestically declined 80 percent year-on-year or 55 percent quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2017, according to data from Canalys.

The company currently has three phone brands in China - the premium Moto brand, the cheaper Lenovo series, and an online-focused ZUK brand launched in 2015.

A Lenovo spokeswoman said its global mobile strategy would focus on the Motorola brand, although it would continue to support its other lines, such as ZUK.

 

[Morty2264]

So exciting! I love Motorola. Hope they stay in the game for years to come.