Is it just me and Andrew Martonik or...

[Mac58]

Does it seem like Motorola wants everyone to wait on purchasing this phone?
I mean since its custom and you cant return device you want to make best decisio possible cause you will be tied to phone and some of the customizations are not coming until later. It just seems like they want people to buy the phone but at a later date. Maybe they arent intentionally saying buy later but if those features are what you are looking at getting, and if you dont want att then they are pretty much saying hold your horses. Plus I dont know, I just feel like they may have another trick up their sleeve (but that could just be my foolheartedness)

 

[jephanie]

Every time I see threads like this I just shake my head in disbelief.

 

[Woosh]

Does it seem like Motorola wants everyone to wait on purchasing this phone?
I mean since its custom and you cant return device you want to make best decisio possible cause you will be tied to phone and some of the customizations are not coming until later. It just seems like they want people to buy the phone but at a later date. Maybe they arent intentionally saying buy later but if those features are what you are looking at getting, and if you dont want att then they are pretty much saying hold your horses. Plus I dont know, I just feel like they may have another trick up their sleeve (but that could just be my foolheartedness)

I don't rly get that impression. The ppl who even know about this phone is small. It's out there for those who want it, those who don't can choose to wait. It's possible the custom colors are only on one carrier to get the kinks worked out in production. Since it'll be a somewhat difficult process with tons of orders coming in to get those out in 4 days.

If they are saying hold your horses then idt they would release the black and white versions on the other carriers. They want this phone out there and they think its the right kind of phone to compete against the iPhone sales.

It's not like there is a competition with custom colors right now. They have some time to get it right and collect some $$ from AT&T.

 

[Paisley]

I think there's something to what you're saying. i think they don't expect it to be a massive seller, and they're not really trying to make it one from what i've seen I mean, there is not one sign in one store. a normal person that wasn't into this type of stuff would just about have zero idea this thing is coming out. I've gotten the feeling they're fine if it's a bit of a sleeper phone (people will pick it up later). i think it's a starting point for this phone. I feel like people will almost be beta users, i would too, and i think that's almost what the phone is a little bit, it's certainly not a completely finished piece and slow sales are fine to them.They are not pushing this to be a massive seller, i think they just wanted to get the piece out to get the ball rolling.

jmo folks.

and you can return the device no matter what you put on it.

 

[Woosh]

I think there's something to what you're saying. i think they don't expect it to be a massive seller, and they're not really trying to make it one from what i've seen I mean, there is not one sign in one store. a normal person that wasn't into this type of stuff would just about have zero idea this thing is coming out. I've gotten the feeling they're fine if it's a bit of a sleeper phone (people will pick it up later). i think it's a starting point for this phone. I feel like people will almost be beta users, i would too, and i think that's almost what the phone is a little bit, it's certainly not a completely finished piece and slow sales are fine to them.They are not pushing this to be a massive seller, i think they just wanted to get the piece out to get the ball rolling.

jmo folks.

and you can return the device no matter what you put on it.

I have to disagree with you. They spent MILLIONS of dollars making this phone. They are spending 500 MILLION advertising it. I don't see them doing that if they don't want it to be a hit. They made this phone run like a dream and feel amazing.

The reason you don't see anything yet is just because its not out and they have to wait for retailers and carriers to get it. Moto doesn't care if you buy the phone on day 1 or day 6, as long as you buy it.

I do think a good deal of advertising money is going to go into advertising the color options. Which I suppose could mean a delay in running some ads. It's something unique that ppl will want and you can easily make a commercial to showcase how awesome it is.

Imo this is their flagship for a year. Does that mean that the Nexus won't be Moto and be the same but diff? Not necessarily.... What it means is that this is the phone that they will have on store shelves and advertise and have carriers pushing to sell it.

Moto let ppl know that if you aren't willing to go to AT&T then soon you can get other colors on other carriers. Are they saying don't go buy? No, they're saying that if its a must have feature for you and you aren't willing to switch then eventually you can get it on the carrier you have.

 

[Paisley]

I have to disagree with you. They spent MILLIONS of dollars making this phone. They are spending 500 MILLION advertising it. I don't see them doing that if they don't want it to be a hit. They made this phone run like a dream and feel amazing.

The reason you don't see anything yet is just because its not out and they have to wait for retailers and carriers to get it. Moto doesn't care if you buy the phone on day 1 or day 6, as long as you buy it.

I do think a good deal of advertising money is going to go into advertising the color options. Which I suppose could mean a delay in running some ads. It's something unique that ppl will want and you can easily make a commercial to showcase how awesome it is.

Imo this is their flagship for a year. Does that mean that the Nexus won't be Moto and be the same but diff? Not necessarily.... What it means is that this is the phone that they will have on store shelves and advertise and have carriers pushing to sell it.

Moto let ppl know that if you aren't willing to go to AT&T then soon you can get other colors on other carriers. Are they saying don't go buy? No, they're saying that if its a must have feature for you and you aren't willing to switch then eventually you can get it on the carrier you have.

i hear what you're saying, it makes sense. But to add, with something you sell, you want to seal the deal right away, or you could lose that sale. Then your person has moved on, to the new 5S, or the whatever, you have to get that customer right there and then.

 

[ki11ak3nn]

i hear what you're saying, it makes sense. But to add, with something you sell, you want to seal the deal right away, or you could lose that sale. Then your person has moved on, to the new 5S, or the whatever, you have to get that customer right there and then.

That's exactly what I was gonna say. I know Moto doesn't care if you buy it on day 1 or day 6, but for people waiting to get it customized not on AT&T it's going to be like day 90. And in that time people could have moved on to something else.

And I don't know about everyone else, but I'm not the type of guy to get a phone on contract then sell it and buy another phone at full retail. That's to much work. When you get a phone you need to get one you're happy with.

Plus who is going to want to buy my plain black Moto X when you can get a custom one for like $100 more?? That's going to be kinda hard to sell. So it would have just made more sense for Moto to make customizations for every carrier.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4

 

[Woosh]

That's exactly what I was gonna say. I know Moto doesn't care if you buy it on day 1 or day 6, but for people waiting to get it customized not on AT&T it's going to be like day 90. And in that time people could have moved on to something else.

And I don't know about everyone else, but I'm not the type of guy to get a phone on contract then sell it and buy another phone at full retail. That's to much work. When you get a phone you need to get one you're happy with.

Plus who is going to want to buy my plain black Moto X when you can get a custom one for like $100 more?? That's going to be kinda hard to sell. So it would have just made more sense for Moto to make customizations for every carrier.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4

It's pretty clear this isn't a phone made for the tech bloggers and forum people. If I go into a Sprint store and see this I probably won't even know a custom color will come out in 2 months.

We all want it now, I understand that. But Moto imo was smart to make the money up front over something that could potentially fail. At least get some of that money you went into designing this sucker back.

Guaranteed money is better than a gamble usually.

I also don't know what you mean by $100 more for custom? It's the same price afaik.

 

[jphillips1963]

I don't know how many remember the Xoom tablet when it first launched and all the promises moto made on updates and upgrades, well nearly a yr later they still never fulfilled all those promises. I know I bought one. So my advice is wait until this phone is complete or you will be one unhappy moto customer. It was a very expensive mistake on my part and one I will never give moto any slack over.

 

[Paisley]

I don't know how many remember the Xoom tablet when it first launched and all the promises moto made on updates and upgrades, well nearly a yr later they still never fulfilled all those promises. I know I bought one. So my advice is wait until this phone is complete or you will be one unhappy moto customer. It was a very expensive mistake on my part and one I will never give moto any slack over.

i don't know anything about this, i keep hearing about stuff that made people very unhappy with them. The photon or something, ics, a battery issue, anyone want to fill me in? I don't think the X will have those types of promises broken, seems like they're trying to reintroduce themselves. But ya never know.

but just curious, cuz i've heard a number of people mention different types of promises broken.

 

[Woosh]

I don't know how many remember the Xoom tablet when it first launched and all the promises moto made on updates and upgrades, well nearly a yr later they still never fulfilled all those promises. I know I bought one. So my advice is wait until this phone is complete or you will be one unhappy moto customer. It was a very expensive mistake on my part and one I will never give moto any slack over.

I paid $600 for mine and yea it was an expensive mistake on my part but isn't in JB right now and about 2 and a half years old? Not bad imo.

 

[ki11ak3nn]

I also don't know what you mean by $100 more for custom? It's the same price afaik.

I meant to put if I buy it at new contract price of $199. Then try to sell it for $400. For $100 more you can design your own at full retail price.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4

 

[sunburned]

I really have no idea what Moto is thinking with the X.

-Keep it shrouded in super secrecy up until the big reveal, and make a huge deal about it, then barely market the damn thing at all. I haven't seen a single ad for it other than on the tech blogs, yet my local metro station is PLASTERED with Galaxy S4 ads, and Samsung probably doesn't even need to advertise to sell that phone.

-Make a huge deal about the customization of the phone, then make it tied to one carrier so the millions of people on Verizon or people switching to T-mobile can't get it right away. Then a week before release, tell everyone that engraving isn't available like it was supposed to be.


I love the idea of the phone and don't really care about the customizing, but I just don't comprehend anything that Moto is doing. They seem to have completely forgotten how to market a phone and lucky for them Verizon loves Droids enough to have an exclusive deal and push the crap out of them.

 

[ultravisitor]

i think they don't expect it to be a massive seller, and they're not really trying to make it one from what i've seen I mean, there is not one sign in one store. a normal person that wasn't into this type of stuff would just about have zero idea this thing is coming out.

Have you thought that perhaps they're waiting until the phone is actually in stores before they advertise it? What good is advertising if someone can't go into a store and buy it immediately? They don't need to sell massive numbers on the very first day of availability. I think they're looking at selling the phones as more of a marathon than a sprint.

 

[Mac58]

Good to see comments. Dont get me wrong, their are soem opinions I agrree with here and some I do not. I believe the Moto X will be in the end be HUGE for motorola, but it just seems like they want people to wait a bit instead of actually going out and getting it on launch day. I mean look at the verizon droid lines for example, I cant even begin to count how many advertisements I have seen on youtube for them over the last week and a half and it was just released today. I have not seen one for moto x and it comes out in 2 days. Again, I do think this phone will be the moneymaker for motorola but it just seems like they have the gas halfway instead of pedal to the metal ta know

 

[Woosh]

Good to see comments. Dont get me wrong, their are soem opinions I agrree with here and some I do not. I believe the Moto X will be in the end be HUGE for motorola, but it just seems like they want people to wait a bit instead of actually going out and getting it on launch day. I mean look at the verizon droid lines for example, I cant even begin to count how many advertisements I have seen on youtube for them over the last week and a half and it was just released today. I have not seen one for moto x and it comes out in 2 days. Again, I do think this phone will be the moneymaker for motorola but it just seems like they have the gas halfway instead of pedal to the metal ta know

That would almost certainly be Verizon running those ads and not Moto. So unfortunately it seems like AT&T doesn't care enough to advertise their phone, since they get so many of them I don't blame them.

I don't buy a phone because of ads anyway, but I do hope they advertise this phone and get ppl talking about it.

 

[sunburned]

Have you thought that perhaps they're waiting until the phone is actually in stores before they advertise it? What good is advertising if someone can't go into a store and buy it immediately? They don't need to sell massive numbers on the very first day of availability. I think they're looking at selling the phones as more of a marathon than a sprint.

Samsung advertises the crap out of their phones weeks before they go on sale. "The Next Big Thing is Here" was allll over buses, metro, billboards and everything when the S4 was coming out. They sold like 8 million in the first month.

The issue with the X is that the spec list won't wow people into buying it, stores probably won't push it too much with other flagships around, and their biggest feature of customizing is only available to one carrier for who knows how long. Plus, when is the last time a moto phone was heavily marketed not on verizon? And even when it was on verizon, they call it the Droid, not really associating it with Motorola. So the company name doesn't help sales like it does for Samsung. Everyone knows the Galaxy line and can't wait for the next phone. Not so with Moto.

 

[jephanie]

Samsung advertises the crap out of their phones weeks before they go on sale. "The Next Big Thing is Here" was allll over buses, metro, billboards and everything when the S4 was coming out. They sold like 8 million in the first month.

The issue with the X is that the spec list won't wow people into buying it, stores probably won't push it too much with other flagships around, and their biggest feature of customizing is only available to one carrier for who knows how long. Plus, when is the last time a moto phone was heavily marketed not on verizon? And even when it was on verizon, they call it the Droid, not really associating it with Motorola. So the company name doesn't help sales like it does for Samsung. Everyone knows the Galaxy line and can't wait for the next phone. Not so with Moto.

Samsung is a much bigger company with much larger pockets. Motorola is smaller, less successful and is a separate entity from Google and, thus, cannot use Google's deep pockets for advertising. Motorola is doing the best they can with what they have.

 

[SteelGator]

Samsung is a much bigger company with much larger pockets. Motorola is smaller, less successful and is a separate entity from Google and, thus, cannot use Google's deep pockets for advertising. Motorola is doing the best they can with what they have.

I don't think that necessarily lines up with the reports that they have a $500 million marketing budget for the phone -- a number I still have trouble believing by the way. I know there are different strategies for marketing and creating awareness, but I agree with posters that are underwhelmed with the efforts to date. I would think they would be doing more to create awareness at this point.

That said, their approach is consistent with efforts to have a slow launch and reinforces my belief that they do not want to crush their supply chain out of the gate. If they still feel like they want to test MotoMaker prior to huge number of orders coming in, then allow the tech bloggers and the community to drive awareness initially is smart. They would be relying on simple market segmentation. Then once the system is stressed tested, they will be able to validate/update their forecast and then start to drive more awareness. This is a classic strategy used by marketing teams, and fits with the types of issues that would typically be expected with a launch of this type of product.

I have said this in other threads as well. This is very consistent also with the way Google stress tests their major software roll outs, and could reflect some cross pollination.

 

[JungleLarry]

Samsung is a much bigger company with much larger pockets. Motorola is smaller, less successful and is a separate entity from Google and, thus, cannot use Google's deep pockets for advertising. Motorola is doing the best they can with what they have.

Is that why Motorola is on Google's books? :-\