If Verizon has the Moto X, what is the point of the Ultra(s)?

[Roundpotato]

If Verizon is going to stock the Moto X, which I believe is a rumor so far, what would be the point of the Ultra phones? What would be the differentiating factor? Depending on whether the Moto X has Maxx style battery life or not, either the Ultra could differentiate in being thinner or the Ultra Maxx could differentiate in having better battery life, but one of the versions won't have such a differentiation. And the only other difference would seem to be capacitive vs soft buttons given the leaked pictures, but I don't know if that's enough of a difference to justify stocking such similar phones. Perhaps the Moto X will truly have the mid-range specs that are rumored, and the Ultras will have the high end specs.

 

[bunique4life05]

If Verizon is going to stock the Moto X, which I believe is a rumor so far, what would be the point of the Ultra phones? What would be the differentiating factor? Depending on whether the Moto X has Maxx style battery life or not, either the Ultra could differentiate in being thinner or the Ultra Maxx could differentiate in having better battery life, but one of the versions won't have such a differentiation. And the only other difference would seem to be capacitive vs soft buttons given the leaked pictures, but I don't know if that's enough of a difference to justify stocking such similar phones. Perhaps the Moto X will truly have the mid-range specs that are rumored, and the Ultras will have the high end specs.

The Droids tend to be flagship android devices exclusive to Verizon. Then the phones asethically hardware and software follow a Droid motif. The Moto X will be good mid range device that won't follow the bold montage of Droid Devices. The Moto X will be campained more simplistic and center on connecting people. Droid is more about bold statement with vast array devices which maybe too much for the average consumer or first time buyer. The Moto X will fit in just with Verizon's line up of mobile devices.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Rule9]

Who knows, maybe the Droid Ultra will turn out to be basically the same as a Moto X but rebranded just for verizon?

 

[moosc]

It won't they'll be on other carriers. VZW will have only have droid named.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2

 

[XDCX]

Perhaps the Moto X will truly have the mid-range specs that are rumored, and the Ultras will have the high end specs.

Here's a link to a great article I read on DroidLife that seems to draw the same conclusion - click here

It's confusing because Verizon will likely receive four new Motorola phones in the next two months. Verizon will be marketing the Droid phones and Motorola will be marketing the Moto X phone. While the Droid phones will likely have higher specs than the Moto X, I think they date back to the "pre-Google" version of Motorola and represent phones were still in the pipeline.

To add confusion, I've read a lot of speculation that the Moto X is not the "hero" device from the "post-Google" Motorola and there will be a very impressive phone released by Motorola for all carriers in October with best in class specifications. Who knows......

 

[Roundpotato]

Here's a link to a great article I read on DroidLife that seems to draw the same conclusion - click here

It's confusing because Verizon will likely receive four new Motorola phones in the next two months. Verizon will be marketing the Droid phones and Motorola will be marketing the Moto X phone. While the Droid phones will likely have higher specs than the Moto X, I think they date back to the "pre-Google" version of Motorola and represent phones were still in the pipeline.

To add confusion, I've read a lot of speculation that the Moto X is not the "hero" device from the "post-Google" Motorola and there will be a very impressive phone released by Motorola for all carriers in October with best in class specifications. Who knows......

Even if the Moto X is mid-range, Verizon is still coming out with the Droid Ultra Mini, so it'd be redundant in that respect as well.

 

[Mooem]

I see it more like Verizon is allowing the Moto X on their network instead of requesting it. To get personalized customizations for the Moto X to work, it would probably have to be an exclusively online experience which may include being able to pick your carrier (either from Motos site or Google Play)

I don't see Verizon necessarily massively stocking or marketing the device like they would Droid devices. However if they did, then I could see them touting the X's personalized customizations as a major feature for the device (or at least a feature of the buying experience.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Rule9]

Here's a link to a great article I read on DroidLife that seems to draw the same conclusion - click here

It's confusing because Verizon will likely receive four new Motorola phones in the next two months. Verizon will be marketing the Droid phones and Motorola will be marketing the Moto X phone. While the Droid phones will likely have higher specs than the Moto X, I think they date back to the "pre-Google" version of Motorola and represent phones were still in the pipeline.

To add confusion, I've read a lot of speculation that the Moto X is not the "hero" device from the "post-Google" Motorola and there will be a very impressive phone released by Motorola for all carriers in October with best in class specifications. Who knows......

I just finished reading this. If it turns out to be true then my cheering for Motorola this year will come to a halt. If the "midrange" rumours turn out to be true for the Moto X, this means that unlike HTC and Samsung, who have released top-end devices on ALL carriers, Motorola will release a phone with 2012 internals across all carriers and a more up to date phone as a carrier exclusive. Utter BS.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. I grew tired of OEM's and their slimy games at the beginning of this year and went Nexus, and it appears I'll continue to do so.

 

[XDCX]

To add confusion, I've read a lot of speculation that the Moto X is not the "hero" device from the "post-Google" Motorola and there will be a very impressive phone released by Motorola for all carriers in October with best in class specifications. Who knows......

I read through some of the comments following the article in DroidLife and there was one person who indicated the premium Droid phones are essentially the same phones as the premium Moto X phone that will arrive in October. Granted, comments following an article on a tech website need to be taken with a HUGE grain of salt, but they may make sense if Motorola wanted (or was contractually required) to grant Verizon an exclusive before they launched their premium Moto X phone to all carriers.

I'm still not clear if the premium Droid phones represent technology from the "pre-Google" Motorola or the "post-Google" Motorola. Given the rumored specs, maybe it's true that they're "post-Google" phones and provide an indication of what the premium Moto X will be in October.

For those who desire even more confusion, there are rumors of an even better Moto X phone being released in early 2014 - this is supposed to be the "Dream Phone" that has been rumored.

 

[Ry]

Who knows, maybe the Droid Ultra will turn out to be basically the same as a Moto X but rebranded just for verizon?

Doubt it based on the speculation around the leaked model numbers.

XT1030 DROID Ultra Mini
XT1056 MOTO X (Sprint)
XT1058 MOTO X (AT&T)
XT1060 MOTO X (Verizon)
XT1080 DROID Ultra
XT1080M DROID Ultra Maxx

 

[Ry]

If Verizon is going to stock the Moto X, which I believe is a rumor so far, what would be the point of the Ultra phones? What would be the differentiating factor? Depending on whether the Moto X has Maxx style battery life or not, either the Ultra could differentiate in being thinner or the Ultra Maxx could differentiate in having better battery life, but one of the versions won't have such a differentiation. And the only other difference would seem to be capacitive vs soft buttons given the leaked pictures, but I don't know if that's enough of a difference to justify stocking such similar phones. Perhaps the Moto X will truly have the mid-range specs that are rumored, and the Ultras will have the high end specs.

See DROID DNA, HTC One, HTC One mini, HTC One max.

We've all clamored for OEMs to focus on one halo device. Motorola's global effort is like to be the X. That doesn't mean we won't see other phones, even phones exclusive to carriers. Samsung still does it. HTC is still doing it.

 

[dcunited08]

I just finished reading this. If it turns out to be true then my cheering for Motorola this year will come to a halt. If the "midrange" rumours turn out to be true for the Moto X, this means that unlike HTC and Samsung, who have released top-end devices on ALL carriers, Motorola will release a phone with 2012 internals across all carriers and a more up to date phone as a carrier exclusive. Utter BS.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. I grew tired of OEM's and their slimy games at the beginning of this year and went Nexus, and it appears I'll continue to do so.

If Motorola is contractually obligated to provide these phones to Verizon, will you hold it against them?

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk HD

 

[pblakk]

I agree with OP, the main difference will probably be a thin versus MAXX level capacity battery.

from my DNA

 

[Rule9]

The carrier in my country that usually mirrors Verizon's exclude isn't my carrier, so my carrier would end up carrying the mid range moto x not the high end ultra. Has nothing to do with "holding it against them". If Moto won't bring their high end to my carrier I won't be getting a moto. It's pretty simple, you're both reading too much into it.

 

[Roundpotato]

See DROID DNA, HTC One, HTC One mini, HTC One max.

We've all clamored for OEMs to focus on one halo device. Motorola's global effort is like to be the X. That doesn't mean we won't see other phones, even phones exclusive to carriers. Samsung still does it. HTC is still doing it.

I'm not clamoring for Motorola to focus on a halo device, I'm just noting the strangeness of releasing such similar phones from the same OEM, at the same time, on the same carrier. The Droid DNA was the only HTC phone of that class launched on Verizon at that time, and those HTC One versions all have notable differences in specs and size.

As others have said, Verizon is probably just "allowing" it to exist on their network because Motorola really wants it to. Perhaps they won't even sell it in the store, and Motorola will just sell it online like the Nexus 4.

 

[ultravisitor]

I'm not clamoring for Motorola to focus on a halo device, I'm just noting the strangeness of releasing such similar phones from the same OEM, at the same time, on the same carrier.

How similar are the Ultras to the X? Do share. I haven't read anything confirmed yet.

And there's nothing strange about Verizon releasing an Ultra M, Ultra, and Maxx. They did it with the RAZRs.

 

[Roundpotato]

How similar are the Ultras to the X? Do share. I haven't read anything confirmed yet.

And there's nothing strange about Verizon releasing an Ultra M, Ultra, and Maxx. They did it with the RAZRs.

The 3 ultra variants aren't strange, it's the Moto X being released alongside them. The Moto X is going to end up being too similar to one of those devices, which currently appears to be the Ultra Mini, given the smaller screen and mid-range specs rumored so far for the X.

 

[ultravisitor]

So you don't really know anything. You're just assuming. Ok.

 

[Roundpotato]

So you don't really know anything. You're just assuming. Ok.

Of course, we're discussing rumors my child. It's just a phone, you don't need to be afraid of what the rumors say. If they're true, it's not the end of the world. Getting into a state of denial over them isn't healthy. You need to learn to entertain ideas and discuss potentials so that you can be more prepared for the arrival of the truth.

 

[Aquila]

I don't see much in common between the X and Ultra line, other than Motorola.