What happened to motorola?

[VyprNoch]

I have been a big motorola fan since my first Android phone, the first gen droid. The industrial design was bulky but that, in my opinion, was what made droid a Droid. It looked like a total beast. That phone made me fall in love with Motorola. I was really happy with their other droid iterations year after year but then came the droid turbo. It was different than the previous droids but still acceptable because of the kevlar back that still made it fall in the beast category. Then came the disappointment, the droid turbo 2. It might be a good phone, but I dont think it is acceptable to call it a droid. It is no longer the type I feel in love with. I am worried if I will ever get to see another phone that will ever qualify as a droid, atleast by my definitions.

Is it just me or have you stopped loving the droid line as well?

 

[hallux]

They were bought by Lenovo, that's what happened.

I never really associated the "Droid" line as being the "Beast" line, it was always a Verizon-exclusive line which also meant design was driven by Verizon, and I don't believe the new one is any different. The first-generation Droid was my first Android device but I haven't had a Droid since, going with other devices (and now on a Nexus 6P).

 

[LeoRex]

I think most of Motorola's current issues stem from the fact that they got sold to Lenovo ... plain and simple and their issues go far beyond the Droid line. Droids are Verizon exclusives, think of them as Verizon's version of the Nexus; Verizon designs the phone, then Motorola builds them to Verizon's spec (hardware AND software). I think, maybe, your issues with the DT2 are because Motorola stopped fighting back against some of Verizon's design choices.

On a grander scale, I saw this coming as soon as I read that Google sold Motorola off to Lenovo. The Motorola that so many people fell in love with... the Moto X Motorola... that's not Motorola, that's Google playing puppetmaster with an OEM and implementing the 'KISS' strategy on a corporate level. Develope solid phones, load a nice clean version of Android that isn't overburdened with a bunch of unnecessary customizations and then sell it for a reasonable price. It might not have sold at Galaxy S-levels, but the result was proof that you need not spend $700 to get a phone that runs really well. And to top it off, users got updates right quick.

Once the transition to Lenovo started, the first thing that dropped was speedy updates. The first major round of updates post-sale was an unmitigated disaster, both in speed and quality. What I couldn't figure out is how this came as a surprise to people. They were a division of Google, of COURSE they'd get OS updates out quickly... they kind of had an 'in'. Once Motorola went from an internal group to a external customer, there was no way to keep that relationship the same. Add in the announcement that Lenovo basically told any non-Droid carrier-based models that they are SOL when it comes to updates to 6.0, well, it was clear that Lenovo wasn't all that interested in the Moto spirit.

Then came The Purge. Back in August, Lenovo cleaned house... punting a bunch of workers, including some 500 over at Motorola... including a huge chunk of the same R&D staff that made Moto, well, Moto. I was afraid that this would happen, that Lenovo would basically capitalize on Motorola's name and then replace its inards with Lenovo people, which is precisely what happened.

Considering the long development cycle of phones, the current generation of Motorola phones most likely still have a bit of the Google Motorola left in them. What will the next generation be? Dunno....

 

[Ry]

So the DROID TURBO 2 isn't worthy of the DROID name because there isn't a Kevlar option?

Posted via the Android Central App on the Moto X Pure Edition

 

[mohit9206]

What's happened is Motorola has become just another Android phone maker. It used to be different but now its just another phone company.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Typing this now, so we can see if I am right or wrong: I honestly have the feeling that Lenovo is going to start treating phones as something you buy once a year. The shenanigans (read as stupidity) they did with the Moto line are what we are going to see in the future. One update at best in some cases, flagships, maybe two.

Over the last 12-18 months, I have had numerous people asking me what phone I would suggest for them. In the beginning, my first suggestion was Moto. Now, the first thing to naturally say is 'not Moto'.

In 2013, Motorola was among the first non Nexus devices that did what a lot of people wanted: smooth performance, relatively fast updates, lower cost. Moto has now become the antithesis of this idea. Moto had something going for them, especially the idea of physically customizing the phone. I don't know if Lenovo could have gone any further to the polar opposite than they already have. And all in less than a classic contract cycle. And it's sad....very sad.

I usually don't rant. I try to stay neutral. But this time, I can't stay quiet about this.

Lenovo...I hope you are reading. You screwed up. Barring a large turnaround, I cannot in good conscience suggest devices from you.

 

[Ry]

They were bought by Lenovo, that's what happened.

I never really associated the "Droid" line as being the "Beast" line, it was always a Verizon-exclusive line which also meant design was driven by Verizon, and I don't believe the new one is any different. The first-generation Droid was my first Android device but I haven't had a Droid since, going with other devices (and now on a Nexus 6P).

The DROID line was always Verizon's "flagship" when it came to Android devices though.

Posted via the Android Central App on the Moto X Pure Edition

 

[Laura Knotek]

The DROID line was always Verizon's "flagship" when it came to Android devices though.

Posted via the Android Central App on the Moto X Pure Edition

The OG Droid was my first knowledge that Android existed. I never heard of the HTC Dream until several years later. I still remember the OG Droid TV ads from Verizon and the "Droid does" slogan.

 

[Ry]

I think most of Motorola's current issues stem from the fact that they got sold to Lenovo ... plain and simple and their issues go far beyond the Droid line. Droids are Verizon exclusives, think of them as Verizon's version of the Nexus; Verizon designs the phone, then Motorola builds them to Verizon's spec (hardware AND software). I think, maybe, your issues with the DT2 are because Motorola stopped fighting back against some of Verizon's design choices.

On a grander scale, I saw this coming as soon as I read that Google sold Motorola off to Lenovo. The Motorola that so many people fell in love with... the Moto X Motorola... that's not Motorola, that's Google playing puppetmaster with an OEM and implementing the 'KISS' strategy on a corporate level. Develope solid phones, load a nice clean version of Android that isn't overburdened with a bunch of unnecessary customizations and then sell it for a reasonable price. It might not have sold at Galaxy S-levels, but the result was proof that you need not spend $700 to get a phone that runs really well. And to top it off, users got updates right quick.

Once the transition to Lenovo started, the first thing that dropped was speedy updates. The first major round of updates post-sale was an unmitigated disaster, both in speed and quality. What I couldn't figure out is how this came as a surprise to people. They were a division of Google, of COURSE they'd get OS updates out quickly... they kind of had an 'in'. Once Motorola went from an internal group to a external customer, there was no way to keep that relationship the same. Add in the announcement that Lenovo basically told any non-Droid carrier-based models that they are SOL when it comes to updates to 6.0, well, it was clear that Lenovo wasn't all that interested in the Moto spirit.

Then came The Purge. Back in August, Lenovo cleaned house... punting a bunch of workers, including some 500 over at Motorola... including a huge chunk of the same R&D staff that made Moto, well, Moto. I was afraid that this would happen, that Lenovo would basically capitalize on Motorola's name and then replace its inards with Lenovo people, which is precisely what happened.

Considering the long development cycle of phones, the current generation of Motorola phones most likely still have a bit of the Google Motorola left in them. What will the next generation be? Dunno....

The 5.0 disaster was before Lenovo though.

Posted via the Android Central App on the Moto X Pure Edition

 

[LeoRex]

The 5.0 disaster was before Lenovo though.

Before it was officially Lenovo, but Google announced the sale in January of 2014... and by the time Lollipop was released, I am sure quite a bit of Motorola was already in the middle of the transition.

 

[Ry]

Before it was officially Lenovo, but Google announced the sale in January of 2014... and by the time Lollipop was released, I am sure quite a bit of Motorola was already in the middle of the transition.

As someone who is working at a large company that just merged with another large company, day to day operations leading up to the completion of the merger/acquisition remained the same. Roadmap changes did not come until well after the everything was complete. I'm confident that that was the same for Motorola with Lenovo.

That original 5.0 update was just bad.

Posted via the Android Central App on the Moto X Pure Edition

 

[dpham00]

I have been a big motorola fan since my first Android phone, the first gen droid. The industrial design was bulky but that, in my opinion, was what made droid a Droid. It looked like a total beast. That phone made me fall in love with Motorola. I was really happy with their other droid iterations year after year but then came the droid turbo. It was different than the previous droids but still acceptable because of the kevlar back that still made it fall in the beast category. Then came the disappointment, the droid turbo 2. It might be a good phone, but I dont think it is acceptable to call it a droid. It is no longer the type I feel in love with. I am worried if I will ever get to see another phone that will ever qualify as a droid, atleast by my definitions.

Is it just me or have you stopped loving the droid line as well?

Kevlar or not, the fact that the turbo 2 can survive a 900' drop would put it in the beast category for me.

 

[i_NAP]

as the impact on the quality?

 

[i_NAP]

I heard Motorola returns to Russia))))

 

[zuben el genubi]

Motorola started in the US.

If Lenovo doesn't stick their spyware into the phone like they did on some laptops, it might work out.

The Chinese company I've dealt with is Oppo. I really liked the outlook, the forum (it was international) and Color OS. It was also pretty well basic as it came. You could delete stuff like Facebook and Twitter if you so desired. Mine happened to be on 4.3, so I also had permissions. It also ran everything I installed without a hitch - no sloppy software as the complaint I've seen about Huawei

Huawei, I love your phones -- just fix your software, please

Had the Oppo added the new TMO band 12, I would have stayed with the line. If Oppo ever adds it, it will be bye-bye Motorola.

Also don't trust LG - they sold TVs with mic and recorder wide open. Someone finally complained and LG issued a way to opt out. I had the LG Nexus4, and hated the phone. It just never felt right. I had to root it so I could stand it. I'd had the Nexus S, and didn't mind that - also rooted but to get rid of carrier - phone was branded.

 

[WeGoGo]

They were bought by Lenovo and i don't like Lenovo phone

 

[Sizzers]

Well here's a nice bit of history for you.... http://www.androidauthority.com/10-interesting-facts-about-motorola-673871/