Last May, Google bought out Motorola, intending to release a new line of phones under the watchful eye of the Google team. What does this mean exactly?
Let’s put it this way; last fall, Motorola released the Razr HD line of phones (I own the Razr MAXX HD and love it), but even those weren’t enough to impress Google execs. Now, Google and Motorola are working together on a new line of phones which will be sized around 4-4.5 inches and run a stock Android OS.
Jim Wicks, Motorola’s design chief had this to say: “We’ve been spending the past eight months on this next generation of phones, and we’ve all seen positive feedback and collaboration around things….Consumers love what the Android OS can do for them, and they want to have the most recent releases faster. From a software and UI perspective, our strategy is to embrace Android and to make it the best expression of Android and Google in the market. It will be the unadulterated version of Android, and I feel really good about our embracing Android and being the best Android experience.”
What does this mean for those who aren’t familiar with the terminology? It means that like the Nexus devices, the upcoming Motorola phones will have the newest and most up to date Android OS on their phones without the clutter of OEM software like TouchWhiz (Samsung) or Sense (HTC) mixed in there. It means that anytime Google pushes a new update, stock Android OS’s will get it first. It also means less bloatware (yay!).
In addition to stock Android, the new Moto phones will also abandon the steadily growing size of smartphones. Says Wicks, “Certain people like a large screen, but 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.”
With news of Samsung announcing a Mega line of phones, it’ll be interesting to see how Moto’s “Bigger isn’t better” campaign works out.
And finally, a little blurb for fans of the Razr line (like myself); “We’re continuing to do design work on Razr and what that could look like in the future, [but] when you look at non-Razr devices, there’s a little but more of a green field.” Perhaps we’ll see a Razr model sometime in the near future that’s slim, powerful, and runs a stock Android OS? Like music to my ears.
source | pcmag
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Android OS
