In the wake of failures from competitors Lenovo, it activates forces and throws additional funds on anti-advertising. But is the company doing so well?
Since about May, a manufacturer, who has long been a dark horse for many owners of modern smartphones, has increasingly begun to appear in mailing lists and news feeds of foreign thematic publications. Yes, the surge in interest in Lenovo was pretty much fueled by the purchase of a mobile unit Motorola from Google, which owned it at that time. But then a period of silence followed, broken by rumors and leaks about new smartphones of the new line at that time under the letter Z. And, as they say, it started. Let's try to separate the wheat from the chaff and take a cool look at the promoted Lenovo devices and functional features.
Reconnaissance in force
In general, looking back at the media frenzy that has literally swept the network, we can say that Lenovo, with a certain degree of success, jumped over their heads in their attempt to competently beat and beat the Moto brand's return 'to the game'. It all started with some kind of exploration and publicity for ShatterShield technology and the first ever 'shatterproof' screen, the Moto X Force.
From my experience, I can say that the device still carries that aesthetics Motorola, for which many people love this brand so much. Moreover, it is difficult to single out something specific, everything is perceived as a single whole: ballistic nylon of the back, a branded circle with a logo, where the finger automatically rests during a conversation, as well as software 'chips', starting from my favorite Active Display and ending with the gestures I spoke about in his material Evgeny Vildyaev. Of course, one cannot fail to note the massiveness and not reproach the X Force for the lack of elegance, apparently, such a test of the pen was needed Lenovo to understand the general reaction to such a smartphone, uncompromising in terms of durability. Всё же, если бы у меня была возможность выбирать защищённое устройство из представленных не только на нашем рынке гаджетов, то мой выбор безоговорочно бы пал на Samsung Galaxy S7 Active (если бы не AT&T со своей монополией). And the point here is not even that I have been using devices from this company for a relatively long time and that the reliability of a smartphone has not been proven by many crash tests, I’m just for flexibility in terms of the choice of controls. Of course, I consider the ideal option to be able to choose, as, for example, in smartphones from OnePlus, but the solution from Samsung with separate dedicated keys under the screen takes an honorable second place in my rating.
How do you like the efficiency of using the device's area with virtually identical dimensions? And that is precisely what I cannot 'forgive' the current Moto line. Yes, it sounds like a habit, but why not give the user a choice? Why are these onscreen keys, hiding albeit small, but still part of the screen? Not to say that you can't get used to it, but the presence of physical keys would ennoble the new smartphones Lenovo Moto, at least in my eyes. On the other hand, instead of physical keys, these smartphones have motion and proximity sensors on which the mentioned gestures and 'chips' are tied. However, I would sacrifice them (other than Active Display) for the sake of physical controls. The rest of the X Force is completely satisfied, a solid device with good characteristics.
Z-Line and Modular Accessories
During those 10-15 minutes spent studying Moto Z, I realized that the smartphone evokes very unusual tactile sensations, a good emphasis is placed on this. I expected that I would not like the exterior, however, on the contrary, the overall impression was rather positive, if you ignore the solution with the scanner and sensors at the bottom of the device. The step is at least interesting, the device is fashionable and costs accordingly.
One of the high-profile statements Lenovo was the system of modular accessories, announced together with the Z and Z Force devices, I have already expressed my opinion about them in one of the materials. After a certain time, I revised only the item with the camera module, the peculiarity of its position above the body is due to the need to attach the aforementioned accessories not only by means of magnetic connectors. Without a bulging camera lens, you would have to think of another way to keep the accessories in place.
For the rest, I remained unconvinced about phones and Mods. It is gratifying that in fact it turned out to be an accessory that improves the photographic aspect.
Hasselblad + Lenovo
Perhaps, at the last IFA, the Hasselblad module was on a par with the Z Play, and even higher in importance. Although this is not the first experience of cooperation between a Chinese device manufacturer and a top manufacturer of photographic equipment, it looks much more organic than the same LG Cam Plus, and the list of characteristics is quite good.
Yes, this is a unique opportunity to get your hands on a piece of Hasselblad without having to pay exorbitant sums. Yes, it will amuse the pride of photographers on mobile devices, giving them the opportunity to photograph in RAW with subsequent processing in editors on a PC. Yes, it has given food to those who see such a great potential in this that they claim the superiority of the combination of the Z Play smartphone with the mentioned module over the solutions in Huawei P9 and iPhone 7 Plus. Plus, the 'wave of enthusiasm' over the problems of major competitors spawned an entire ad campaign under the slogan Skip The Sevens. The initiative encourages users to think carefully about whether they should buy the Note 7 or iPhone 7/7 Plus.
As for Samsung, there is a systematic offensive from the side Lenovo, during which the Chinese have already managed to accuse their South Korean counterparts of stealing the idea of Active Display and using it in all of the company's current smartphones. Plus to everything Lenovo they did not miss the chance to make fun of Samsung, the injection, albeit a little sensitive, but the latter is absolutely not up to it now. In Lenovo it was as if they had forgotten about a battery fire in one of the company's laptops.
Well, this 'pie' of vanity and sarcasm is crowned with a video in which fans of technology Apple are told about Moto Z and accessories, positioning this smartphone as a prototype of a new one iPhone. The focus group is watching with interest the work of the accessories, every now and then approvingly discussing what is happening with the smartphone. As it turned out, none of the apple fans knows about the existence of such a brand as Lenovo, and even more so about what their devices offer.
Why am I all this. Active and even sometimes aggressive tactics of conducting PR campaigns from outside Lenovo often relies only on particular aspects of work. If we transfer the user experience imposed by advertising to our Russian realities, then we will understand that we should not buy Moto Z yet, because so popularized accessories are very expensive and it is not in our mentality to buy a device for $ 350 and buy a photo device for it. about $ 250. As users, we want sane specs and pricing without looking at the competition. I believe that Lenovo has not yet managed to make even a little progress in acquiring the same confidence and popular love for the Moto brand as in the past. The top segment really makes a claim to win, but there is still a weighty part of the market that would not mind seeing a new conjuncture in Moto smartphones. G-line devices alone will not help here, a more holistic approach is needed. There is not always something that can be opposed to cool products from other manufacturers, but you have to fight for the buyer.
My position is this: instead of teasing and taunting competitors, Lenovo you should think about a truly popular device. All the arguments presented for the company's products are aimed mainly at a fairly solvent audience, the budget segment is poorly covered in the media. Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in the past, but in any case, you need a smartphone that can at least come close to the pre-crisis sales figures of record-holders such as Moto G. Flagships are good, but they alone will not go far. If Lenovo still want to win the confidence of the masses, then you need to descend from heaven and try to create a more budgetary, but cool device. There is something to think about.