From interchangeable panels to modular accessories ..
At whatever stage of development smartphones were, their success often depended and continues to depend on whether the device can be remembered by the user. To create the desired effect, manufacturers turn to their engineers and designers with the task of endowing a future smartphone with distinctive features, whether it be impressive characteristics, verified and optimized software or an attractive appearance, or better, all at once. With the development of the mobile electronics market and the emergence of an increasing number of player companies, we often find faceless, relatively inexpensive devices from the Middle Kingdom with impressive characteristics. Chinese companies are vying with each other to promise us the best experience when using their smartphones, but in reality the opposite is true. But they are not limited to some budget devices. It is worth turning to more expensive devices and here the 'skill' of the designers blossoms in lush color. The design of devices of large players copied with varying degrees of accuracy, coupled with a relatively low price, is becoming the main tool for attracting an unlucky buyer.
What should companies do in this situation, whose design research is shamelessly copied by Chinese manufacturers? Do not stand still and develop your ideas and projects, of course, with an eye on the trends of the world market. In the hardware part, everything seems to be clear: fast processors, screens with a resolution of Full HD and higher, good general performance indicators – all this gradually reached the upper bar, beyond which it is unreasonable to go beyond. users may find the resulting characteristics excessive and are unlikely to agree to overpay for them. If we talk about software, then everything is more confusing, especially when it comes to Android. Many skins, third-party firmware, an endless number of 'decorators' in application catalogs, a paradise for personalization lovers. The external design remains, which is dictated by the market leaders. But even here we see signs of a slowdown in innovation: yes, Samsung has switched from plastic to metal and glass, yes, Apple has made certain changes in the design of its devices, but companies are trying not to take much risk, and we see similar externally devices for two to three years. Thus, the product cycle has slightly increased, from which, on the good, companies would like to get out.
Bright accessories have always been one of the ways to attract the attention of potential buyers. As you might have guessed, in this article we will talk about how Moto devices still manage to stand out among the many devices on the market.
Moto Maker
In my opinion, Moto smartphones have always taken a stand-off position in terms of design, which I mentioned in one of my previous posts. A careful study of the line, you can see a transition from outwardly bright and bold solutions in ordinary phones to stricter outlines characteristic of the era of smartphones after the release of the first iPhone, when manufacturers realized that not all users will feel the need for a full-fledged push-button keyboard. Of course, conventional phones did not disappear at that stage, but the emphasis gradually shifted to smartphones, mainly based on Android. What made Moto smartphones stand out then? Mainly, filling and hardware features. Many will remember Android – Razr and Droid series devices with a full-fledged keyboard, Kevlar back cover and other software and hardware 'goodies'. Nevertheless, a step forward in terms of external personalization was made in 2013, when the first smartphone from Motorola was released under the leadership of Google – Moto X, upon ordering which the user was offered to 'customize' the appearance of the future smartphone in a special constructor : Choose an accent color, back cover texture (natural wood!), engraving text and a welcome message when loading, etc. The number of combinations made it possible to get an impressive number of options, so that the resulting smartphone with a certain degree of probability became unique in its kind. Of course, the service was only available for the United States, which enterprising sellers did not fail to take advantage of. The trend was set and the service is still available today for several smartphones and Moto watches.
Moto Mods
A couple of years before the launch of Moto X, Google acquired the Israeli startup Modu, which created a kind of chassis that included a display and telephone hardware and was able to connect to various cases that added one or another functionality to it, be it camera or keyboard. Perhaps, in the annals of the history of modular smartphones, this milestone can be considered the starting point. Then there was the PhoneBloks project, which later turned into Project Ara (a developer version expected this fall), FairPhone 2 (went on sale last December), PuzzlePhone (still in development) and a variation from LG to a modular battery theme that can be replaced with accessories with added functionality. Then it was Moto's turn. The recent announcement of Moto Z / Z Force smartphones and accessories from the Mods line showed that modularity can be easy, at least in order to connect an accessory you no longer need to disconnect / reboot the phone, but simply snap it using the magnetic connectors on the back of the device and fix around, as it turned out, for a reason protruding above the camera lens housing.
The accessories available at the time of this writing allow you to turn a compatible smartphone into a mini-boombox or video projector, as well as transform its appearance and add autonomy. Mods have become a kind of response to some kind of stagnation in the market. Differentiation is becoming an increasingly difficult task and such decisions can be an excellent way out of the situation. Not everyone will be ready to spend money on such accessories, however, the very presence of a choice is encouraging. Moreover, according to the manufacturer, the company will cooperate with various manufacturers of accessories, so it is quite possible that we are expecting announcements of a variety of new accessories. As Moto Mods and compatible smartphones appear in Russia, more detailed materials about new products will be published on the pages of MR and AMR, it remains to wait for autumn.
Instead of output
The aforementioned solutions in Moto smartphones have always been distinctive and well received by consumers, the brand for me personally associates with the wide possibilities of customizing the exterior of the device plus cool filling, as I have seen from the example of X Force. Interestingly, acquaintances and just interlocutors, having seen the aforementioned device with the already familiar letter 'M' on the back, show noticeable interest, some thought that the brand was no longer used. Where I'm heading, I believe that Moto can be seen as an example of how consistent work on visual and functional differentiation of devices contributes to the popularity of the brand, even after it disappeared from view for a while. Do you remember any visual features of your former devices? Do you think about them when choosing new smartphones?