Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s subsidiary, Motorola, just unveiled its new flagship phone — the Moto X.
Despite being technologically inferior to its Android-based competition, the Moto X is priced competitively with other flagship smartphones like Samsung’s Galaxy S4 and HTC’s One.
Nevertheless, the phone should be expected to sell well, and that should benefit the search giant.
Smartphone: tooty-fruity edition
Last year, in an interview with CNBC, bond guru Jeff Gundlach, observing Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPad Mini, rhetorically asked if the “tooty-fruity” edition was next.
The Moto X is the tooty-fruity edition of Android phones.
Admittedly, it does have some interesting features, like the ability to activate the camera app with a quick twist, or to use voice commands without waking the phone up. But its rivals have their own features that are arguably just as useful (Samsung’s multi-window, HTC’s BlinkFeed).
But nevermind all that. What matters is what it looks like, and where it’s made.
Engadget, after playing with the phone, observed that the Moto X was aimed at a “mainstream audience” (read: the ignorant masses).
Reaching back to a decade ago, when swappable faceplate feature phones were all the rage, the Moto X allows owners to customize their phone. Not just color, but even material. The Moto X will be the first phone made out of wood (if you want a wood one that is).
And because of that level of customization, the phone will be assembled in Texas — a first for smartphones. It’s likely that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s $500 million advertising campaign will feature this fact prominently, similar to how Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has embraced the phrase “Designed in California” in all of its recent advertising.
More proof of smartphone saturation
As I’ve written before, the smartphone market (at least at the high-end) is showing signs of saturation. If you needed any more proof of that, look no further than the Moto X.
Now when it comes to selling smartphones, custom colors and made-in-America patriotism take precedence.
And that should be enough. At this point, high-end smartphones are nearly indistinguishable from one another. Having a dual core or quad core processor doesn’t really matter when the software being run is comprised of web apps like Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and simplistic games like Cut the Rope.
Taking a page out of the Apple playbook
Motorola’s move to offer an inferior product with a customizable body is right out of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s playbook.
In 1998, at a time when Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was struggling just to survive, it released the first iMac. The PC had one notable feature — in an era of black and grey PCs, the iMac came in a range of bright colors.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) repeated this again in 2004 with the iPod Mini. The Mini was only slightly less expensive than the original iPod ($250 vs $300), but had way less internal storage (4GB vs 16GB). Still, it sold well because it came in five different colors and buyers could have it engraved.
The iPhone could be next. Reports have indicated that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has a low cost iPhone in the works, and leaked images show a plastic-backed, multi-colored phone.
The lower price tag should, in theory, attract buyers who have stayed away from the iPhone until now because of its cost. But in reality, the number of people that fall into that category is probably smaller than many believe.
By some estimates, smartphone adoption rates in the US are over 60%, and of those, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has nearly half the market.
Rather than bring new people into the ecosystem, the multi-colored iPhone might just serve as a gimmicky way to get existing Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) devotees to buy a new phone.
