Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Moto X: The Smartphone Comes Home

There are 150 million smartphones in the USA. Until Moto X, not one of them was made here.

When we set out to make Moto X, we asked ourselves, why?

Conventional wisdom said it wasn’t possible. Experts said that costs are too high in the US; that the US has lost its manufacturing capability; and that the US labor force is too inflexible. And it’s true that most manufacturing in the consumer electronics industry moved offshore over a decade ago.

One year ago, we chose to believe differently. We chose to be optimistic about the future of manufacturing in America. Not because making our flagship product here in the US is the easy thing to do, but because it’s the right thing to do.

People called us crazy. But we quickly realized that it's not economics that prevents consumer electronics companies from making things locally. It's lack of imagination and vision.

First, the economics have changed. It’s not that much more expensive to make a phone here than in Asia.

Second, innovation is an iterative process of redesigning and refining. That process becomes much easier when the people designing the products are near to the people building them.

Third, consumers have changed. Some want to participate in the design of their device so they can reflect their personal style, and that’s much harder if your manufacturing is overseas. Others want a locally built product and want to know they are supporting local jobs.

But there is a larger reason that ultimately motivated us to assemble Moto X here in the US.

Producing Moto X locally helps bring innovation back home, which is essential to the economic health of the US. It provides jobs and helps maintain technical skills that would otherwise be lost. It’s also true to our nature. We’re makers, and we should continue to be makers.

So, today we’re celebrating the official launch of the manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas, that builds every Moto X sold in the US. Some said it couldn’t be done, but the factory we just opened and the people working there are proof that it could. We’ve created more than 2,000 jobs in Fort Worth in less than four months, and we’re still hiring.

I couldn’t be more proud of the work our team has done.

We think people will be proud to carry a phone that’s built in the US. And now they have that choice.

--Dennis Woodside, CEO, Motorola





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Monday, September 9, 2013

It’s Time To Ditch The Lazy Phone


Moto X: New Ads, New Availability and Moto Match


The world is full of lazy phones. Phones that blink at you most of the day and sleep the rest. These phones make you do all the work.

Does this look familiar?



See more Lazy Phone ads for Active Display and Quick Capture.

That’s why Moto X was built with one thing in mind - you. It responds to you...it does things for you...it’s designed by you.

Want information? It pulses with what’s important at a glance. Want to get directions, search the web, call a friend? Just talk and it responds to your voice – no touching necessary. Want Moto X to match the colors of your favorite kicks or sports team? Design it that way yourself.

Moto X is all about you and it’s all about choice. That choice includes the wireless carrier you want.

Moto X is now available in the US at AT&T, Sprint, U.S. Cellular, Verizon Wireless - and starting today - T-Mobile via Motorola.com. If you’d like to create a phone that’s uniquely yours through Moto Maker, the design experience is currently available with AT&T.

Outside the US, Moto X is also on-sale at Rogers in Canada, Claro in Puerto Rico, Vivo in Brazil, and at Movistar in Chile (also available at Claro in Chile later this week). Additionally, we’ll be announcing more availability across Latin America shortly.

In the meantime, check out Moto Match, our new Facebook and real-life Booth Experience. Moto Match uses color detection technology to create a Moto X based on your style.

On Facebook, Moto Match is the first phone configurator that allows you to use Facebook photos to quickly and easily create a customized Moto X that truly reflects your personal style. Simply choose a favorite pic from your Facebook timeline, and the app will do the rest by identifying the photo’s most prominent colors and creating Moto X to match. You can create as many designs as you like and share them with your friends, not only on Facebook but Pinterest too.



In the Moto Match Booth (below), fashionistas step in and the screen recognizes what you're wearing, then picks a Moto X to match your look. You can then personalize the photo with your signature and email the image to share with your friends or purchase it later.


The Moto Match Booth is debuting this week at Milk Studios during MADE fashion week. Follow #MotoXMADE on Twitter to find out how you can win tickets to the closing event or come by Milk Studios to try the Moto X on for size.



Whether on Facebook or at the Booth, Moto Match has built in social sharing components and will also help you purchase a device by driving you directly to our website or sending you an email with your design so you can buy it later.