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Do We Need The Moto Z Smartphones' New Add-On Modules? (hothardware.com)
This week saw the release of the Moto Z Droid and Force Droid, new Android smartphones from Motorola and Lenovo with snap-on modules. Slashdot reader MojoKid writes that the Z Force Droid "is sheathed behind Moto ShatterShield technology making it virtually indestructible."
Motorola guarantees it not to crack or shatter if dropped... However, what's truly standout are Moto Mods, which are snap-on back-packs of sorts that add new features, like the JBL Speaker, Moto Insta-Projector and Incipio OffGrid Power Pack (2220 mAh) mods... Even the fairly complex projector mod fires up in seconds and works really well.
But the Verge has called it "a good phone headed down the wrong path," adding "this company is competing in the global smartphone market, not a high school science fair, and its success will depend on presenting better value than the competition, not cleverer design. Without the benefit of the value-projecting fairy dust of brands like Apple and Beats, Lenovo will have an uphill climb trying to justify its Moto Mods pricing with functionality and looks, and our review has shown that none of the company's extras are essential."
But the Verge has called it "a good phone headed down the wrong path," adding "this company is competing in the global smartphone market, not a high school science fair, and its success will depend on presenting better value than the competition, not cleverer design. Without the benefit of the value-projecting fairy dust of brands like Apple and Beats, Lenovo will have an uphill climb trying to justify its Moto Mods pricing with functionality and looks, and our review has shown that none of the company's extras are essential."
""this company is competing in the global smartphone market, not a high school science fair, and its success will depend on presenting better value than the competition, not cleverer design."
Because there just aren't enough cheap, low-end Android phones with minimal features on the market, right? Surely introducing another of those is the path to financial success! /s
The Verge's advice focuses on value in a packed market, and explicitly recommends against attempting novelty. This is crap advice, the kind of numbing pablum that Walmart gives to reps with a new product. "You want to make jeans? Sure, you have to make them in a way that fits on the existing shelving and matches the existing pipeline of ass-coverings, and don't come to us in the spring without lighter weight stuff and shorts." The message is that innovation doesn't sell, which is completely wrong, you can still sell the hell out of yoga pants (high volume/moderate margin) and utilikilts (high margin low volume) if you are careful. Innovation doesn't sell in volume right away. Was Tesla thought to be a competitor to the big automakers? Puhleez. But they put out an innovative niche product and did it goddamn well, and now as they ramp production and solve nontrivial production problems, they are becoming a serious threat to a super-defined market dominated by a few big players.
Also, the Verge article mixes up the use of the word "value" between low-cost+performant product vs premium product, and implies you must choose one end of the spectrum or you are fools. This is also complete BS; it's entirely possible to put out a mid-market device that eats the premium product's lunch (with the exception of the 1% of the market that buys Kardashian-style gold-plated iPhones just because of the logo and the gold). This is how Samsung arrived at its current market position. Let's not forget that along the way to it's current dominance, Samsung put out versions of the Galaxy phone that had stylii, projectors, card slots, display adapters, etc etc. Some of those are still highly profitable products at high volume today, and there's certainly room for improvement -- particularly with respect to flexibility. To dismiss as "high school science fair" and unaware of the global market is profoundly ignorant of the history of this market.
Not only is this a viable play-book for Moto, it's exactly what they should do in order to not become part of the "value" market on the clearance shelf.
I think not...(*poof*)
It least it's fun and different from everything else on the market. Speaker mod would be useful for impromptu parties and projector for mobile salespeople. Apple and Samsung should get off their butts and innovate.
A smart phone is not essential either but that probably won't go over well. I am not sure if a cell phone even really qualifies as essential but they sure are firmly in the useful Dept.
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
Ha?
The clip on backpack battery represents a throwback to the old StarTac (pre-RAZR) days where you could get a slimline battery (which was for chumps) or this mutant cancer battery bulge, which gave you something like a week worth of standby. It was ugly, but holy wow it was an official manufacturer-built battery backpack, not unlike what they're making now.
Being able to buy a phone with a first party batter backpack puts Motorola on the radar of a lot of people who crave a true all-day phone. I'm certainly looking at it now.
I have a Nexus 5x which while having an average battery life, I went on a company offsite outing today and had to bring a USB battery bank to keep it from running out of juice. I suspect there are other people out here that demand more battery life than the average phone is capable of giving.
Nobody actually cares about the pico projector or... whatever the other one was. Everyone paying attention to this as a positive attribute is totally focused on the first party battery backpack. If I bought a Moto Z, I'd buy three backpacks, one for current use, one for the office (on a charger) and one at my house as a backup, all ready to hot-swap. I can live with a thicker phone, but using ride share services as often as I do, I can't function without my phone these days.
moox. for a new generation.
I own the first generation and second generation FLIR IR camera for the iphone. They are pop on modules that give extra functionality to the phone (in FLIR's case an IR camera).
The first gen units were a pain to have around if they weren't mounted to the unit. And when they were mounted to the unit they doubled its thickness and added 3/4" in length so if was a pain to keep in a pocket. I would use the camera and then throw it back in my bag because it made the phone to big.
The second gen units are the size of a box of matches. They snap in quick, get the job done and store well. To repeat: it is very small and not bulky when being stored.
The modules in the article remind me of the first generation units. Imagine carrying around a piece of equipment 3"x5"x1/2" which you have to be relatively gentle with it. Your bag will be full of accessories that you *might* need.
I went to a smart phone because it consolidated the function of several pieces of equipment (phone, ipod, camera, GPS, gameboy, note taking, web browsing, etc). This company wants to physically bulk up the phone and the accessories I have to carry. Nice idea, to much clutter to carry around.
Architectural plans are like computer source code with a couple of differences: You only compile once.
I feel like a battery + slide out keyboard (and maybe a headphone jack if they really aren't including one on the phone) would be a game changing "mod" accessory for this phone. I know I personally would drop my Google Fi subscription (which I love for many reasons) and switch back to Verizon solely because of a 5 row slide-out QWERTY keyboard that is backlit and easy to type with thumbs and feels solid. I don't care how much it would cost or how thick it makes the phone in my pocket.
Who ARE these people constantly asking for thinner and thinner phones??? Or is "Well... we can make it 0.001mm thinner?" the ONLY answer the engineers have when the marketing people are hounding them for the "next big thing"...
It's a fact that over and over again device-specific add-ons are ignored. They wind up in bargain bins whether it's tablet-specific keyboard docks or R.O.B. for the N.E.S. Ignore the lessons of history at your peril. Moto G 2nd owner here, in case you think I'm in love with Samsung or something. Anybody else notice they're now stooping to infomercials?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
I can't imagine what the benefit of this would be. USB is fast, the connector small. You can probably get all this stuff cheaper, maybe even lighter, as standalone components. The connectors seem to be way more metal than a USB C. If the issue is multiple devices without a hub, the we need to find a daisy chain solution this is both USB and FireWire.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
it wasn't locked to a carrier I'm not going to use.
And when it's released unlocked it won't have the shatter proof tech.
My personal choice is the extra battery capacity. Not sure how it works but how I'd like to use it is two with an external charger and then swap them out daily with the modules charging wirelessly on a pad.
I would also be receptive to a mod for a better camera but I can see myself using the speakers. Some people just need their external tunes and it would be one less thing to carry around.
I think modular addons for phones and tablets might be the next wave, simply because a phone without additional hardware bits, (such as a keyboard), is a shitty replacement for a desktop or laptop. So what I see happening is that phones will continue to manage locally-stored data and 'cloud' data, (basically all of a user's computer data), in a pocket-sized device. To do serious work, (requiring a keyboard, mouse, larger screen, longer battery life, a projector, bigger local storage, etc), you'll add the appropriate modules to the phone, and/or plug the phone into a docking station.
The way 'Lenovorola' has chosen to do this may not be what the market will eventually settle on; but given smartphones' ubiquity and portability, and the growing multitude of uses for them, I think some kind of hardware extension model will ultimately be necessary.
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
either or do I see it wrong?
The worst article in a long time. No smartphone is about what is needed, it is about what is wanted (even if that want is just to feel superior because you have the latest model from $Company).
In fact smartphones in general are not NEEDED, nor are tech sites reporting on them.
Their goal is to attract consumer interest, and this will do it. I just wish their connector was open source, so there would be a 0.00000001% chance of other brands following suit - lets go down the line of things like ara or PC type ugrades
I remember buying a camera attachment for my Ericsson T68. Not long after that, every phone had a camera.
So if I rush out to buy this thing because I can clip a projector on it, there'll be better phones with better projectors built in long before my phone's out of contract.
Speaker module, though... Those things should come with a built-in shaped charge to take out the asshat who doesn't understand what headphones are for.
OK hipster douche nerd wannabees. Let's see you design and build something better. If it was a Google product, they'd likely suck up to it real good.
Why? If I need a projector - I'll use a projector that is a real projector, not some My little Pony toy thing. It's the same with most Smartphone "innovations". Camera? I only use my phone's camera if I have to, because the phone camera is just a semi-shitty toy. Speakers? Unless the laws of physics have changed, they'll just be little shit things as well.
Battery pack? Okay, but a dedicated battery pack? That's not remotely innovation, just an accessory that will enable you to forget charging for a longer time, then have to buy a generic charger at WalMart when both the phone and dedicated battery go dead.
This thing isn't remotely innovative. It's trying to be a Swiss Army Knife of smartphones. I have a Swiss, but it only sits in the glove compartment of the car. Meanwhile, I'll actually use a Buck Tac knife because it functions well as a knife.
This phone is thinking so far inside the box, it's pathetic.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
The mainstream media seemed to have missed this, but this is the first production phone to be using the Project Ara module interconnect using the Greybus Protocol.
More information about how the thing actually works and what its good for here