Motorola's Modular Smartphone Dream Is Too Young To Die (fastcompany.com)

harrymcc writes: Lots of people have fantasized about modular smartphones, but Motorola introduced one -- the Moto Z -- and actually created an ecosystem of useful add-ons. Now its parent company, Lenovo, has made major cuts at Moto headquarters in Chicago, throwing the future of Moto Mods into doubt. Over at Fast Company, Jared Newman talked to some of the people who have invested energy in this modular platform about why it would be such a shame if Lenovo gave up on the idea.

Comments

not this again

[hjf]

seriously, who wants this?
I certainly don't.
i like a solid, compact phone. No "module" bullshit. No one is going to "change the camera for a better one" or "have a high quality audio amplifier". Or even "remove the camera and give me a larger battery.

Batteries already take a lot of space in a phone. you don't get any significant improvement by adding a tiny battery module.

Also, moto-z style modules... who wants a 1" thick phone again?

Re:not this again

[schnell]

i do. God forbid anyone wants anything you don't.

That's the thing. If this device is being considered for retirement, it's precisely because not enough people want it.

If what the Slashdot crowd wanted represented actual consumer tastes in any volume, then every PC would be running Linux - WITH OH GOD NO SYSTEMD - and be 100% upgradeable/replaceable. It's not, and it doesn't. Most other people don't want what a theoretical Slashdot "you" wants, and that's how the market works.

I work for a giant large evil US cellular carrier, and I can tell you it's the same for smartphones. The smartphone business is about three things: 1.) volume; 2.) volume; 3.) volume. That's why Apple and Samsung have some crazy percentage of the total profits in the market. Do you want something different? For example, a MILSPEC rugged phone? You want an intrinsically safe smartphone? You want a smartphone that supports HAM radio?

You can get it, just be prepared to pay for it. You can get almost anything you want in a smart phone, but you have to vote with your wallet, not just on Interwebs comment boards. Because you are going to pay out the wazoo for what you want because it isn't the same as what tens of millions of other users want.

Slashdot-y people said they wanted a phone that could dock and be an Android device. Motorola built one, and nobody bought it. Slashdot-y people said they wanted a super duper secure phone and nobody is buying it. I worked years ago on the "Obama Blackberry" that numerous US government agencies insisted that they needed and... wait for it... not even they bought it when they figured out how much it cost ($3500 vs. a not as secure but more functional $200 BlackBerry).

There are lots and lots of smartphones out there that meet different needs. Unless your needs happen to match with that of tens of millions of other users, please be prepared that your wallet will take a hit when you vote for it. Otherwise... if you want a smartphone from a big carrier store that you can get for next to nothing upfront, be prepared to get the exact same kind of phone that meets the needs of tens of millions of users who don't include you.

Re:not this again

[jellomizer]

Here is the thing. To make and sell such devices there is a lot of money needed upfront. If you are going to invest millions in such devices, we need more people then a few people to sell it too. Especially because after a few years the phone will be out of date and will need a reinvestment to build a new batch. However your example isn't as much about wanting a modular phone, but just a phone with a bigger battery and perhaps a projector.
Which they are devices you can get that support many Android and iPhone models that just do that. it isn't modular per say, but they are cases that add extra batteries to your device, by plugging into the usb/lightning ports. You can also get portable projectors that plug into these ports as well.

They may not clip in as nice as the Motorola, but the point is most people don't want a modular phone, they want one phone to do what they want it to do. For the most part with the competition you can normally find a phone that meets your criteria as well as you can find.

I commend Motorola for not just making an other blatant iPhone ripoff and try to give us something new. However what they offered, wasn't what most people wanted.