Early impressions of the Moto X have been decidedly mixed so far. While early previews generally say that the phone looks great and feels terrific to use, many are questioning why Motorola is selling a phone with mid-range specs for a high-end $200 on-contract price. Computerworld has talked with several analysts who are similarly skeptical, although one analyst points out that Motorola has a big advantage that other struggling smartphone vendors such as Nokia, BlackBerry and HTC don’t have: An enormous marketing budget courtesy of parent company Google.
Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, tells Computerworld that Google’s planned $500 million marketing spend on the Moto X could go a long way toward making up for some of the phone’s deficiencies, especially if it comes up with a compelling way to differentiate the device from competing Android phones from Samsung and HTC. All that said, Moorhead is skeptical that offering customizable colors and signatures will be enough to do the trick.
“Consumers today are differentiating their experiences already with third-party cases,” he explains. “If Motorola can make this stick with marketing, then they have a shot at being more than they are today, which is irrelevant.”
