When Google swallowed up Motorola Mobility a little over a year ago, there were people out there asking if the search giant wanted to become the next Samsung. According to new data released by Strategy Analytics, the answer to that question is a resounding no. Sales of the Moto X, the company’s flagship phone meant to show off things like touchless control and active notifications, barely hit 500,000 units.
Now just to put things into some perspective, Samsung expects sales of their Galaxy S devices and Galaxy Note devices to hit a combined 100 million units during this calendar year. Motorola only does half of one percent as much. But Stefan, you might be thinking, this is because the Moto X is only on sale in a handful of countries. True as that might be, one would think that Google would want to expand their reach to a global audience, no? And here’s where the Moto G comes in. Tomorrow, in Brazil, Google is going to unveil what’s rumored to be a low cost version of the Moto X. It’s supposed to look exactly like the Moto X, except that it’ll have a slightly smaller 4.5 inch screen, it’ll have a slower processor, and it’s not going to have 4G LTE, but it should be around $199. Can you think of many $199 phones (unsubsidized) that you can recommend to friends and family? Because I can’t. The cheapest phone I’d recommend to someone would be the Galaxy S II Plus, which is over $300 once you add in sales tax.
