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Google/Motorola Developing Flagship Phone to Compete with Apple and Samsung

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google android logosGoogle, via its newly acquired Motorola Mobility unit, is developing a "stand apart" phone to compete with the iPhone, reports the Wall Street Journal. The phone, which the company aims to release next year, is designed to compete more strongly with the iPhone, and Samsung's Galaxy line, than Motorola's current lineup.

This new "X Phone" project is being led by former Google product manager Lior Ron. Possible features seemed to be ambitious with exploration of bendable screens, ceramics, image and gesture-recognition software.

The company is running into development issues, however. Google is having problems with supply-chain management, a speciality of Apple CEO Tim Cook.

But while Google is known for swift execution on the Web, its new hardware unit has run into obstacles associated with manufacturing and supply-chain management that have caused the company to rethink some initial plans for the X phone, these people added. Meanwhile, Google must manage complex relationships with smartphone makers that use its Android mobile-device software—particularly with Samsung Electronics Co., a Motorola rival that has become the No. 1 smartphone maker with Google's help.

Google does have ample amounts of cash to invest in the phone project, which the WSJ says the company will follow up with a tablet based on the same platform.

Google's acquisition of Motorola was controversial as it puts Google in direct competition with their Android licensees. Apple and Samsung, however, have captured the lion's share of smartphone profits, and Google is reportedly concerned that Samsung could "fork" Android and preventing Google's applications from being installed by default. This could have a large impact on Google's mobile reach if it doesn't develop its own handset.

Top Rated Comments

markfc Avatar
markfc
173 months ago
Anyone else getting bored of a world that resolves around smartphones?
Score: 52 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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rmwebs
173 months ago
This ****'s about to get interesting.

Given Android is very much on a stable, non-fragmented heading now (the latest Android builds have come on leaps and bounds), this could actually be a heck of a lot more successful than the previous attempts.

Apple needs to up their game - Android is now the better OS, undeniably with the likes of the S3 and Note.

It's only a recent change however, but certainly a worrying one for Apple.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S
samcraig
173 months ago
Android fragmentation keeps heading in the worse direction. Companies WILL fork Android, its only a question of time.

Forks can go either direction, for the good or for the bad. I have been on both sides of it, I have had my projects forked and I have forked other projects.

In the end, you always get a different product that is rarely compatible with each other.

Actually I think Android is moving in the opposite direction with a lot less fragmentation. And fragmentation barely (if ever) affects most customers. The big/most popular apps will always make themselves compatible (being more of an issue for developers) and many "regular joes" don't even care about which version of the OS they are running as long as their phone works the way they want to.

Hey, and while you're at it, how about an OS that works and isn't a POS? That'd be great. Since I've owned my iPhone I have not had the urge to throw it against a wall once, I have not had to apologize to people for losing a call or poor quality or reception, I have not had to restart it or wait for an app to load. So while you're making all those great things to compete with it, try making an OS that works as well as iOS. Yea, good luck with that.

Bias much? Have you used Jelly Bean? It's hardly a POS. I own both and iPhone and Android phone - they are BOTH great devices with a lot of postives and few negatives. Both phones have had to be rebooted, dropped calls, etc. No phone is immune.

But feel free to keep hating. From the tone of your rant - I can just imagine how much "quality" time you've spend using anything other than iOS.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
R
rmwebs
173 months ago
Hey, and while you're at it, how about an OS that works and isn't a POS? That'd be great. Since I've owned my iPhone I have not had the urge to throw it against a wall once, I have not had to apologize to people for losing a call or poor quality or reception, I have not had to restart it or wait for an app to load. So while you're making all those great things to compete with it, try making an OS that works as well as iOS. Yea, good luck with that.

Clearly you've not used Android 4.

Whilst Android 1, 2 and 3 (to a lesser degree) had a lot of issues (which were mostly down to UI inconsistencies and incompatibilities caused by crap hardware), 4 is a heck of a lot better. The S3 is a very, VERY popular phone, and actually performs a fair bit better than the iPhone 5.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
baryon Avatar
baryon
173 months ago
Didn't Google already do this? I was called Nexus, and it was a huge failure!
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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samcraig
173 months ago
To compete with the iPhone...and every other smartphone. I'm pretty sure it's not "just" the iPhone. IE - they are competing against the Galaxy line from Samsung as well..


http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/21/motorola-x-phone-x-tablet-rumor-android-smartphone/

ETA: The wording of the article is accurate. But it's also flamebait for this thread. Like I said above - they are creating a phone to compete in the marketplace.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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