Motorola staging a comeback in PH

Motorola Mobility is making a big comeback in the Philippines, launching a fresh line of smartphones after an almost decade-long absence.

The company, now owned by Chinese technology giant Lenovo, wants to compete in the “premium” market segment, an area dominated by smartphone models by United States-based Apple Inc. and South Korea’s Samsung.

Motorola, which now markets handsets under the “Moto” brand, might be familiar to consumers here for its Razr phone. However, that was still back in 2007, or before the so-called smartphone boom, highlighting some of the challenges the group now faces.

Vincent de la Cruz, marketing manager for Lenovo’s mobile business group, said there was still an opportunity to capture market share, despite fierce competition. He cited both new technological innovations and consumers who were once fans of the Motorola brand.

“We are trying to hit those different segments in our communications: appeal to the nostalgia of Motorola and, at the same time, appeal to a younger audience where Moto is a more vibrant brand,” de la Cruz said.

The company is set to introduce today three phone “families,” with price points from P6,999 to P33,999, the top of end of which is the flagship Moto Z, a slim 5.2-millimeter model, with a 5.5” display and a 13 megapixel camera.

The company wants to lure buyers given the customization options allowed by its so-called Moto mods.  These are attachments that like a phone case, but using “strong” magnets. The Moto mods allow new features, such a video projection features, high-quality speakers, cameras—via a partnership with Swedish premium camera-maker Hasselblad—and power charging.

These are add-on devices, with the Hasselblad camera and projectors priced at over P14,000 each.

The Mods will have backward compatibility with future smartphone models, Dino Romano, Lenovo country manager for mobile business, said.

He said these features would put Moto products on the map.

“Hopefully in a few months time we will be there very close to those two other [ leading] brands,” he said. —Miguel R. Camus