Moto Phone Mojo

Great Divide

You, readers and bloggers, have either an Android smartphone or an iPhone, unless you’ve chosen an old-school classic “dumb” phone. In the US, there’s about a 50% chance that you have an iPhone right now. That’s according to a research site I ran into while sheltering and surfing in place. It also revealed more.

Android’s Not Half-Bad

Counterpoint Research shows that US market share for Android and iPhone is split down the middle. Anecdotally, I’d say in my neck of the Texas woods that seems about right. And as for myself, I’ve used both iPhone or Android for years. I’m about to switch again, this time from iPhone back to Android.

Now of all the makers of Android phones, a few stand out. Like Samsung. There’s probably greater than a 50% chance you’ve heard of them! But who else have you heard of that makes Android phones? You might be able to name one or two.

The fact is, as far as US market share goes, there are only 3 total Android makers that garner specific attention. Besides Samsung, there’s LG and Motorola.

In a small Texas town, there’s a couple – my parents! – who each have Android phones. One is an older LG model. And the other is a Moto G4 – my old phone! How’s that for anecdotal evidence?

I bring it up because it so happens that the Android phone I’ve chosen to switch to from an Apple iPhone is not a flagship Samsung device. Nor is it an LG flagship. A pure Google Pixel phone would be nice, so would a mid-range OnePlus phone. But it’s not those.

My pick is the new Moto G Power, which is not out for a few more days. I would have chosen the Moto G7 from last year – a highly rated mid-range phone per several sources here, here, and here -, but the new gen. 8 Motos are worth waiting for. You get more Moto for your moo-lah.

All The Androids

While Android has half the US smartphone market in its own pocket, the story is greater overseas. Outside the US, Android commands a large lead with far more market share, about 85%, than Apple’s iPhone, about 15%. I think the reason for this is simple economics. Apple makes devices for the upper segment in pricing. But Android manufacturers make phones for all segments: high, middle, and low end.

What I really like is that the Counterpoint Research shows Motorola grew in US market share over several quarters, from 2% in Q2’17 to 8% Q4’19. My theory as to why is that more and more people are leaning away from the flagship phones that have pushed up into the 4-digit price point. Smartphones are so good these days that mid-range or even some budget Android phones are “good enough” or better.

The other good news is that Motorola/Lenovo is one of the 7 top smartphone makers with enough global market share to be called out specifically percentage and unit numbers wise. This should not be surprising. Who else can say this?

“Motorola created the mobile communications industry. We invented most of the protocols and technologies that make mobile communications possible, including the first mobile phone, the first base station, and most everything in between.”
Motorola

I loved my Moto Q feature phone years ago. Enjoyed my Moto X and Moto G4 Androids. Soon, I hope to benefit from the Moto G Power. It’s a brand that has received attention with accolades in the mobile phone space for decades. Its most popular phone ever was, I think, the Moto Razr, a classic flip-phone. So while Motorola has been more popular in the past, Moto still has mobile phone mojo.

I still have my original 2013 Moto X custom with wood back and orange accents. And it still works.

So which do you have now, iPhone or Android? Or a flip-phone?? Comment below, or write to me here! Thanks for reading!

Update: this post was originally scheduled for last week before the Moto g power was released, so some of the dating is off. Thanks for understanding.

Upcoming Moto G Power

Hello Moto

At long last! Motorola’s newest mid-range and budget-friendly phones are being released in the US soon – April 16th to be exact.

The Moto G Power and Moto G Stylus went on pre-sale today! (It’s not an April Fool’s joke.)

First announced on February 7th with a great price of only $250, and no release date mentioned other than “Spring,” I’ve been eagerly anticipating the Moto G Power hitting store shelves. Of course, this was before COVID-19 became a real problem in the US and practically closed almost all stores.

Nevertheless, today I pre-ordered the Moto G Power from Best Buy for delivery to my house. This way, I can avoid public exposure to any viruses threatening mankind at the moment, further strengthen my introversion, and finally quit waiting for this phone, and my switch to Android.

But this is just a mid-range Android phone; what’s the big deal?

Yeah, no biggy, right? Well, it’s one more purchase to keep the economy stimulated. It’s also a way to keep feeling normal amidst sheltering-in-place. It’s not like time itself has stopped, and technological progress is still mostly underway. While feeling hindered at home, the world still progresses in some way.

For me, I’ve got a nearly 4 year old iPhone 7. Although it works great to this day, I’m a tech geek ready for an upgrade.

Software wise, I’ll be switching from iOS to Android, which is not too big of a leap. I’m already fully on-board in the Google App-o-sphere. And I also rely on third-party apps that work on both Apple and Google phones. In any case, it’s nice to have new options.

Hardware wise, the Moto G Power offers several big advances over my trusty iPhone 7. Besides a much larger display, a longer lasting battery, a headphone jack, and no unsightly notch, the main improvements I’m focused on are the cameras.

The iPhone 7 has one lens. It’s a very good one too. But the Moto G Power has 3 lenses: wide, ultra-wide, and macro! With that combo, you get 4 new capabilities: equal or greater photos, portrait photos with bokeh (background blur), super close-up pictures of life’s little details, and super-wide images catching the whole scene. For a shutter-bug like me, this is some awesome stuff.

I mean, come on, a MACRO LENS on a phone! Yeah, it’s got a low resolution, but it still opens up a new level of creativity with close-ups. It’s like when Instagram first came out and only allowed square photos. Sure, that was a limitation, but the app itself opened up new possibilities, and the limitation actually pushed creativity in new ways.

Overall, I’ll close this by kind of reiterating some basic Android phone benefits: affordability, flexibility, and variety when it comes to phone choices. And now, with the Moto G Power and Moto G Stylus appearing in two weeks, you’ll have at least two more very good options.

Have you used a Moto phone? Care to chime in about Android? Comment below, or write to me here! Thanks for reading!

Hello Moto G Power

A week ago, Motorola announced new phones for the US in 2020. Good timing, because I was about to run out and buy last year’s Moto G7. Oh, by the way, I plan to switch from iPhone back to Android. Call it ludicrous, or call it liberating…wait, it’s just a phone that you can call.

Two phones in particular were revealed: Moto G Stylus and Moto G Power. I’m focusing on the G Power. On paper, this thing is surprising. How can Moto offer so much for so little? For a mere $250, you get: about 3 days worth of battery life on a single charge, a macro camera, an ultra-wide camera, a wide camera, a 6.4” full HD screen, dolby tuned stereo (dual) speakers, a microSD card slot, splash resistance, and near stock Android 10! And of course the Moto G Power has the basics down: 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, Snapdragon 665.

Flagship phones today cost over $1,000! But you can get a truly great phone for just $250! The value here is possibly unmatched. Moto has been making good budget to mid-range phones for years. Initial impressions of the Moto G Power are promising. Once full reviews are in, I’ll probably process several of them to be sure this new phone isn’t just smoke and mirrors before running out to buy one.

The only hard thing now is to wait until the Spring, maybe mid-April, when the phone goes on sale. My iPhone 7’s days are dwindling. It’s great, but I’m ready for an upgrade, and for a switch to Android.

Do you plan to get a new phone for 2020? Do you like the Moto G series? Comment below, or write to me here! Thanks for reading!