Motorola coming back to SA

Magandroid

Magandroid

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Motorola smartphones are coming back to SA

Johannesburg - Motorola smartphones will officially return to South Africa in 2015 thanks to a push by the phone maker's parent company Lenovo - the world’s biggest PC manufacturer.

Among Motorola’s last high profile smartphone launches in SA was the phone maker’s 2012 release of its ‘Razr Maxx’ handset.

But since then, customers have resorted to unofficial channels to purchase Motorola smartphones in South Africa as takeover changes affected the phone company’s global operations.

Google bought out Motorola Mobility for $12.5bn in 2011 but the search giant then sold the handset maker to Lenovo in late 2014 for $2.91bn.

Amid the takeovers, staff numbers at Motorola fell from a previous figure of 35 000 to 3 500, according to Aymar de Lencquesaing, the President of Lenovo Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

At a Lenovo Yoga tablet launch event in Johannesburg on Tuesday night, Lencquesaing told Fin24 that his company has acquired a Motorola that is left with a core research and development team of 2 800 engineers among its total 3 500 workforce.

Lenovo, therefore, is looking to use its own worldwide network to sell Motorola smartphones in more mature markets such as South Africa, which has over 50 million mobile phone connections according to researchers.

“When we look at the South African market, this is one of those where the brand name still resonates, has a great deal of brand name recognition and awareness, aided or unaided,” Lencquesaing told Fin24.

“So, it's easier to build on the back of a brand that resonates and is associated with engineering and quality and once a great brand and start from scratch.

"So, we're very keen on introducing that brand in the year to come, in 2015, back into the South African market,” Lencquesaing said.

Lenovo, though, has not disclosed which Motorola smartphone brands it could reintroduce into the South African market.

But Lenovo is studying the South African market more carefully to come to a decision, according to Oliver Ebel, Lenovo Middle East and Africa (MEA) Vice President.

“We're analysing which is our best way to market, which are the good channels and the range of products,” Ebel told Fin24.

Motorola’s latest smartphone devices include the Android equipped Moto X and Moto G which have been primarily targeted at the US market. In the US, these devices can be customised with the Moto Maker online service.
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SA networks never promoted their products and their support wasn't great. Same as htc.
 
TBH, Motorola has some great products. Pebble aside, the Moto360 is probably one of the better smart-watches. Moto Maker also rocks, although I doubt that it will come to SA.
 
The razr maxx and defy were good phones. Will definitely look up their new offerings.
 
Running a Moto G here and quite happy with it.

I had an HTC before this but the main reason they fell behind was lack of marketing, same with Moto
 
The Moto G, Moto X and Moto Maxx (Intl. Droid Turbo) MUST come here and they will have to market the hell out of them as Samsung pretty much owns Android down here.
 
I think many people are tired of samsung by now. They haven't released anything really exciting in a long time. Also user are disappointed in the lack of updates. I feel that those users are ready for something else and if Motorola releases the right phone those Samsung users will readily switch.
 
Magandroid said:
I think many people are tired of samsung by now. They haven't released anything really exciting in a long time. Also user are disappointed in the lack of updates. I feel that those users are ready for something else and if Motorola releases the right phone those Samsung users will readily switch.
Click to expand...

Ive had 3 Samsungs. Tried an LG this time and liking it alot.
 
I have traditionally used Samsungs, but when I needed an upgrade I did online research and saw a lot of glowing reviews done on a phone called the Motorola Moto G 4G that had just been released. Given all the positive reviews, I bought a Motorola Moto G 4G from the Orange Store (http://store.orange.com/za/mobile-phones/sim-free-phones/motorola-moto-g-4g-8gb-black-261571/) and I absolutely love it. I work two jobs (one full-time and one part-time) and am a full-time student, and I find the Moto G offers every functionality that I need to get through the day. It's the best phone I've ever used. I've written the below review on it - hopefully someone finds it useful :)

General:

The Motorola Moto G is the best phone I've ever used. At 4.5 inches, it is large enough to make typing and viewing media a pleasure, and compact enough to carry around in your back pocket and not make answering phone calls an embarrassment. It breezes through all actions, thanks to its quadcore Snapdragon Processor. The stock android Kit Kat means that it is not overwhelmed with bloatware, like e.g. Samsung devices are. Response time is much faster than the Samsung range, and the graphics are clear and bright. The camera is also very decent. The body is very sturdy - there will be no Bendgate on this phone. It feels like a premium device, even though it is fashioned out of plastic.

User Experience:

With regards to user experience, there is nothing to differentiate it from the expense flagship devices of phones worth three times as much as the Moto G. Having sampled other devices like the Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z series, apart from added memory and extra "bonus features" (which most people never make use of anyway), the Moto G 4G more than holds its ow and in many instances surpasses the pricier competition.

Synopsis:

Overall, this phone is the best value for money I've ever seen. To the average user who doesn't "need" their smartphone to double as a remote control, you can't go wrong with this device.
 
Motorola should do well here. Good phones at good prices, running almost vanilla Android.
 
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