Google's Cutting Their Losses With Motorola, Selling to Lenovo → Motorola, Nexus, etc...

I think Google's mistake was differentiating their brands too much. They have great brand recognition in the Nexus lineup, but Motorola hasn't made a cool phone since the Razr. Granted that, yes, Nexus phones where made by other companies in cooperation with Google, but Google should've done more to incorporate Motorola to achieve similar brand recognition.

The last Motorola phone I had was the i930. Haven't seen anything appealing since.

I agree. Motorola rocked the Nextel lineup. Otherwise, their smartphones just don't look that decent. HTC on the other hand...

Couldn't have said it better myself. Google's phone IS the Nexus line. That's what everyone was expecting. I admit, Google "damaged" the Android name for me with the Moto X. While I was looking forward to getting one on Sprint, it came out too expensive and with too many "meh" reviews about the initial quality of the performance to demand that price.

I am extremely happy with my Moto X. Nexus isn't an option for Verizon users, and frankly the word comes with negative connotations for many of us after the piece-of-shit that was the Galaxy Nexus. Worst phone I've ever owed, and I've had phones going back to the AMPS model StarTAC.

This is very distressing news if true, if for no other reason than Google on-shoring the assembly of the X. I'm sure we can kiss that goodbye if Lenovo buys them.

*sigh*, thanks for nothing Google.

Edit: On Google's official blog, so I guess that's that.

That's a matter of opinion, but even if I concede the point, who gives a shit how they look? Motorola builds awesome radios, find me a better phone (smart or dumb) at holding signals in weak areas. You can't. It sure isn't Samsung. Nokia compared favorably, back in the day, but they aren't too relevant these days.

Maybe Lenovo will do right by them. They kept the quality of the ThinkPad line intact, or at least they did as of a few years ago when I purchased my last ThinkPad. Here's hoping.

What I'm wondering is if Google and Lenovo can keep an agreement to give Motorola front row seats to the latest Android updates? It is a major point that distinguishes Motorola from other smartphone brands sans Nexus line. Don't get me wrong Lenovo is far from the worst in holding back Android updates (Here's looking at you Samsung) but will they have the muscle to even get VZW to continue cooperating?

It's worth a shot. And Google selling Moto to Lenovo means that Lenovo won't try to come in and compete somehow with its own US handset lineup. Stronger device vendors mean that carriers may have to play ball on getting updates pushed through.

I have the Moto X, albeit as a secondary phone (Nexus 5 is my primary...the X is on Republic Wireless). Very solid phone, and it's now available for $329. If this is what we'll keep seeing from Lenovo, I'm all for it.

I like my X. And while I agree that Moto is best held by someone other than Google, I wouldn't count the out as a candidate for future Nexus devices, as long as the Nexus line sticks around.

Moto X is the closest Verizon users can get to a Nexus-like experience unless they root and install cyanogenmod. Moto X is a great phone, my family has 2 of them and we love it.