Google CFO says Motorola products not “wow” yet, don’t expect the Motorola X Phone too soon
The last time we brought up the fabled Motorola X Phone was to discuss how cool the software features might be, but depending on how you interpret a recent quote by Google’s CFO it looks like we may not see those features for a few more months. This is somewhat disappointing, because although it wasn’t very likely that the device would be announced at Google I/O, I’m sure many Google and Motorola fans were hoping to see something about the X Phone in May.
Before we begin too much speculation, let’s take a look at the actual quote. At the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference, Google’s CFO said this in reference to the Motorola/Google collaboration:
“The case with Motorola is that we’ve inherited a pipeline. Motorola has a great set of products, but they’re not really like ‘wow’ by Google standards. Dennis Woodside and his team have inherited 18 months of pipeline that we have to drain right now.”
What it sounds like based on this quote is that the devices Motorola is currently producing aren’t quite up to Google’s standards, which could mean a few different things. First, it seems clear that current Motorola products aren’t considered “wow” enough, but that the next device should be. The variability comes with the timeline for the new device. If the 18 month timeline is understood to mean that Motorola’s research and development ideas and concepts weren’t up to Google’s standards and it will take 18 months to get things on the right track, we are looking at about nine months (Google has been in control of Motorola for about nine months) until Motorola really gets to work on the X Phone. If it means that Motorola is working on good products but they won’t be ready for another nine months, we might not see the X Phone until December. Either way, it doesn’t sound like we will see the X Phone at Google I/O.
There is always hope that Google may announce something at Google I/O, and even that we are interpreting this quote incorrectly and will find out about the X Phone at I/O. However, it seems most likely to me that the X Phone won’t be released until some time in the future, which is perfectly fine with me. It will give me plenty of time to enjoy my Nexus 4 instead of getting buyer’s remorse a few months in, and give Google plenty of time to get the X Phone right.
[Android Police]
