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Message started by Oldfeller on 01/18/15 at 02:15:19

Title: Google's short ownership of Motorola
Post by Oldfeller on 01/18/15 at 02:15:19

There was a magic time 3 years ago when Google bought a Cell Phone Manufacturer named Motorola and actually co-designed a whole generation of cell phones.

Original Moto X, Moto G and Moto E to be specific. Built right here in America, believe it or not.

Ran the best most integrated mobile processor out there at the time, used the various Qualcomm Snapdragons in all the various levels. Processors are still current, even today.

Ran straight Android 4.4 had no bloatware at all on the phone, acted like the phone and OS were built for each other. (they were) Gave two day battery life in an era when folks struggled to get through the day with the current crop of superphones.

Trick was Google BALANCED the phone -- it is quicker than a Samsung of the same time frame but it uses a lesser processor and a smaller battery -- Google Magic again, all over the place.

Google was attempting to guide the market into a better pathway by showing them an example of better AND more reasonable on the price tag..... same thing they did with the Nexus Phones they used to direct sell in previous years.

So, built in America phones that cost HUNDREDS of dollars less than the competition at the time, that were built with superior integration and had a feature set that was complete but not all covered up with Touch Whizz or whatever else the oriental phone guys call their layers of private customization that are always fouling up on you all the time.

(yeah, talking about you Samsung)

Phones were so well built that the MOTO G got the moniker as "the Immortal Phone" and the video guys on YouTube had contests between them to see what you could actually do to a Moto G before you killed it. Throw it in water, drive over it with a car, that sort of stuff.

People were flat amazed at Moto G for the value Google was selling for right at $200.

======================================

Fast forward 1 year after Lenovo bought Motorola from Google. Phone prices go up over $150 and the extreme ruggedness seems to have diminished with the newer re-designs. Lenovo is a Chinese company and now the new ones look a little more like a Chinese standard phone and who knows where they are actually built any more. The magic has sure diminished a bunch with the new Lenovo varieties.

======================================

So, if you are in the market for a good used phone, go look at your particular carrier on E-Bay and see if they ever had an original Google built Moto G or a Moto X in their line.

There are worse choices out there for a cheap phone, believe me.

Phones have all gotten a good bit larger, with a 5" phone being the most common size now days. Pick up a Moto G and your hand instantly says "YES" -- it is the right size and it fits in your hand. Current phones feel awkward in comparison.

There is a difference between BETTER and more common - more modern.

Title: Re: Google's short ownership of Motorola
Post by ToesNose on 01/18/15 at 04:13:59

I can back you up on this OldFeller they are very good phones, I especially like the Moto X. But being a cell phone repair man buyer beware of the cost to replace the screen if it breaks......cha-ching!

Title: Re: Google's short ownership of Motorola
Post by Oldfeller on 01/18/15 at 08:50:55

I can buy one like mine used for $135-$155 and the price is going down all the time -- I'd buy another and just keep the busted screen one for parts.

Wife tears hers up more than I do (I keep mine in a hard case and she has a minimum edge gripper thin case so hers gets more licks when she drops it).

Moto G can be bought as a maxed spec 3G phone or a mid spec 4G LTE phone -- mine are max spec'd 3-G phones that had the Republic Wireless system rewritten specifically for them.

Specs all match up, as do the feature drivers. Works pretty slick in such a neat little package.

Did I mention I only pay Republic Wireless only $10 a month per phone for anywhere unlimited talk & unlimited text and if I am within reach of an open or known wifi source I get unlimited data (really really unlimited data that is faster than 4G LTE data) ???

Tips and tricks YouTubes for Moto G are abundant and you can easily put the phone in developer mode and tune out all the animation delays, etc and make the phone actually to be a good bit FASTER acting than $600 state of the art phones that are carrier locked.

Yep, same stuff we do to a Savage .....
Modding and tuning helps phones, just like modding and tuning helps Savages.

I find that kinda sorta amusing to do that to people who are soooo proud of their brand new expensive superphones ..... ;D kinda like riding a Savage against a Hurley up on the Parkway.

Here is a guy whupping up on MUCH more expensive phones using a well tuned Moto E

:D (Moto E: the Ninja 250 of the cell phone world)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6A35DcClk8

Title: Re: Google's short ownership of Motorola
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 01/18/15 at 18:34:40

Ha! Gotchya ALL beat,,, I don't know really how to run one,don't have one...

Title: Re: Google's short ownership of Motorola
Post by Oldfeller on 01/18/15 at 19:09:43

OK Justin, time to fess up -- what do you pay per month for that phone that you DO have ???

Bet it is more than $10, ain't it?

Mine rides in my pocket and can talk to you from anywhere and go on line (if I have wifi nearby) and do all sorts of wonderful little tricks like watch a movie or play a game if I am stuck somewhere and am planning to be bored enough to remember to download and preload the stuff on it.

It can also READ ME A BOOK, which is pretty neat if I am at work and have to look like I am busy. It can sing me a song too.

I have been working through Angry Birds Series as my steady always there type game -- the Angry Birds seem to last a pretty long time when you only pull it up when you need something to do real bad. Them birds can make a hour or two slip on by when you need it ....

Title: Re: Google's short ownership of Motorola
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 01/18/15 at 22:12:01

Phone,internet,cable, all one source, cut one outta there and the other two would cost more,, now,the wife,ahhh,SHE'S got one and so does the daughter,,,and those TWO cost a small fortune... I'm talking STUPID MONEY,,,I would really like to see that changed.

I'm not into any games, don't follow sports,used to care about politics,,, not any more.. my life is changing,

Title: Re: Google's short ownership of Motorola
Post by old_rider on 01/19/15 at 01:11:34

Ya.... I have an old HTC Thunderbolt, dang good phone.... except the 3.5mm jack is jacked up... but it has Bluetooth so it don't matter.

It is the one i'm playing around with the gps programs.. So far it seems to be working.

I changed to a mini droid last year, but I still carry the Thunderbolt with me for pics and videos because it has a higher pixilation (10mp).

I also use it for a Wi-Fi device instead of my mini droid whenever I go out, because it has a slightly bigger screen.

It doubles as my music player in the truck (my stereo in the truck is capable of blue toothing to the phones) when I don't want to listen to the radio static on long trips, or just want to here MY songs and not some of the stuff they play on the radio.

Now all I got to do is download that Wi-Fi phone thingie you are talking about... well... I would have to find a phone number to use... :(

Title: Re: Google's short ownership of Motorola
Post by Oldfeller on 01/19/15 at 21:11:16

I found I have a "can't get past it issue" with the Viber wifi stuff -- as a security officer at work my supervisors have to be able to call me on sensitive matters and get me instantly. This means in my thinking I have defaulted back to the Republic Wireless at $10 a month as my best low cost option.

Also, with Republic Wireless when I go off on vacation I can turn on several days of full everything service for less than a dollar a day per phone -- and I can just do it for the days I need it.

If I were retired, that might be a different "Viber for free" scenario -- but by the time that rolls around I will have a bunch of new choices to mull over and the Viber will have gotten better (or been declared illegal by the good ol boys in Washington).

:-?

Title: Re: Google's short ownership of Motorola
Post by 1st2know on 01/19/15 at 21:34:51

I have a Vonage account that uses my internet connection as a land line. It costs about $458 per year. I need this because I live in a canyon and my cell services barely works unless I'm on my roof standing on my tippy toes.

I'm thinking I could replace that service with Republic Wireless at $120/year plus the $150 for the Moto G. This would serve as my home phone.

Also, for my cell service, I'm using Virgin Mobile at $420 per year. I really don't talk on the phone much, mostly text. I have a cell phone because they hid all the pay phones (and drinking fountains).

So, with R.W., I could kick Virgin and Vonage to the curb ($878 per year), and get by with the moto G from R.W. ($120/year + $150). I'll assume the phones will need to be replaced every two years, so lets say $195 per year.

Now, what if I wanted to add a cordless phone extensions to an R.W. phone? Is there some add on (bluetooth, USB) that I could use to pass dialtone to an extension in the house?

Title: Re: Google's short ownership of Motorola
Post by Oldfeller on 01/19/15 at 23:30:42

If you have decent wifi in your home you can get several different newer boxes that will do the Vontage type of thing for a whole lot less money.

Ooma is the best one I found when I looked last year, we put one into Grandma's house last year and saved her a ton of $$ over the cost of a single land line from AT&T. A ton being defined as for what AT&T wanted for the land line EACH MONTH we could buy Ooma for the whole year. Costco sells Ooma in two flavors, with the lesser one that we bought costing $119 on sale.

Ooma allows you to use the existing house phone wiring to all the extensions and Grandma currently has like 3 extension phones plugged into her existing wire jacks and an additional two cordless phones in her bathrooms so if she gets a call while taking a pee she still gets to answer the phone. Ooma handles it all, no sweat. Grandma loves her Ooma too.

Grandma pays for low range standard cable based internet service ($34) and we pay Ooma like $59 a year for their call forwarding and voicemail services (and a little bit extra for a service that quietly sends a instant PRIORITY ALERT text message to all of her children's phones should a 911 call ever be generated from within Grandma's house). Her daughters give her her Ooma as part of Christmas every year because in the end they want her to have it for their own peace of mind.

Ooma is the German word for grandma ....

Grandma's standard $34 cable internet service runs her wifi/router and her Roku box and provides her with endless TV (She loves her Roku) and we got her a Simple TV that records the very few very current "over the air" shows that she can't get off the Roku. All of it runs on wifi.

I'd skip the Simple TV now as it isn't used much any more since Roku has grown channels for each one of the over the air stations and Roku now has Acorn that covers all Canadian and British TV shows.

We get a lot of mileage off of a good internet connection for Grandma -- looking forward to Google coming to town and giving away for free a far better internet throughput than Time Warner sells to her now. (daughter is eyeballing a deal where she pays for Google Super Speed Connect and gets Grandma's very basic set up for just about free using some sort of family plan thingie).

Google does a family plan and IT DOES NOT MATTER IF THE INSTANCES ARE IN THE SAME HOUSEHOLD OR NOT .....

(googlishiosness all over again)

:)