So much for the Texas Miracle. \u00a0A year after announcing their new phone would be built in America, Googlenovorola has apparently decided that the Moto X can\u2019t be profitably built in the United States after all, and the Fort Worth assembly plant will be closing at the end of the year. \u00a0The Moto X, or its descendants, will continue; after all, the Moto G and E are hands-down the best phone available at their respective price points. \u00a0But now they\u2019ll be slapped together in Chengdu or Shenzen or wherever.<\/p>\n
Shame, really. \u00a0The Moto X was launched at a price point not commensurate with its stat sheet, which led people to point and say \u201coverpriced.\u201d \u00a0Had it come in at $400 unlocked and $50 on contract, or something similar, they could have been pitching \u201cthe most innovative and user-optimized phone ever, and made in America for half the cost of an iPhone\u201d and had a blockbuster. \u00a0But they started off too high and promoted too little and got overrun by the Samsung publicity machine, and Google basically just wanted out of the hardware business.<\/p>\n
At least I have my one American-made phone, which ironically as the unlocked device will almost certainly be my international travel phone in future. \u00a0After all, if I was still carrying the Z520 in 2010 I can probably make this thing last into 2015 without too much trouble (fingers crossed – more on that later) and it\u2019s ideally suited for a place where I won\u2019t be using it much for phone calls or music and there\u2019s plenty of signal on all sides. \u00a0Plus it\u2019s more subdued than an iPhone. \u00a0What\u2019s not to like?<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s back in the drawer, especially with the expiry of my month of AIO\/Cricket service. \u00a0Make no mistake, if I had to buy my next phone myself, it would be unlocked and off contract and I\u2019d be on Cricket for $45 a month. \u00a0But at this point, it\u2019s almost inevitable that my next phone will be replacing my work-provided iPhone 5 on Verizon with a notional iPhone 6 on AT&T. \u00a0And I\u2019ve conclusively proven there\u2019s no percentage in carrying two phones. \u00a0It didn\u2019t work for me in 2005, it didn\u2019t work for me in 2009, and it didn\u2019t work for me in 2014.<\/p>\n
Now I just have to gut it out for the 3-4 months it\u2019ll take for the new iPhone to land.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So much for the Texas Miracle. \u00a0A year after announcing their new phone would be built in America, Googlenovorola has apparently decided that the Moto X can\u2019t be profitably built in the United States after all, and the Fort Worth assembly plant will be closing at the end of the year. \u00a0The Moto X, or … <\/p>\n