Motorola boss counters criticism from Apple's Jony Ive

[TechnologyGirl]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31511552

Jony Ive appeared to attack the Moto Maker scheme in an interview in which he criticized the idea of giving consumers huge choice over how their handsets were made to appear.

Rick Osterloh, president of Motorola, told the BBC his company had a "different philosophy".

And he criticised Apple in turn, calling its prices "outrageous".

"Their value proposition was, 'Make it whatever you want. You can choose whatever colour you want,'" Sir Jonathan is quoted as saying.

"And I believe that's abdicating your responsibility as a designer."

Motorola promotes Moto Maker as offering shoppers "thousands of ways" to customise its Android-powered Moto X handsets. Choices include the colour of the model's back, the type of metal trim used and the option to include a variety of leathers in its design.

Mr Osterloh of the scheme: "Our belief is that the end user should be directly involved in the process of designing products.

"We're making the entire product line accessible.

"And frankly, we're taking a directly opposite approach to them [Apple]."

He added that he believed this difference in strategy went wider than design.

"We do see a real dichotomy in this marketplace, where you've got people like Apple making so much money and charging such outrageous prices. We think that's not the future," he said.

"We believe the future is in offering similar experiences and great consumer choice at accessible prices.

"The mobile phone industry's greatest failure is also its greatest opportunity: to make really good, affordable devices for people who don't want to spend a lot of money.

"A great smartphone, and a great mobile internet experience, shouldn't be an expensive luxury. It should be a simple choice for everyone."

 

I think this is a case of be together not the same or in apple point of veiw probably be the same but be premium.

i think Motorola have won on the customization with their phones and should not let other company's like apple bring them down 

[ChevbeeHD]

i agree Be together and not the same and i think motorolla have masterd this customization thing and should not stop

[TechnologyGirl]

i agree Be to gether not the same and i think motorolla have masterd this customization thing and should not stop

yep thats what i thought its almost like apple were trying to bring Motorola down

[ChevbeeHD]

yep thats what i thought its almost like apple were trying to bring Motorola down

yep

[Razarza]

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31511552

Jony Ive appeared to attack the Moto Maker scheme in an interview in which he criticized the idea of giving consumers huge choice over how their handsets were made to appear.

Rick Osterloh, president of Motorola, told the BBC his company had a "different philosophy".

And he criticised Apple in turn, calling its prices "outrageous".

"Their value proposition was, 'Make it whatever you want. You can choose whatever colour you want,'" Sir Jonathan is quoted as saying.

"And I believe that's abdicating your responsibility as a designer."

Motorola promotes Moto Maker as offering shoppers "thousands of ways" to customise its Android-powered Moto X handsets. Choices include the colour of the model's back, the type of metal trim used and the option to include a variety of leathers in its design.

Mr Osterloh of the scheme: "Our belief is that the end user should be directly involved in the process of designing products.

"We're making the entire product line accessible.

"And frankly, we're taking a directly opposite approach to them [Apple]."

He added that he believed this difference in strategy went wider than design.

"We do see a real dichotomy in this marketplace, where you've got people like Apple making so much money and charging such outrageous prices. We think that's not the future," he said.

"We believe the future is in offering similar experiences and great consumer choice at accessible prices.

"The mobile phone industry's greatest failure is also its greatest opportunity: to make really good, affordable devices for people who don't want to spend a lot of money.

"A great smartphone, and a great mobile internet experience, shouldn't be an expensive luxury. It should be a simple choice for everyone."

 

I think this is a case of be together not the same or in apple point of veiw probably be the same but be premium.

i think Motorola have won on the customization with their phones and should not let other company's like apple bring them down 

 

For dark theme users.

[Toddwjp]

i agree with what the Motorola dude said, especially the part about making a good smart phone experience for everyone 

[That Norwegian Guy]

Could you not

 

 

Ctrl + A ---> text colour "automatic" whenever posting some copy/pasted thread.

[Not_Sean]

interesting, I find it alos pretty funny how apple and samsung spent so much time going at each other they forgot everyone else, there are some seriously nice phones. Hell i just bought the Blackberry Z30, and I really impressed with it, this was after i had iphone, than Samsung than back to iphone. and its actually a refreshing change. 

I applaud Moto. This is what we need  

[Redmond]

I see both sides of the argument.

 

Ive believes that its his duty as a designer to create the best possible designs to offer to his customers. Moto believes that the end user should have input into the devices that they buy.

 

the part that I find funny is Motorola side-stepping the topic and calling out Apple's prices. I don't remember Apple forcing consumers to buy their goods. It all starts with a good product and if consumers deem Apple's products worthy of their prices then they'll buy em. 

[sof006]

The guy from Apple is a c**k end and needs to (as we British folk say) wind his neck in!

[Dredgy]

The guy from Apple is a c**k end and needs to (as we British folk say) wind his neck in!

It's funny cause he's British. But he's also a seriously talented designer who knows what he's talking about.

Neither side is wrong here, but Apple's approach is definitely working for Apple.

Motorola's...we'll probably too early to tell.

[Tonylu1595]

Snip

Sometimes even that gets messed up so it doesn't correct color. It has happened to me many times when quoting articles.

[razor767]

What's wrong with having choices?

[Guest]

Smartphones are connected computers. What manufacturers should be doing is making people take charge of their devices.

Bragging about giving the buyers a choice of a million different finishes or spewing some pseudo-artistic nonsense about having a responsibility to bring them the 'best' finish is encouraging vanity.

Vanity - judging potentially powerful tools as fashion items- is undermining the usefulness of these devices and  that is a serious problem and addressing that is what they should be arguing about.

Of course selling people powerful tools is not as profitable as selling them fashion accessories and neither of these companies - especially not Apple- want the users and not the manufacturers being in charge of their devices.

 

TL;DR - they're both malicious amoral, insincere assholes.

[Victorious Secret]

Sir Ive is very successful and knows what he's talking about but he often sounds pretty pompous. Motorola's CEO on the other hand just sounds like a dick.

I find it ironic that they are giving Apple shit for their margins when every single breathing company on Earth wishes they could either have 1. Aramcos profit margins or 2. Apples profit margins. Its the height of irony for Motorola to say they don't make enough or to criticize someone else for doing so. 

 

Motorola, you are the guys who sold Razrs for 600 dollars off contract back in the day. Outrageous pricing? Started with you and that phone. Maybe its just a hint of jelly that you've never been there since. 

[JAKEBAB]

Is he serious?

 

he's saying because we get to choose basically what colour phone we want and maybe a different texture that Motorola designers aren't doing there job? we don't get to choose how all those components are going to fit inside the phone, the button placement or anything like that! Motorola has a standard design that Motorola designer's made if you don't want to make your own! 

 

What an absolute idiot!

[ShadowCaptain]

I love Ives :3 he is like my god

 

no lies

[totjup5]

Motorola has really had a fantastic year as far as the devices they released, and this just adds on to it. I completely agree with what he said. And the nice thing is that Motorola actually does this. They have fantastic devices at all price points. They have high end flagships like the Nexus 6 and Droid Turbo, and they have amazing value options like the Moto G. Maybe if Apple spent less time trying to criticize other company's strategies and spent more time refining their own they wouldn't have fallen behind android in the experience and quality that their products offer. Jony Ive is really out of touch with the real world... Apparently he criticized Toyota for the Yaris being "insipid" as well, saying he much preferred the design of cars from Bentley..... Comparing a car that is less that 15k new to one that can easily be 200k plus, and then criticizing the cheap car for not matching up... reductio ad absurdum much? what a genius. 

[Majinferno]

Smartphones are connected computers. What manufacturers should be doing is making people take charge of their devices.

Bragging about giving the buyers a choice of a million different finishes or spewing some pseudo-artistic nonsense about having a responsibility to bring them the 'best' finish is encouraging vanity.

Vanity - judging potentially powerful tools as fashion items- is undermining the usefulness of these devices and  that is a serious problem and addressing that is what they should be arguing about.

Of course selling people powerful tools is not as profitable as selling them fashion accessories and neither of these companies - especially not Apple- want the users and not the manufacturers being in charge of their devices.

 

TL;DR - they're both malicious amoral, insincere assholes.

To my understanding the Moto X with it's specs and the Iphone 6/6plus with it's A8 are pretty capable devices.

I don't really get where your going at here.

[Guest]

To my understanding the Moto X with it's specs and the Iphone 6/6plus with it's A8 are pretty capable devices.

I don't really get where your going at here.

 

They're locked down devices with glued-in batteries, no expandable storage and- in the iPhone's case- a very restrictive operating system that doesn't allow the user to run whatever software they want on it without breaking it or paying Apple $99 a year for the privilege.

[TechnologyGirl]

What's wrong with having choices?

exactly be together not the same 

[TechnologyGirl]

interesting, I find it alos pretty funny how apple and samsung spent so much time going at each other they forgot everyone else, there are some seriously nice phones. Hell i just bought the Blackberry Z30, and I really impressed with it, this was after i had iphone, than Samsung than back to iphone. and its actually a refreshing change. 

I applaud Moto. This is what we need

Wow you brought a blackberry ... your brave 

[TechnologyGirl]

I love Ives :3 he is like my god

 

no lies

... no comment 

[Not_Sean]

Wow you brought a blackberry ... your brave 

 

hahahaha Its only cause got it basically for free and i've already had a Samsung and a iPhone so wanted a change, and honestly don't knock the new ones. I'm seriously impressed with it so far. 2 days battery life is honestly the greatest thing ever. 

[TechnologyGirl]

Motorola has really had a fantastic year as far as the devices they released, and this just adds on to it. I completely agree with what he said. And the nice thing is that Motorola actually does this. They have fantastic devices at all price points. They have high end flagships like the Nexus 6 and Droid Turbo, and they have amazing value options like the Moto G. Maybe if Apple spent less time trying to criticize other company's strategies and spent more time refining their own they wouldn't have fallen behind android in the experience and quality that their products offer. Jony Ive is really out of touch with the real world... Apparently he criticized Toyota for the Yaris being "insipid" as well, saying he much preferred the design of cars from Bentley..... Comparing a car that is less that 15k new to one that can easily be 200k plus, and then criticizing the cheap car for not matching up... reductio ad absurdum much? what a genius. 

Carrying on your car analogy a cheaper car is more mass market so they need to appeal to loads of people so that is the reason for Motorola's customization theme.