Motorola bets on Razr revival

Motorola has unveiled its Razr smartphone to the South African market.

Speaking at a media briefing on Thursday, Megan Nicholas, country director for Motorola Mobility SA, said Motorola aims to rebuild its brand with the new smartphone.

Also speaking at the briefing, Spiros Nikolakopoulos, VP and GM of the international retail distribution markets at Motorola Mobility, said the company has waited for the right phone to reintroduce the Razr brand, adding that he believes Motorola's new phone is just that.

The Razr runs on Android 2.3.5. According to Nikolakopoulos, Motorola will be checking the compatibility of Android Ice Cream Sandwich before it releases the latest Android software for the Razr. He added that the Ice Cream Sandwich release is likely to be next year.

Nikolakopoulos says the strength of the Razr phone lies in the 'customer experiences' Motorola has included, such as Motorola MotoCast, the Work and Play kit, the Webtop application and Smart Actions.

MotoCast is a cloud solution that allows users to stream or download content from their computers straight to the Razr device. The Work and Play kit lets users plug the device into an HD Multimedia Station (sold separately) to connect to an HDTV screen. The Webtop application uses Bluetooth technology to allow the use of an external mouse and keyboard. With this application, users can edit documents and browse the Web with a full Firefox browser.

Smart Actions is a software feature that helps users customise the phone according to their behaviour, in order to extend battery life. Nikolakopoulos says Smart Actions can extend battery life by up to 30%.

Nikolakopoulos says the Razr is suited to personal and business use. According to him, the phone has good enterprise features, and allows users to separate their enterprise folders from their personal ones. In addition, he says, users can remote wipe the phone if it is lost or stolen.

Motorola says the Razr will be available through Vodacom in November, at a recommended retail price of R6 999, and on a Business Call contract for R269 per month for 24 months.

According to Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, Motorola's latest offering is the next step in its reinvention. “They showed with the Attrix that they were still in the game, and the Razr is evidence that they can score goals as well,” he says.

However, Goldstuck points out that it remains to be seen whether Motorola can become a champion again. He says that while Motorola has the best specs on paper, “on the field of play, they don't quite gel”.

“Motorola's problem is the flip side of the BlackBerry dilemma,” Goldstuck explains. He says that where BlackBerry has been the leader in business phones - but now has aging technology and has to convince consumers it can keep ahead - Motorola is designing phones for the future, but has to convince the market it can be a leader again.

Goldstuck adds that the battle for consumers “will now be won on the branding and positioning front”. He says Motorola needs to make its brand cool again, but that it still faces a marketing challenge.