Motorola – Something right.

With the Moto 360, Motorola has finally got something right.

• Smart watches are still a problem looking for a solution but with the Moto 360, Motorola has put the first tick in the box.
• The Moto 360 is a smart watch that actually looks like a regular watch.
• Hence it is a regular wrist watch first with some bells and whistles added.
• Everyone else has added the bells and whistles first leaving fashion and telling the time as an afterthought.
• It has a round face and attention has been placed on styling to make it a fashion accessory in its own right.
• The device will be available in a range of different options including a metal or leather strap.
• There are difficulties in making a round screen but 80% of watches sold today are round and the aim here is to appeal as a watch first and a smartphone remote control second.
• Outside of its styling there is nothing special about this device and I suspect that devices like the Galaxy Gear and Galaxy Fit will beat it hands down when it comes to functionality.
• That being said, as long as the price and battery life are right, I would not be surprised to see this device outsell competing devices with better functionality.
• This is because watch sales are driven as much by fashion as they are by telling the time and the MOTO 360 is only the second device I have seen that takes that into account.
• The piece that is missing from this segment remains the driver to purchase a smart watch in the first place.
• No one has come up with a use case that is going to make users abandon their Fossils, Citizens or Rolexes and strap one of these onto their wrists.
• Until they do, this market is going to be tiny with no real impact on the ecosystem.
• Hence, I doubt that Lenovo will be making any money out of this device, but it is interesting enough to make management pause before cutting all of the expensive US talent it has acquired.
• The timing of the device’s launch is apposite.