Since the iPhone�s launch in 2007, each year has brought a new crop of smartphones with least one device dubbed an �iPhone killer.� The idea is nonsense because nothing short of Apple�s own intransigence will kill the iPhone. (Stay tuned on that point.) However, the concept underscores the perceived market position of the iPhone.
Any manufacturer that has sought to �kill� the iPhone has been approaching the problem the wrong way. Many boast better specifications � a larger screen, bigger battery, faster processor � while others tout the openness of Android. Both of those things mean little to the average smartphone shopper. Most want a phone that is attractive and is easy to use, and for a long time Android phones were neither.
Instead of trying to kill the iPhone, manufacturers should have been trying to emulate the things that make the iPhone the first choice for novice and long-time smartphone owners: its beauty, simplicity and ease of use.
There have been imitators, but they were missing another key point: Apple controls the hardware and the software and refuses to let wireless carriers add their own software to the phone, making the iPhone experience a singular one. The importance of this cannot be overstated. When you get an iPhone, you know what you�re getting, and that includes prompt software updates (generally for devices made in the past two years) and a consistent user experience. With Android, your phone will have different software depending on your carrier, and it might or might not get a software update over the lifespan of your two-year contract.
To its credit, Google has released a pure Android �Nexus� device each year since 2010, but these devices generally were available for full price and marketed to technically savvy users. With the Moto X, Motorola and Google have taken a page from Apple and created a smooth smartphone that is worthy of being held up as the epitome of Android. It offers a nearly pure Android experience, while also catering to the general smartphone consumer with its ease of use and helpful features such as Active Display, Motorola Assist and Trusted Devices. It�s even fun to design on Moto Maker, a site that is simple and clean � just like Apple�s.
The Moto X is not an iPhone killer, but it is iPhone-like, and it is the smartphone that I believe Google has wanted � and needed � to build all along.
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