Motorola To Unveil Moto X Smartphone On 1 August
Google sends out Moto X invites to press for an event in Manhattan next month
Motorola Mobility is set to unveil the long-awaited Moto X smartphone on 1 August in New York, its first big product announcement since it was acquired by Google for £8 billion in 2012.
According to reports, Google has sent out media invitations depicting several people holding Moto X smartphones.
A web page to respond to the invite asks guests to select one of several sessions held at different times in mid-town Manhattan, promising there would be “No stage. No crowds.”
Moto X announcement
Motorola CEO Dennis Woodhouse had already confirmed the Moto X would launch this summer and has promised it will be the first smartphone to be assembled in the US.
Leaked specs have suggested the Moto X could have a 4.7-inch touchscreen, run Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and ship with 32GB of storage, while a number of images purporting to be the device have also made their way onto the Internet.
Google will hope the Moto X will allow it to seize some market share from the likes of Apple and Samsung, given that losses at the Motorola Mobility unit have increased to $342 million during the second quarter of 2013 compared to a $199 million loss in the same period last year.
The main motivation for Google behind the acquisition was believed to be access to Motorola’s vast catalogue of patents, but the search giant has so far been unable to convert these into leverage against its mobile opponents despite several patent lawsuits.
Motorola is expected to unveil a number of new devices later this year as Google seeks a return on its investment, although they are not believed to include tablets.
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