Today, the Motorola Mobility unit of Google Inc launched its flagship Moto X smartphone with customizable colors. The move was in accordance to the company's effort to stimulate the business following its failure to attract the customers of Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co.
"This is a relaunch of Motorola," Motorola Mobility's Chief Executive Officer Dennis Woodside stated at a press event. "A year ago today, the Google team sat before a whiteboard and said, 'What do we want to build? And how do we make it different?' And this is it."
Motorola Mobility targeted market leaders such as iPhone and Galaxy S smartphones by competing with its new 4.7-inch screen handset. The Moto X featured a battery that would last for a whole day. Its price would start at US$199 with a contract that would last for two years with any US mobile carrier. Moto X would be an initial home-grown smartphone from Motorola since the Internet giant purchased it last year for US$12.4 billion.
Motorola dragged down the profitability of Google. The unit reported an operating loss of US$342 million in the second quarter. In the last quarter, Google reported a total of US$3.12 billion operating income. Google said that it would cut 5,000 jobs in the Motorola unit as it continue to streamline the enterprise.
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