A mobile phone which makes other phones look as if they have an inferiority complex: The Motofone.
Done away is with megapixel cameras, mp3 players, high definition television, gaming or internet browsing on 128 x 160 pixels. This phone is a phone, not a Swiss knive cum SUV, and a good looking one at that. Most convincing features: Nothing to slide, flip, or otherwise fumble; a good finish; a sleek form factor; well-designed icons on a black and white screen based on e-paper. The display requires only very small amounts of power whenever it changes, and it is persistent, i.e. it shows the time all the time. Also in bad lighting conditions, the display is well readable without additional light. It is a joy to look at, especially compared to the battery-exhausting thousands-of-colors displays around today which don't make any good use of the colors at their disposal. With the exception of not too appealing ringtones, Sung-gul Hwang, an IIT graduate, and his team at Motorola sure did a good design job on this one.
The strange part of this phone is its price tag: In Europe, it sells now for some 30 Euros - around the price of a standard lunch for two. The price makes it clear that this phone is conceived for emerging markets such as India or China. The attempt to make good design available to less affluent people is of course laudable; but I doubt that the phone meets either the taste or the needs of its intended target markets.
From a marketing standpoint, mobile phone markets in the US and Europe are essentially saturated, while there is a constantly growing demand in emerging markets. No wonder marketers try to tap into these growing markets. Problem is, there is little disposable income to spend on things such as mobile phones. The people behind Apple's upcoming iPhone knew that and instead conceived a phone which will shave off market share in developed markets and make nice profits in the process.
To make actual profit with cheap phones in emerging markets only works when you sell a whole lot. And that, Iīm afraid, wonīt be easy. In China and India, it is firstly all about conspicuous consumption. People want phones with lots of visible functions for their personal impression management - technology has to show off. Secondly, for many people in developing economies a mobile phone is likely the only hi-tech gadget they have, standing in for phone, music player, camera, and perhaps even laptop. So a phone which comes with a (bad) camera and an (awkward to use) internet device is still perceived as better than no camera and no internet functionality at all.
The Motofone is exactly the opposite: An exercise in reduction to the essential. People who admire Verner Panton and Bang & Olufsen will without a doubt like this phone. But these are people who have a neat camera and a good laptop already and who would also easily pay more for a stylish, back-to-the-basics phone such as the Motofone. I am quite convinced of Motorola Design, but what is the concept of Motorola Marketing?
The Razr, initially marketed as a high-end phone, was soon to be had for free with every discount operator; The Pebl, with its rubberized surface also a neat phone, is hardly available anywhere and, considering its lack of advanced functions, also overpriced, selling between 130 and 200 Euros. And now comes the Motofone, a phone more appealing to design lovers than to the emerging market segment it was made for.
Sure there are also design connoisseurs in places such as Shanghai or Bangalore, but the majority of people in developing nations go for phones with glossy surfaces and lots of buttons and functions. The real competition in India and China comes from India and China, with Indian operatorīs own brands such as Tata Indicom or Reliance, and Chinese-made phones such as Haier and Huawei. And there are also the cheaper second-tier brands from hi-tech countries such as Pantech (Korea) or Kyocera (Japan) who want their share of the market.
Compared to the clunky, heavy, and badly made phones around there the Motofone is a statement in simplicity - Loosīs credo seems to have been a design intention. But good design alone isnīt enough: It needs a good marketing concept too.
