Conspicuous consumption might seem to be one of those areas to come under pressure given the state of the economy. Tell that to Motorola. With another example of the exquisite business sense that has helped the firm descend into the ranks of technology also-rans, the firm has come out with a $2,000 phone. The Aura, which went on sale Tuesday, has no functional features that can begin to justify the price. It is not a smart phone, cannot use 3G networks, has a run-of-the-mill 2mp camera, no GPS, no WiFi, just 2GB of memory and a small, circular display (the screen is, however, said by many reviewers to be of extremely high quality). And given that it’s driven by Moto’s mediocre software, it is already starting well behind many of its rivals.
The justification for the Aura’s price, then, must be phone-as-status-symbol or phone-as-jewelry. We can dismiss the first out of hand. No one will misinterpret the downtrodden Motorola brand as a status symbol a la Vertu or even a la Apple. Not only is the company a poster child for corporate ineptitude, but it also best known recently for churning out hordes of ubiquitous, cheap handsets (indeed, potential purchasers may see the descent of the RAZR from status symbol to freebie as an ill omen). Exclusivity, then, is not Motorola’s stock in trade. On the phone-as-jewelry front, taste is a personal thing, but to my eye, this is one ugly phone. A lump of chromish looking shiny metal with a bulbous, unnecessarily circular display. I could be wrong, but I doubt it. Click here to judge for yourself.
Motorola’s promo copy works hard to sell the Aura with gems such as this: “The gears were engineered from Rockwell 50-55 hardened steel and safeguarded with the same coating used in high-performance engines for added longevity.” And this: “Each aluminum key is individually formed, anodized, spin-finish applied and assembled so that every text and dial is an art in itself.” Um guys–this is a cell phone, one that is based on 2G technology that is already becoming obsolete. It has little need for “added longevity.” I’d also point out that the alpha-male types the copy is directed at are the very same guys who are likely to be underwhelmed by the phone’s dearth of features.
I think I get what Moto is trying to do here. They don’t have anything to offer in the way of real innovation or improved software (especially relative to products like the G1 and iPhone) but they desperately need to resurrect the brand. So they focussed instead on stuff that requires no innovation and jacking up the price to the point where the phone seems special (it’s expensive, so it must be good . . . ). That might have worked 18 months ago. Whether or not it will now is considerably more questionable.
