Motorola says hello with online store debut in Australia
Motorola -- officially now known as "Motorola: a Lenovo company" -- has announced the debut of its Moto online store in Australia, which will go live on Friday July 15, 2016.
The Moto online store will give customers the chance to buy directly from the full catalogue of all Motorola products available in Australia, including all colours and configurations, with product warranty and support to be provided directly by the company.
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The new Moto G4 Plus smartphone and Moto 360 2nd Gen smartwatch will be the first products offered on the online store, with the company saying a full range of Moto products will added in coming months, including supporting accessories such as interchangeable backs for the Moto G4 Plus and straps for the Moto 360 2nd Gen smartwatch.
The Moto G4 Plus smartphone is packed with a 16-megapixel camera, 5.5-inch full HD display, 3000 mAh battery, and will be available in 16GB and 32GB at the respective recommended retail prices of AU$399 and AU$449; while the Moto 360 2nd Gen smartwatch, powered by Android Wear, features a heart rate sensor, Wi-Fi connectivity, and comes in 46mm congac leather or 42mm silver metal strap for a recommend retail price of AU$479.
According to Motorola, the online store's distribution, logistics, call centre, and management will be handled in Australia, with the central warehouse located in Sydney.
Lenovo acquired Motorola Mobility from Google back in 2014 for $2.91 billion, and announced in January that it had plans to slowly combine the Motorola and Lenovo brand names.
Last August, the company's ANZ product manager Danny Adamopoulos revealed the company was looking to launch its Moto Maker service in Australia.
Lenovo Australia managing director Matt Codrington told ZDNet earlier this year the company's global approach to the smartphone market will be very similar to how the company has grown its PC business -- one sector he reassured is still "very relevant".
"Our focus for the coming year primarily is to continue to drive speed and efficiency. The investment in innovation is absolutely key and scaling the enterprise business because we've got a really solid business. Much like the PC side, we'll grow that business a little," he said.
Codrington at the time also reassured that the company's presence in the smartphone market under Motorola's Moto brand was still "very active".
He said Motorola in fact grew in Australia last year, and the company plans to make investments there to ensure that growth continues. He attributed part of the growth to the partnership the company forged with Vodafone and the release of its Moto X Force handset.
Correction 2.23pm 8 July, 2015: The RRP for 32GB Moto G4 Plus smartphone is AU$449, not $499 as initially reported.