Motorola is one of the most well known names in the cellphone industry, in fact, the company has been around so long that the first ever cellphone call was made on a Motorola.
The company has undergone massive changes in the past few years with Google having acquired them in 2012 and then Lenovo having purchased them in 2014.
Motorola’s famous handsets have not officially been available in South Africa for many years, however that is about to change says Lenovo’s representatives in South Africa.
According to the company, Motorola will be returning to South Africa before the end of 2016 with the launch of the Moto Z and the Hasselblad MotoMod – which we first saw at its reveal at IFA 2016 in Berlin in September.
What is the Moto Z?
From the mid 1990’s to the mid 2000’s there was meaningful and frequent innovation in wireless. We saw the creation of the first flip phone, the Moto RAZR, the first QWERTY smartphone, the first app ecosystem, and of course, the first touchscreen phone.
But, since then, innovation has stagnated and is often incremental at best. Small changes in display size or megapixels make headlines, yet marginally impact overall experience to the point that new smartphones have become predictable.
The result? Limited choice, similar products and bored consumers. And that’s not fair.
Motorola envisions a world where people are not limited by what their smartphone manufacturer provides at one point in time. Instead, they believe people should be empowered to choose the capabilities of their smartphone.
That’s where the Moto Z and MotoMods come in.
Made from military aircraft-grade aluminium and stainless steel, the Moto Z is durable-yet-razor thin – just 5.2mm – and ultra-light with a 5.5” Quad HD AMOLED display. It’s also incredibly powerful packing a Qualcomm SnapdragonTM 820 processor, 4GB of RAM and 32 GB or 64 GB of storage inside. You can get more space for pictures, videos and apps by adding a microSD card up to 2 TB.
Moto Z has a high-resolution 13MP camera with optical image stabilisation and laser autofocus, which help you take beautiful, true-to-life pictures in any light. The front-facing 5MP camera includes a wide-angle lens, which is great for fitting friends in the picture. And, with an extra flash on the front, everybody in the groupie looks their best—even in low light.
A water-repellant coating means rain, splashes or spills won’t get in your way. Tired of fumbling your phone to switch on and sign in? With the built in fingerprint reader, a touch is all you need to instantly wake up your phone. And with up to 30 hours of battery you can go all day and well into the night without needing to stop and recharge. You’ll get up to 8 hours of power in just 15 minutes with TurboPower says the company.
Moto Mods
With Moto Mods , you now have the ability to transform your Moto Z into exactly what you need it to be. Like an instant party maker with the JBL SoundBoost — it’s really, really loud. Or, grab some popcorn and turn your phone into a 70-inch movie projector with the Moto Insta-Share Projector. Need an extra boost? The Power Pack instantly adds up to 22 hours of life to your phone — and it comes in fashionable designs from partners like kate spade new york, TUMI and Incipio.
You can also match your phone to your own personal style as often as you want with Style Shells. Choose from premium materials like real wood and leather, or pick out a patterned fabric. You can swap them whenever you like.
The connection process is super-simple. High-powered magnets connect Moto Mods to your phone so you can easily snap them together as your needs change. Motorola has guaranteed that the Moto Mods developed today are designed to work with future generations of Moto Z phones.
Moto Mods: Hasselblad True Zoom
Hasselblad and Moto have teamed up to design an imaging experience that completely transforms mobile photography. Since 1941, Hasselblad has been at the forefront of the imaging industry. Around the world, the name Hasselblad is synonymous with the finest camera equipment ever made. Some of the most iconic images in history have been taken with Hasselblad cameras, from the first images on the moon to The Beatles famous Abbey Road Cover. This year, Hasselblad is bringing their unique, iconic design and imaging experience to the mobile space.
Add advanced imaging capabilities to your phone in a snap! You can create and share like never before. Featuring 10x Optical Zoom and a Xenon flash, you just focus on getting the shot – lighting and distance will never stand in the way of capturing the perfect image.
Expect even more control and flexibility with the ability to shoot in RAW format. Plus, physical shutter and zoom controls, guaranteeing a great handling experience. Added bonus? You’ll also get free access to Hasselblad’s Phocus software for streamlined editing control and the highest quality output.
Moto Z specs
Operating System
Android™ 6.0.1, Marshmallow
System Architecture/Processor
Motorola Mobile Computing System, including Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 820 processor with 1.8 GHz Quad-core CPU and Adreno 530 GPU Natural Language Processor
Contextual Computing Processor
Memory (RAM)
4GB LPDDR4⁵
Storage (ROM)
64GB UFS,⁵ microSD Card support (up to 2TB)⁶
Dimensions
Height: 153.3 mm
Width: 75.3 mm
Depth: 5.19 mm
Weight
136g
Display
5.5” AMOLED
1440p Quad HD (2560 x 1440)
535 ppi
Corning® Gorilla® Glass
Battery
Mixed usage up to 30 hours (2600 mAh)²
TurboPower™ for up to 8 hours of power in 15 minutes of charging³
Water Protection
Water repellent nano-coating⁴
Networks
4G LTE (Cat 6)
UMTS / HSPA+
GSM / EDGE
Bands (by model)
GSM / GPRS / EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
UMTS / HSPA+ (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz)
4G LTE (B1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20, 25, 28, 38, 40, 41)
SIM Card
Nano-SIM
NFC
Yes
Bluetooth® Technology
Bluetooth version 4.1 LE
Wi-Fi
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4 GHz + 5 GHz with MIMO
Rear Camera
13 MP
ƒ/1.8 aperture
Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)
Laser Autofocus
Zero Shutter Lag
Color Correlated Temperature (CCT) flash with dual LEDs
1.12um pixel
Professional mode
Quick Capture
Best Shot
Scan barcodes, QR codes and Business cards
Google Photos integration with free original file size backup for two years
Shutter button or tap anywhere to capture
8X digital zoom
Burst mode
Night mode
Auto HDR
Closed loop processing
Panorama
Tap to focus & exposure
Video Stabilization
1080p HD video (60 fps)
4K video (30 fps)
Slow Motion video
Video HDR (1080p and 4K)
Front Camera
5 MP
ƒ/2.2 aperture
Wide-Angle lens
Flash
1.4um big pixel for better low light
Auto Night mode
Beautification software
Professional mode
Connectivity
Moto Mods™ connector
USB-C port for headphones, charging and data transfer
3.5 mm to USB-C headphone port adapter included
Sensors
Fingerprint reader
Accelerometer
Ambient Light
Gyroscope
Hall Effect
Magnetometer
Proximity
Speakers/Microphones
Front-ported loud speaker
4-Mics
Video Capture
1080p (60 fps); 4K (30 fps)
Location Services
A-GPS
Base Colors
Black with Lunar Grey trim, Black front lens
Pricing and exact launch date for Motorola and the Hasselblad Moto Mod have not yet been confirmed but we’ll keep you updated as soon as we get more information.
