Last year Motorola, Lenovo and Indiegogo teamed up to provide possible pathways for enterprising developers to bring their ideas to market. A few weeks ago the finalists for the “Transform the Smartphone Challenge” were announced. Now we see even more innovative ideas popping up on the Indiegogo website and some of them are really creating a stir.
To say I am enamoured by the Moto Z line and their Moto Mods is an understatement. I reviewed the Moto Z very favourably last year giving a big tick to the Moto Mods (albeit with an asterisk on their prices). Moto Mods, in my opinion, are the most innovative addition to the smartphone we have seen in several years. The more of these Moto Mods that Motorola/ Lenovo can help bring to market the more successful I believe the Moto Z line of smartphones will be.
Amongst the new Moto Mods we saw pop up on the Indiegogo website today are:
- Keyboard Mod — a high-end landscape slider keyboard with modern up-to-date specifications
- InputStick Mod — Turn your Moto Z into wireless USB keyboard & mouse. Works with any USB host
- Moto Z – The Storage Mod — provides external storage, extended battery life, several I/O ports, Qi charging, IR blaster, and SDXC card reader!
- DigiFrameMod — E-paper 2nd screen for Moto Z phone. Always on, low powered display, information at a glance
As I said last time, Motorola/ Lenovo need to recognise that these mods are what is going to drive their Moto Z smartphone platform and if they want one to be successful they need the other. Not only do they need the Moto Mods but they also need them to be affordable so that consumers purchase several at a time. Currently they are overpriced but hopefully we will see a change in this in the coming years.
Some of these new mods look like great ideas. Whether they actually make it to market, only time will tell. If there is one you want to see succeed in making it to market, or just want to check out all the new Moto Mod ideas for yourself head on over to the Indiegogo website for yourself and check them out — back them if you like the idea.
Tempted to buy a Moto Z, but do you think a newer model will be coming out soon?
The keyboard mod (ex-blackberry addict) and the e-ink screen mods both appeal to me. I own a Moto z play already so if these make it to market then I’ll be giving them a go I think. I’ve not bought any of the current ones so far as I’ve already got a pretty awesome Bluetooth speaker, a decent compact camera and the battery on the z play is amazing as it is.
Innovtive yes, but do they make sense? I don’t think so.
Most people are already making big compromises for the sake of convenience. Most people do not carry a high end audio player, plus phone and compact camera in order to get the best results in everything. Most people accept the quality of the smartphone camera, battery and audio so they only manage ONE device.
This is why mods do not make sense to me. It is extra things to manage when most people want less. They want easy. They want simple.
You have a good point. but by itself the Moto Z is a great phone, the mods just make things so much better. If i had one and was going somewhere where i wanted to take good photos, then i’d attach the hasselblad camera mod and so on for other things, including the projector. I don’t think its feasible for users to carry more than one at a time with them but after using them I definitely think they have their place. eg. going out to a concert or a picnic for the day, snap on the extra battery pack…
Yeah that’s the ticket.
Good camera when going to my kids dance class or soccer match. Then jbl speaker when going to the park or a mates place, then the Qi battery Case for the rest of the time.
Or no mod if I want a slimline phone for a work dinner.
The Hassy Mod is $299…that can buy a decent camera on its own.