Android Smartphone Moto X Blocks Programmers From Contextual Computing ... - Wall Street Journal

NEW YORK — Motorola Mobility LLC Thursday unveiled the Moto X, a smartphone based on Google Inc.'s open source Android software. But Motorola said it won't allow developers to write applications that take advantage of the contextual computing capabilities the phone maker says makes the phone a cut above the competition. Analysts said this an example of how the Google subsidiary is protecting what it perceives as its competitive advantage. The Moto X includes two processors, a natural language chip and a contextual computing chip, designed to work in concert with sensors and software on the phone to provide what Motorola said is a more personalized user experience than other phones on the market. For example, users can access the phone's Google Now contextual search application, ask "do I need an umbrella today?" and receive current weather information for their location. A "touchless control" feature allows users to set their alarm, check their calendar or get directions by speaking near the phone, even if the display is powered off. But a Motorola spokesperson said third-parties won't be able to write software that taps into the contextual computing capabilities, effectively barring businesses from building, for example, expense management or logistics applications that take advantage of the Moto X' touchless control capabilities. "At this point we're concentrating on creating the best experience possible on the device," said Motorola spokesperson William Moss. "At some point we may open those systems to third party developers, but there are no immediate plans." Carolina Milanesi, an analyst who covers mobile computing for Gartner Inc. , said Google and Motorola likely want to keep some of programming interfaces to themselves to keep ahead of Samsung Electronics Co. , which could use those APIs to develop a version of Motorola's contextual functionality for its own smartphones, she said. "That's a problem for enterprises who might want to take advantage of APIs to build apps," Ms. Milanesi said. Although businesses won't be able to write to the phone's contextual computing tools, the Moto X is aiming to make "it less work to get to the things that you need to do done," said Charles Golvin, an analyst who covers mobile technologies for Forrester Research Inc. He said the features are Motorola's acknowledgment that smartphones should be more efficient because they play "such an important role in our personal and our work lives." Punit Soni, a vice president of product management, told CIO Journal that the company will "increasingly look" at expanding the Moto X' contextual capabilities, which could include features that can summarize a business meeting and tell the user where they need to be next. Available for $199 on contract in the U.S., Canada and Latin America at the end of August, the phone has a couple other features notable features, including 24 hours of battery life, according to the company. Motorola is also pairing the phone with 50 gigabytes of free Google Drive storage, in addition to the 15GB Google currently allows Drive users, for a total of 65GB. That's lot of photos, documents and files. via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEdn14H0DTPMdt_QCinNIDT9J_wbA&url=http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-292399/

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