New phone innovation could be coming from the recently formed Motorola 312 Labs created by — you guessed it — Motorola. The 312 in the name comes from the well-known 312 area code in Chicago, where the company has deep roots even after its purchase by Lenovo. The 312 Labs themselves are a mix of research, design, and engineering, all melded together to focus on new product development. The new lab is part of Lenovo’s goal of doubling investment in research and development over the next three years.
“One of our [areas of] expertise is understanding the needs of customers, because what’s the point of breakthrough if it doesn’t mean anything to people? That’s a key focus area for Motorola 312 Labs as it looks to the future of mobile technology,” Dan Dery, Motorola vice president of product, said. “Motorola 312 Labs is uniquely positioned as its mission is to explore the unknown, but with a research team that has the expertise to turn a conceptual idea into a reality.”
Motorola already has an extensive lineup of mobile products including the Razr, Edge, and Moto G phones, as well as the ThinkShield security software. Motorola is now seeking to expand its product line even further and presumably go beyond what trendsetters and competitors like Apple and Samsung are focused on. The general direction Motorola has outlined is geared toward improving wearables, creating better displays, diving into AR and virtual reality, continuing development for Motorola’s own product ecosystems, and more.
In the past, some of Motorola’s innovative works have included bringing shatterproof screens to the market, producing Moto mods, and introducing the foldable Razr. Now that the company has Motorola 312 Labs focused on creating new and exciting mobile technology, it’s possible that the list will grow at a much faster rate. However, we probably won’t see anything new for a while since the timeline from concept to product is 12 to 18 months in normal times, and is likely to be even longer given current issues with supply chain and production.
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