Motorola's Made-in-America Moto X Smartphone to Be Announced Today

[recyclebinned]

My next cell phone.

[DerbyDad03]

"Made In America" or "Assembled In America"?

This morning, CNN was very clear to point out that the phones will be Assembled In America, not Made In America. Everytime they said "Assembled" they followed it with "assembled, not made."

This CNN report uses the term "assembled".

"The phone is assembled in the U.S., and Google hopes to lure customers with the relatively low $200 price."

Some of their earlier reports (May 2013?) used the word "made" but there was no mistaking their emphasis on "assembled, not made" when they talked about the phone this morning.

There's a "legal" difference between marking something with Made In The USA vs. Assembled In The USA. I wondered which definition fits the Moto-X.

[dennisgauge]

SA vs. Assembled In The USA. I wondered which definition fits the Moto-X.

Almost certainly it's "assembled" not "made," as it would be nearly impossi ble to source all the necessary components from strictly US manufacturers.

Still, it's better than "MADE in China." Let's just hope the workers they h ire to do the assembly are thankful to have a job, and do quality work.

There are reports of manufacturers moving production back to the US popping up here and there lately. It's become more expensive to do business in Chi na, as I suspected it would, and for small to medium companies it's startin g to make sense to bring the jobs back here.

[DerbyDad03]

USA vs. Assembled In The USA. I wondered which definition fits the Moto-X .

sible to source all the necessary components from strictly US manufacturers .

hire to do the assembly are thankful to have a job, and do quality work.

ng up here and there lately. It's become more expensive to do business in C hina, as I suspected it would, and for small to medium companies it's start ing to make sense to bring the jobs back here.

Bringing the manufacturing back to the US doesn't equate to bringing the jo bs back. With the huge advancement in robotics and automation since the job s were sent overseas, the same amount of work can be done with far less wor kers.

Sure, some humans will be required, but nothing matching the numbers that w ere employed before the moves to China and elsewhere.

In addition, the number of "full-time with benefits" jobs will be far fewer now that companies have begun to realize that the "part-time no benefits" model actual works.

[Dean Hoffman]

The cool kids will all have these soon:

[The Daring Dufas]

I remember when all the cheap junk was made in Japan and no one thought of China as anything but a Communist enemy except Taiwan where more cheap junk was manufactured. Now the cheap junk has been coming from places like Mainland China, India and often Pakistan. I've seen some stuff manufactured in countries of the former Soviet Union. As those peoples become more prosperous, wages go up, expectations go up and costs go up until it's too expensive to get things manufactured there and the cycle begins again with manufacturing going where the costs of building and transporting products is less expensive. I have a feeling that the natural cycle will bring manufacturing back to all of those desperate Americans who have no jobs and are willing to make fewer demands unless the cycle is interfered with by idiot politicians hungry for power and control. I wonder which political party and which politician will claim credit for something that will happen all on its own? ^_^

TDD

[N8N]

Dammit, I finally caved and used my upgrade on a Photon Q earlier this year. *sigh*

I'm fiercely loyal to Motorola for cell phones as every other manufacturer has disappointed me. However, the Photon Q seemed like a downgrade from my old Photon save for the fact that the Q had 4G LTE so I kind of had to go with it.

[N8N]

r has disappointed me. However, the Photon Q seemed like a downgrade from my old Photon save for the fact that the Q had 4G LTE so I kind of had to g o with it.

Actually I just read the specs on it and it has no SD card slot. So I don' t feel so let down now. What the hell Motorola? Especially since JB doesn 't offer the "mass storage" USB option, I *have* to use the SD card to tran sfer files between phone and PC.

nate

[Wes Groleau]

Which could legally mean PCBs are printed in __(country)__, componenets soldered into them there, cases molded next door, all put in the same box and shipped here where someone touches two screws with a motorized screwdriver.

[Wes Groleau]

And some of the expensive stuff as well.

[micky]

On the ABC news itself, they asked someoone at the factory if the parts were made in the US, and he pointed either to parts or to a map and named about 10 states where parts were made.

[DerbyDad03]

Not so.

From

Assembled in USA

"A product that includes foreign components may be called "Assembled in USA" without qualification when its principal assembly takes place in the U.S. and the assembly is substantial. For the "assembly" claim to be valid, the product's "last substantial transformation" also should have occurred in the U.S. A "screwdriver" assembly in the U.S. of foreign components into a final product at the end of the manufacturing process does not usually qualify for the "Assembled in USA" claim."

[willshak]

I'm not just picking you out for responses. :-) According to this site the CEO says: "For indeed, excitement started when Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside announced at the D11 conference that the phones would be made in the USA, specificially Fort Worth, Texas".