Much has been made of the fact that Motorola's shiny new flagship is made (or at least assembled) in America. But there's a downside to this: it looks as though aspiring Motorola customers in Europe, Asia, Australia, and the rest of the world will have to do without. Motorola has made it clear that the Moto X is only for the US, Canada, and Latin American markets.

That isn't to say that the company is not concerned with the worldwide marketplace. According to a Cnet interview with Motorola's CEO Dennis Woodside, at least one model will be created with a lower price (and probably a wider distribution) in mind.

Moto X is the brand that we are most focused on. And there is more to come. You will see additional products within months... The experience of devices you can get for less than $200 is subpar right now. We want everyone to have access to affordable smartphones.

That seems to imply that Motorola is hoping to rally around a single, focused product line, as HTC has done with the One and Samsung has done with the Galaxy S series (well, sort of - they call everything an "S4," anyway). TechCrunch spoke with Motorola's Vice President of Product Management Lior Ron, who said that the company will be consolidating its existing consumer offerings.

We’ve done a lot of devices before... Now we’re going to do a few — very few. Everyone of those devices is going to really matter for consumers.

This cheaper Moto X (or whatever name it goes by) would almost certainly be manufactured in Asia, as are all Motorola's other current smartphones, and probably lack the customization options available in the United States. Though Motorola hasn't stated so explicitly, it's likely that international versions of Verizon's DROID Mini, DROID Ultra, and DROID MAXX will be produced - the company has made similar moves with the former RAZR line. These would probably be considered acceptable substitutes for the X, since the internal hardware is very similar between all four phones.

Still, it's a bit of a blow that the reformed face of the company won't make it outside the western hemisphere. We'll be on the lookout for announcements from Motorola in the coming weeks and months.

Source: Cnet, TechCrunch