Motorola is still Thinking Different and we should all be grateful

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It's very hard being an Android smartphone OEM right now but I'm really glad to see Motorola is still around and kicking. Even more important, I'm happy to see that Motorola hasn't lost its enthusiasm for creating truly useful new innovations that push smartphones forward.

RELATED: Motorola's Droid Turbo 2: Hands-on with the world's first shatterproof smartphone

While I wasn't initially all that excited to hear about the Verizon-exclusive Motorola Droid Turbo 2 yesterday, Motorola instantly grabbed my attention by giving it a "shatterproof" display that features five different layers for added protection. While we haven't put this device under heavy stress testing ourselves yet, early impressions of it are that Motorola has really delivered a display that is insanely difficult to crack.

This is Motorola doing what all good innovators do: Identifying pain points in the typical user experience and finding ways to address them. In this case, Motorola has rightly figured that lots of people out there are terrified of dropping their phones for fear of cracking their screens and it's come up with a really smart solution.

The Moto ShatterShield isn't the only terrific innovation Motorola has brought to the smartphone market in recent years, as its Moto Maker program that gives you an unprecedented level of customization for your device is also worthy of praise. The company has also done some pioneering work when it comes to exclusively selling its flagship phones unlocked directly to consumers who can then choose to bring it to whatever carrier they want without having to put up with carrier branding or bloatware.

At a time when many smartphone makers are doing things the same way over and over again, Motorola is continuing to think different, as the old saying goes. While Motorola isn't going to beat Apple or Samsung in terms of sales anytime soon, I hope it can keep making enough money to fund its next big innovation, whatever that might be. The smartphone market is a better place with Motorola around.

Related storiesMotorola's Droid Maxx 2 hands-on: A budget phone with a flagship batteryMotorola's Droid Turbo 2: Hands-on with the world's first shatterproof smartphoneApple needs to consider stealing the Droid Turbo 2's best feature

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