For Cyber Monday, Motorola ran one impressive promotion on Moto X phones. Normally priced at $549.99 for the 32GB model without a 2-year contract, the Google company offered the largely overlooked (questionably so) Android device for only $399.99–including GSM and CDMA Developer Editions (16GB models discounted at $349.99). One of the only other no-contract phones available for that price is the Nexus 5 , which comparable in every way to the Moto X yet not discounted yesterday. Unfortunately, Motorola underestimated demand for the phone and hopeful consumers effectively crashed the Moto Maker service; users could customize a phone, but many were not able to checkout. People were instructed to monitor the company’s Twitter account to stay in the loop. Some waited all day, but the service never seemed to come back online. Meanwhile, both of the Developer Editions–unaffected by the increased traffic–sold out within minutes of becoming available.
CEO Dennis Woodside published a statement of apology late Monday night admitting the demand was overwhelming and that pre-sale testing of the site proved to be insufficient to keep up with large volumes of orders placed simultaneously.
“We couldn’t fill orders,” says Woodside, "The site became unstable… Customers were left frustrated.”
Since the Cyber Monday promotion was arguably a failure, Motorola will relaunch the sale on phones created through Moto Maker tomorrow at 12:00 pm EST (9 am PST) and again throughout Monday, December 9. “We will double the quantity of phones available, while supplies last, to allow as many people as possible to take advantage of the promotion. We’re also extending the 30% off offer on accessories…” promises Woodside. While this may come as a relief to some, those hoping to have the deal on the Developer Editions extended as well are out of luck; Motorola confirmed that promotion has ended as quantities of the discounted, unlocked bootloader versions are sold out, but may still be purchased at their full asking price.
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