After a series of leaks with a proud feeling, Google showoff the MOTO X . Motorola has officially taken the wraps off the Moto X - the first phone that has been entirely developed under the supervision of Google. It's also the company's first phone in a while to be fully assembled in the USA.
The Motorola Moto X is build around a 4.7" AMOLED display with full RGB matrix and 720p resolution. This results in a pixel density of 316 ppi. The screen is protected by a new type of Gorilla Glass, which is dubbed Magic Glass due to its curves towards the edges of the phone.
On the inside, the Motorola Moto X features a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset with dual 1.7GHz Krait cores, Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB of RAM. Internal storage is 16GB or 32GB depending on the version you choose but there's no card slot for further expansion. Just like the latest DROID line-up, the Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset is part of the Motorola X8 board, which also includes a natural language processor and contextual computing processor.
The Moto X camera has a 10MP sensor and uses the ClearPixel technology for superior low-light performance. Every other green portion of the Bayer filter array, which sits in front of the image sensor, is replaced by a clear one, allowing more light to reach the sensor.
On the software side, the camera offers HDR, burst shots and panorama. The Moto X can also shoot full HD videos at 30fps and there are features like face detection and geo-tagging on board. At the front, there's a 2MP camera capable of 1080p video recording that serves for video-chatting purposes.
Motorola has gone great lengths to make the Moto X a truly customizable phone. Customers can choose whether the front panel to be black or white, as well as the color of the back panel from 18 options. There's also a third customizable area called accent - it covers the camera rim and side buttons. Further customization includes adding a name or short message on the back of the phone as choosing a Google account and wallpaper to come preinstalled on the device.
The Motorola Moto X runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, which at first glance looks as clean as stock, but Motorola has added a few touches of its own. One of them is the Active Display feature, which makes use of the OLED screen and brings a snippet of information (the time, new messages and voicemail) on a blank black screen. Think of it as an Android version of Nokia's Glance Screen feature.
Motorola has also preinstalled a transfer app called Migrate. It allows you to transfer your photos, videos, SIM contacts and even call and text history from any Android phone running Android 2.2 or higher.
Because of the curved back, the Motorola Moto X thickness varies from 5.6 to 10.4mm. The phone has a pretty decent footprint for its 4.7" display - 129.3 x 65.3mm with a weight of the very acceptable 130 grams.
Below the customizable back panel sits a 2200mAh battery, which Motorola rates at 13 hours of 3G talk time and up to 24 hours of mixed usage endurance.
The Motorola Moto X a will be available on the five largest carriers in the USA - AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and US Cellular. It will cost $200 for the 16GB version and $250 for the 32GB units, both with a two-year contract.
Motorola Moto X at a glance
- General: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, quad-band UMTS/HSPA, 100 Mbps LTE with a second LTE antenna
- Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
- Dimensions: 129.3 x 65.3 x 10.4, 130 g
- Display: 4.7" 16M-color 720p (1280 x 720 pixels) capacitive touchscreen RGB AMOLED display with curved Gorilla Glass and ~316 ppi
- CPU: Dual-core 1.7 GHz Krait
- GPU: Adreno 320
- Chipset: A custom-built Motorola X8 Mobile Computing System, based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset
- RAM: 2GB
- OS: Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
- Memory: 16/32GB storage, microSD card slot
- Cameras: Primary 10 megapixel auto-focus Clear Pixel camera with 1.4 µm-sized pixels, f/2.4 aperture, native 16:9 aspect ratio, face detection, HDR mode, panorama, geo-tagging; Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps with HDR, Secondary 2MP front-facing camera with FullHD video capture; Quick capture allows you to activate the camera with a double twist of your wrist;
- Connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, standard microUSB port with MHL and USB host, GPS receiver with A-GPS, GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack, NFC, wireless screen sharing (Miracast protocol)
- Misc: Composite plastic materials - surrounding back panel and curved edge-to-edge Gorilla Glass front; dual-mic setup for noise cancellation; water-repellent coating on electrical components for trouble-free operation in the rain; some 50 GB worth of extra free Google Drive storage for 2 years (on top of the usual 15GB); Active Display system, showing notifications on a fraction of the screen size when the screen is off; Touchless control - voice control capabilities in standby (with the screen off).
- Battery capacity: 2200mAh.
Yesterday, Motorola finally announced the Moto X, which will soon go on sale in the US on all the major carriers on a contract. However, Google has now announced that you will also be able to purchase the Moto X from the Play Store as well.
The Google Play edition of the Moto X will be similar to the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One, where it would come with a stock version of Android. Although the Moto X does have relatively stock Android even on carrier branded models, it does come with the usual carrier bloatware, along with some of Motorola's customizations, such as the always-on voice feature, shake to start camera and the active lockscreen.
Although Motorola promised quick updates to the Moto X, the Google Play edition will get them even quicker since they don't have to go through the carrier before being pushed to your device.
Just like the GPe of the S4 and the One, the Moto X will also be sold unlocked and at full price. The exact price is not yet known as of now, nor is the actual date when the phone will be available on the Play Store, but considering the specs of the device, you can expect a price of around $299 for the 16GB model. It's unlikely though that Google would offer the Moto X in any other color option other than the standard black and white.
Motorola has just unleashed its Moto X flagship smartphone and, as tradition dictates, the announcement was accompanied by the release of a few promo videos.
The Moto X got a trio of clips – the first two focus on its unique software features, while the third one is dedicated to its Moto Maker customization software.
The first 30 second clip is all about the always-on voice commands, which don’t even require the Moto X to be unlocked to work.
Next comes the Quick Draw promo, showing you how you can unlock the smartphone and launch its camera by simply flicking your wrist.
Finally, there’s the Moto Maker video – it’s the longest of the set, but that’s because there are so many options to go through.
Share your thoughts on the Moto X with the rest of us in the comments section below.
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