Even though almost no one can truly tell the difference between 720 and 1080 on such a tiny screen, the dated processor, lack of microSD expandability, lack of spare battery, and small screen size mean I won't be able to recommend this to anyone.
There are far better options available at the same price point. Tentatively, this looks to be a failure of imagination. Compared to the amount of hype, it's likely to be an outright failure.
Yup, I thought I needed it, turns out I don't. Moved to a phone without it last October and I just don't miss either feature despite my earlier misgivings.
I'd be more concerned with the out of date silicon and low res screen than with expandability options hardly anyone uses.
I have no problem with 720p at 4.7", it is the same DPI as an iPhone and Galaxy Note II users say 720p, even at 5.5", is good enough for the best phone available. Personally I care more about how the phone looks and the software than if I can detect perfect sharpness from 6" away. The SOC also isn't completely last gen, it is faster than a what the GSIII and Nexus 4 have for most task hopefully.
The silicon isn't "out of date" though - it's using two Krait 300 cores, which is the same core the 600 uses. While it's only two cores instead of four, it's still got a lot of power behind it. If it were made up with Krait 200 cores, that would be last year's silicon (your standard S4, found in the US versions of the One X and SIII).
The S4 certainly does use Krait 200 - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snapdragon_S4 - the new chip in the only one in the entire S4 family to have Krait 300 CPUs. Methinks you've got Samsung on the brain and thought ppl were talking about the SGS4 phone, not the Snapdragon S4 SoC (these acronyms can get confusing).
In actuality the newer batches of the older named S4 have exactly the same Krait 300 cores, just as found in the new Nexus 7. It would be insane for Qualcomm to make both 200 and 300 based chip at the same time considering they cost pretty much the same.
S4 (snapdragon) ≠ SGS4. The SGS4 uses the 600 or 800 Snapdragon, which is what you describe (and also has the possibility of Krait 400, if it's the 800). The SGS4 does not use the Snapdragon S4, which almost all models use a dual-core Krait, with one model exception (APQ8064) that uses quad core Krait.
The cores might be modular, but the design is not. An SoC is not a ram slot. You don't take a silicon wafer, and plop a couple, or a few cores in it and call it a day. This isn't an Intel or AMD CPU either, whrere the processors are the same, just with a varying amount of cores disabled. You don't even take into account the GPU, or the rest of the System.
You both will be very happy to have a spare, user-replacable battery when your original battery dies. I had a RAZR V and the battery (not user-replaceable) lasted just over one year. Out of warranty Moto wanted $150 to fix it.
I won't ever buy a phone that does not have a user-replaceable battery again.
Shouldn't have to do that at all though, I can get over the SD card, it's nice to have but as long as the device can function as simple external storage in Windows I'm fine. User replaceable battery really isn't optional for anyone who keeps their phone for 2+ years. Which, if you change your phone more than that you're just too rich to even know what to do with yourself.
I've got 3 devices: Z10, Note 2, Nexus 7 3G. The one that bugs me the most is the N7. Why?
1. Because its the slowest to get data in and out of (due to not having a MicroSD slot);
2. It can't hold much data (due to not having a MicroSD slot);
3. Its slow to change a SIM chip (due to needing a tool to open the SIM carrier tray and the awkwardness of using the SIM carrier tray because the chip is always trying to slide out while you change it, such as when doing so on airplanes or boats); and
4. Changing a battery without tools is impossible (due to not having a removable back).
Compare that to the Samsung S4 where you just pop the back cover off and have access to Dual-SIMs, Micro-SDXC slot, and Battery, all ready for easy swapping and replacements.
The Moto-X brings an interesting size, a curved back, and WiFi-AC. Otherwise, it is lacking.
It is a "good enough" phone that will succeed only due to the massive marketing push behind it. It reminds me of those AOL CDs that used to fall out of magazines.
A lot of people are going to try it because its "there." They'll like it because its "close enough." And they'll feel good about it because it has some interesting colors.
It looks like Motorola is getting ready to fire up it's own "Reality Distortion Field." Mark my words, here comes another iteration of "form over function." And people will buy it, hook, line, and sinker. Kind of reminds you of Lumia, doesn't it?
... they do have the nexus 7 in 32 GB... and i can tell you it is unequivocally the best small tablet on the market unless you cannot bear to give up ios
If you travel, having a spare battery (or 3) is a tremendous benefit. I can carry 3 spare Samsung Galaxy batteries in the space of a single 3rd party chargers. I never have to hunt for outlets and can go for days at a time.
As for the lack of microSD, the only reason it's missing is because Motorola is pompous. They believe their phone is good enough to compete without a feature that would cost them pennies. Their phone is not that good. No phone is that good, exactly because some of the best phones in the world do have microSD.
For most customers, this phone will be exactly the same price as phones like the HTC One and Galaxy Note. This is Motorola's flagship phone. Compared to the flagship phones of Samsung, HTC, and Apple, the X is a failure.
Why yes... Apparently I have found room in my anus for both Verizon and Motorola to shove their dicks in there. $199 on contract for last years hardware, sure!
Google removed the ability to install apps to SD cards, of course the Google-owned Moto isn't going to then throw in a card.
Where they messed up is by defaulting to 16gb and making 32 exclusive. With more and more HD content available for phones(HD cameras,larger apps, movie rentals) 32gb will need to be the new standard.
The carriers love 16 gb with as little space available as possible so you store as much as possible in the cloud and use a lot of bandwidth. It's a racket.
Um, I agree with you that being able to change batteries is a per use case type of preference, but your thoughts about the reasoning behind no microSD slot is dead wrong. It isn't missing because Motorola is pompous, it's because they are owned by Google and Google has been trying to eliminate microSD in Android for a few years now. This is old news.
Seeing as Motorola is owned by Google now, I would say it is safe to assume that all future Motorola devices will lack microSD support.
That being said, while I really like the design of the X, I agree that it is overpriced, and Moto's attempt to make it sound competitive by claiming it has "8 cores" is just sad. Give me a Nexus 4 or a HTC One any day of the week over this thing.
I recently ditched my iPod in favor of connecting an external portable DAC/headphone amp to my SGS4. The SD card is pretty useful when you want to keep a decent-sized media library.
I prefer to use .flacs, so what little the OS leaves of the internal storage after the is hardly going to be enough space.
So just because you dont need it you think the majority of the world is with you right? Time to get out of that egotrip and realize the world does not revolve around you.
I replace my battery several times a week and I used extended batteries too so I get a lot of up time with my phone. I constanty an on the move so using a charger is not always feasible. Having spare batteries to swap is a godsend.
Maybe I am the exception but I frankly think most people just don't know what they are missing.
Annnndddd......people like you absolutely do a disservice to everyone. By the time 32gb becomes standard, an increase in storage needs will render it just as small as 16gb is now. And because people continue to pay 50-100 bucks for just 16gb extra (more often than not, it's $100), ODM's will continue to charge that much for an increase that costs them in the single digits (and 80-90% of that is just the one-time fixed costs of starting parallel production).
You are right, it is current in that it is currently being manufactured by Qualcomm. What it isn't is top of the line, which this thing is priced as. To warrant the price the X needed a 1080p display and a quad core Snapdragon 600 at the least. As it is now, it doesn't compete with the far better android options of the Nexus 4 or the HTC One.
Agreed. Who is this phone for? What's the market? This phone isn't better than my year-old Evo 4G LTE... smaller usable screen (onscreen buttons), slightly better processor, more RAM, worse screen, no kickstand.
Before my current phone, every smartphone I've owned was Motorola. Why?
- Dedicated HDMI out (HDMI+USB OTG is great) - Great screens (Droid 1 and 2, pre-pentile) - Top-notch specs - MicroSD (most phones had this all of 2 years ago) - Removable battery - Best talk battery life! - Keyboard (in the Droid 1-4 days...)
This phone has none of those except (maybe) the battery life.
This will alienate traditional Motorola customers, assuming I'm at all typical. So. Where's the market for a midrange phone at a high-end price without any differentiation except wood?
Finally... If you have to do wood... give me a Surface Pro-style wooden kickstand :-)
Compared to your Evo 4G LTE the Motorola: - has a better (if you love OLED) or at least equivalent screen (no Pentile!) - a faster CPU - a much faster GPU - more RAM - much more responsive interactions, simpler usage of Google Now and probably longer standby time thanks to the dedicated natural language processor and contextual processor - (for root) same usable screen (you can switch them off) and use Pie Control instead - better camera - overall smaller - but most importantly: customizable.
So for whom is this phone? Probably young people who want to have their personal device instead of a phone everyone has.
PS: Not every phone must be suited for you, and just because you don't like it, doesn't mean that others, maybe younger people with different interests, use cases and priorities (like personalization instead of a kickstand), also don't like it.
My comment was intended to show how Motorola is alienating much of their previous smartphone audience. Other comments have amply criticized this phone spec-wise in comparison with current-generation phones in its price range, so I did my best to give a different perspective :-)
The best anyone has said in its defense is "it's good enough" (yes, but not cheap enough for 'good enough') and "it's customizable" (check out custom battery doors for the Galaxy S3/S4)
My more fashionable friends buy custom cases for their phones... and they switch out these cases every few months depending on moods. No switching out the back of a Moto X.
It's the price that will kill it in the market - it's not an objectively bad phone. Limited customization isn't enough differentiation to justify this kind of price. I see little interest in 'Touchless Control' / 'OK Google Now', if comments on Anandtech and ArsTechnica posts are any indication.
So, yes, I do expect that other, maybe younger? people (I'm 25) also won't like it. For whom is this phone indeed?
I still want to see a (wooden?) Surface Pro style kickstand on a smartphone :-)
Quad core and 1080p are just for ignorant consumers who don't understand that the third and fourth cores will never be used and the extra pixels over 720p will not be seen,
I couldn't agree more. Excellent post. Five years from now when developers and UI's take advantage of multiple core procs, absolutely. Today...they mainly sit idle while consuming power. IOW, battery drain. Same as 1080p on a 5" screen. These DPI measurements are off the chart. While the 'retina' idea and push has been phenomenal for everything visually....1080p and >350 ppi is largely overrated and again, a battery suck 300-350 ppi with better contrast, whites blacks and color will, IMHO lay waste to any 1080p high density phone that forgets the 'real' attributes to what makes a 'good' display vs a 'great' display. J
*facepalm* No, I would rather spend $199 +2 years for a phone with 4 application cores (two of which are frequently unused even by the os, really just great for benchmark bumping really), and a 1080p display that 80% of consumers would not have noticed if not for told by a marketing team that gets barely three hours of actual screen on time and needs to be recharged two or three times a day. Oh, and dont forget that the quad core 320GPU in this thing smokes the GS4 & HTC One in nearly every benchmark... Specs are becoming less important as the user experience improves to take advantage of the HUGE amount of unused power these devices have. The nano-particle water resistance is a nice thought as well. I am all for as much power as possible but there needs to be a threshold between power & efficiency. After all, how many consumers purchase 350+HP sports cars that really don't fit their day to day lifestyle? This is more like the crossover hybrid.
Yeah, at 1.7 GHz this phone should match the HTC One for all but some games and photo editing etc. Quad core performance is nice to have but will not be noticeable for most users I would think.
A spec battle cannot be won outright. The customization options differentiates it and may give t a longer shelf life than your average flagship. Look how quickly the BB Z10 faded into obscurity. I would imagine that them flagship pricing helps cover the costs of stocking, servicing and marketing all of those back covers. Your choice. I too would chose specs (especially mi memory) than having the ability to choose from 15 different battery covers, for which I could only use one. "contextually aware" is smoke and mirrors for " 720p is good enough since we have smart indicators and microphones".
my neighbor's mom makes $72/hour on the internet. She has been unemployed for 7 months but last month her pay check was $19114 just working on the internet for a few hours. Read more on this web site... http://goo.gl/qHdAQ4
Same reaction I had. I was looking for this to be much cheaper off contract than the now likely $500 plus. Oh well, will likely wait until the next version of the Note comes out instead.
totally agree, I was hoping Nexus phone prices like $300/$350 so I can replace my SGS3 with it. Guess not, there's always the Nexus 5 to look forward to at the end of the year, hopefully with a 32GB option.
Who cares if Motorola or any other company can afford to or not?
The only thing that matters to most consumers is the price for the product. They don't care if certain companies can built products for less because of better efficiency, scale, etc.
Google can "afford" to built the Nexus line for little to no profit on the hardware side because they want to make the money on the advertisement side. There is a method to the madness.
Well it is made in USA so it will cost more. You can make cheap phones in Asia and use slave labour to do it. You as a customer have to deside if is a worth of it. I personally would like a full test of this device until I will make my desision. This seems to be extremy well done phone, so it has its merit even without the most powerfull hardware. I am guite sure that there will be customers to a phone that looks and feels nice in the hand.
I was hoping for a <$400 off-contract Nexus-type device. $199 on contract, when one can get HTC One, GS4, or iPhone 5 for the same price pretty much makes Moto X DOA.
Google should have Moto built their Nexus devices. I mean, do something with your investment. Anyway, I like the design for some reason. The 'curves' are to my likely. The price is an let down though.
This would further alienate the other Android manufacturers who except for Samsung are losing money by the bucketful and have been for years. Samsung of course won't say how much they make and are notorious liars anyway. But then so is Google.
Not attacking you but I'm tired of the excuse, Google would alienate other Android OEM's. These OEM's have had years to do something impressive with Android. Yet all they end up doing is pissing on the Android brand with crap skins and duplicate apps already incorporated to the OS. It is way past the time for OEM's to sink or swim. I say let them all sink and leave the world with only a few solid Android device makers.
For you, yes. There will likely be millions of customers who are interested in this device. It may not sell like the S4 or iPhone, but it will succeed if only because of how much marketing is planned.
720p AMOLED with RGB stripe could be a very nice screen (remember, Galaxy S3 was 720p using crappier PenTile tech). Still, I can't help but feel that this is "too little, too late."
It looks like the phone has a little lip aorund it too, meaning if you rest the phone its front on a table the screen won't contact the table, which is nice.
However, I almost feel like they should have gone even smaller, like a 4.5" screen with a smaller in-hand size. At least that would address a market niche that's not really being adequately serviced right now (remember, a 4.5" display with on screen buttons gives you about a 4.3" useable display).
This is a bit reminiscent of the new Blackberry 10 phones - OK devices, but way too late to market to make a difference.
Nice looking phone, but as you noted the price seems a bit unrealistic, especially if the off-contract price ends up being in the ~$500 range. $150 more than a Nexus 4 seems a bit optimistic considering the similar specs, even with AC Wi-Fi being a nice addition. And the software customizations just make me worry about updates. I'm also baffled at the lack of 4.3 here at launch. Not really sure why I'd want this over a N4, or the N5 which will likely come in a few months. I know those are niche devices for nerds, but I'm sure this thing will be down to $100 in a few weeks after trying to compete with the S4 and One.
When will people realize that all Nexus devices are sold at or slightly below cost? Judging from Brian's comments so far it looks like we can expect another softball review like he did with the Chromecast. Is even Anandtech now reduced to grubbing for Google ad money?
I've not seen conclusive evidence that this is the case, but even if it were... The consumer doesn't care. The economics behind the phone are entirely irrelevant, as well they should.
If you have two similar products, one 150 dollars cheaper than the other, with no significant compromise on reliability or quality, it's in the consumer's best interest to pick the cheaper option. Simple as that.
So all those Chinese companies that sell 720p / 1080p smartphones with everything equal except for the SoC and camera modules but at 30 to 60% the cost are losing money as well? I've bought my wife an SGS3 knock off that has 720p display, 4GB NAND, 1GB RAM, middling dual core SoC, changeable battery and mSD card, 5MP camera with LED flash for 165€ when the SGS3 was still selling for over 400€ here in Germany in December last year. Yes, the SGS3 has a better SoC, camera module, more NAND. But the BOM increase does not justify the 250 to 300€ it costs more.
As Darwinosx mentions, Nexus is sold with different goals...also, Nexus 4 is supposed to be bad as a PHONE. Also, this is built in the U.S., which makes it my #1 Android phone in and of itself, even if I didn't think it was otherwise pretty neat.
Come on Brian. do you really think they could've sold this phone for $200 without massively subsidizing it? Remember the Nexus 4 was also subsidized at $300...it wasn't its "real" price. Europeans quickly learned that.
TheVerge were the only idiots (for lack of a better word..such as "morons"), who said it will be $200 UNLOCKED. But that price never made sense, unless Google would subsidize it. But why would it? They're already losing money with Motorola, and they plan to invest half a billion in marketing. So why would they subsidize it?
I agree the $200 price is a bit steep on contract, though, but doesn't it have kind of iPhone specs? So I think they're trying to copy Apple here - make a phone that doesn't have the most cutting edge specs available in other phones, but it's easily sold to the masses because it's "pretty", and for a higher price.
"Europeans quickly learned that" Learned what? My girlfriend just bought the 16GB model for £290 including VAT; so that's roughly $360 excluding VAT. I'm not sure what this has "taught" me besides what I already knew which is that everything costs more here for no good reason.
I entirely agree that they're trying to make an "iPhone", though. They've even gone with an Apple-esque balance of GPU and CPU power and are differentiating their product via unique aesthetic choices.
Well the iPhone 5 was released 10 months ago. In 2 months we will see was Apple releases.
I do think that Motorola/Google is copying Apple in that hard specs don't really matter, user experience does. Until very recently various Android phones have had superior hardware to the iPhone but all of them were not as smooth as the iPhone was.
What is being sold here is a more usable device with features that Motorola/Google has determined are actually important to most users(Smaller screen), I suspect they will be very successful.
"all of them were not as smooth as the iPhone was"
I think the phrase should be "some of them". That statement is pretty much generalization. It's true some phones still produce a bit of choppiness, mainly due to carrier bloat. However, there are also devices without carrier bloat that average response time is faster than the iPhone 5.
Apple is able to sell the iPhone 5 at the price they do because it offers something different; iOS. Motorola may struggle to sell the X for $200 precisely because it doesn't offer anything different over the other $200 Android phones; they are all still Android phones. They'd probably need to use a different OS to be able to offer something that's worth the $200 asking price.
- Pink, medium res screen - Medium size battery (sans MAXX) - 32GB only, no SD slot - Medium-grade SoC - Android 4.2.2 - Quick features taken off Samsun's TouchWiz - acceleration sensing features that work hit&miss style
All this for $200/$300 locked-in to a 2-yr contract?
FAIL. Sorry Moto.
Sony, LG, Samsung and Apple will get the buyers (excl. a few people who buy it for the wooden back panel).
Oh well... Thought I would finally replace my SGS 2 with this phone, but unless they release a "China Edition" assembled in China and sold at $299 off contract, I think my S2 is going to get another year of use ^^
Phone looks great, especially the form factor (The Nexus 4 is a tad too large for my taste, but the Moto X looks perfect, slightly narrower than the S2), but there's no way I'm paying 500-600€ for a phone.
I'm concerned about the battery size. I was hoping they were going to continue with the trend of having a flagship with over 3k mAh. Battery life is really the #1 important feature to me. It doesn't matter how fast the phone is, or what features it has, if it's off because the battery is dead.
This seems like a very ordinary phone, not bad, but that doesn't really have a must-have feature, unfortunately.
I agree that it was a mistake to lock the customization to AT&T, but based on info I've heard from other sites and sources, that should only be for the first couple of months. It should be (in my opinion, for future devices) available to any carrier and even unlocked devices at launch. The LCD screen isn't something that would provide good battery life with Active Notifications, which is a large reason they went with AMOLED (the other reason is probably because they've been using AMOLED for a few years in their Razr line). Next, 4.3 just came out last week... While Samsung and HTC have been working on it, Moto's likely been doing the same for their device, but these things all take time. It's not like everything can be done overnight.
PPI increase with funny sub pixel matrix for the S line and PPI increase with standard RGB stripe for the Note line. It's been that way since the launch of the first Note, so my money is on 1080p AMOLED+ for the Note3. Nothing new or shocking about that though. :)
Interesting to see the option for wood backs. If I'm not mistaken, it's the first of its kind for mass market.
I bought a wood aftermarket replacement back for my phone, and it's quite nice compared to the original glass. Concur with the Brian's assessment on appearance, and it makes for a great feel in the hand too.
IF this device was presented at Nexus off-contract prices, I probably would have grabbed it and sold my S4. The S4 is great, except for TouchWiz which is garbage. Since rooting/altering phones (app overlays fine, custom ROMs not) is prohibited (and punishable) by my compliance overlords, having a near-stock non-$600 alternative would have been nice.
End of the year the Jolla will be available for purchase, and it'll beat every smartphone currently on the market. It might not have the beefiest SoC or the best screen, however, it'll have a evolution of the MeeGo OS (Sailfish) that can handle Android-Apps and it'll have a user-replacable battery, all for €400 without a contract. Oh, and it'll have a microSDHC-slot ofc.
Assembled in America people, if you want to pay more for what is likely that reason alone then there is finally an option for you. I personally am seriously considering it (or the HTC One), so I look forward to the review.
Wow, pretty cool. Built in the U.S.? Customizable backs? Nice design? Looks great...this is what I'd buy if I was buying an Android phone...first Android phone to actually tempt me at all. Unfortunately for better or worse I need iOS' awesome podcast support.
I wonder what made them wait so long to come out with this phone. Now coming to the point yes i have few doubts and suggestions to make here..
MIC - Firstly cant they integrate a mic port onto the phone and next to the earphone? As this will help me to use bigger and better noise cancelling earphones and record super clear notes, music or even help for phone calls.
USB - Secondly cant they integrate US3 connector which is faster to fill up those 16gb + 46gb space and which can also be used to fast charge our mobile phones?
OS - Yea even i am wondering why not 4.3 OS? Maybe they have build this phone long time back with testing done with 4.2.2 and that time 4.3 wasnt available.
Battery - I guess the standard battery these days should be atleast 3000mah capacity. Nothing less then this should be acceptable. I dont care those round edges of the phone which may make a hole in my pocket but i do care about the battery life
HDMI - yea i want this to be seen on my phone each and every time. I wan that micro or mini HDMI connector sitting where i can simply use the cord to connect it to my TV or monitor
USB: There's no point in adding USB3 support when the internal eMMC/flash can't write as fast as USB2 supports. In order to support USB3, they'd need to rework the flash controller, use different/better/faster flash, and increase the price even more.
Battery: It's over 2200 mAh, with only a dual-core CPU and low-power SAMOLED screen. Battery life should be better than most current phones.
HDMI: Would be nice if phone vendors had standardised on "micro-HDMI + micro-USB", side-by-side, the same distance apart, on the bottom of the phone. That could easily have become the "Android Dock Connector", providing (virtually) everything the Apple Dock/Lightning Connector provides, and kick-started a revolution in Android accessories. Instead, we're stuck with each individual vendor providing crappy accessories that only work with a single phone (rarely, a single phone line). :(
I still have yet to find a convincing argument for a 1080 screen <5". It's a waste of battery power and performance for something you can't see unless you're holding the phone at your eyes' minimal focal distance. I find it hard enough to see the pixels on 720 displays this size unless I'm really looking for them. What is the big deal with these marketing tickboxes that are disadvantaging all the people who don't understand? In theory, it should also take less backlight power to drive a less pixel-dense screen at equivalent brightness too.
Quad cores are much the same. I bet this device feels every bit as fast as an S4 or HTC One out of the box, if not faster due to the lower screen res and comparative lack of bloatware... I usually run with two cores disabled on my quadcore Android devices and 99.9% of the time there's no difference unless you actually care about (utterly worthless IMHO, considering how Intel and now Samsung have demonstrated the quality and consistency of its results) Antutu results. I'd rather see more of the transistor budget in these SoCs spent on a better GPU or more memory controller width as Apple have done if Android and its app ecosystem aren't eveolving fast enough to take advantage of quads today...
Which is why I have a Nexus 4 and won't be picking up any of the current generation phones when my contract expires in a month...
Still, I'd like to have the latest production technology and components in a high end, nicely made phone without these stupid battery sapping gimmicks. The Nexus 4 is the first Android phone I've owned with acceptable battery life, and this seems like a conspiracy to drag things back to the barely making it through a day nonsense my One X, Atrix, Desire Z and Desire have given me.
There is such a huge bite of style and glamour associated with this that Mot is obviously trying to market to an audience that's flattered with a "high end" phone based on said style and glamour rather than specs. I can hear it now...."What color would you like than in? How many pixels? What's that?" It's not touchable for 199, maybe 99, but many will get oh so excited they just won't be able to help themselves.
So the much hyped 'personalization' is custom backplate that is non-removable. It's WAY better to make backplate removable, which enables easy battery swap AND tons of personalization too, just like old-school phones.
I think this phone is pretty much a fail for gaining significant market share, not because it is bad, but because barely anybody can buy it. I see no turn around here for Motorola. The form factor is IMO the biggest selling point. The reason I would buy it, even though I wished it was 1-2mm thicker and had more battery. 4.7" compact is perfect. But they had a lot of publicity with many people looking what the first true Google/Motorola Spawn would be like and now they effectively have a paper launch. Marketing the ability to customize the exterior as a feature that won't be available to most people. Everywhere except the US people barely know Motorola still exists but they could have changed that had they actually launched a new device. Instead all they get is a short news piece everybody will have forgotten in a few days. The time actual phones show up in the world few people will even take notice and the killer features that really attract attention are missing too. I can see this device winning if you compare them in store (people that care little about specs and more about feel) without any idea what to buy but it won't get much attention otherwise. The price is also too high. You cannot go iphone 5 prices without having a reputable brand first. Slightly below the Samsung S4 would still be okay but not this high.
I am really wondering when and what will actually show up in europe. If they wait too long, they compete with the first Merryfield phones on european soil where made in US means little and while the iphone brand isn't as much of a competition the Motorola brand is less known than Siemens Mobile (which died a few years ago I think).
The phone is great. Specs are good enough and the form factor look spectacular. Voice features are nice to have, who knows how well they work. It seems the people that maneuvered the company into a corner where they basically work for one American mobile company only and loose most of their presence world wide, are still active in their sales&distribution department. They should replace them if they ever want to be a big player again.
It is way thicker than other flagship phones @ 10.4mm, yet packs only 2200mAh battery which is non-removable. Isn't moto well known for RAZR-thin phones years ago? Modern samsung, sony and HTC phones are around (or less than) 8mm, and sammy managed to pack 2600mAh battery which is user swappable.
10.4mm at it's thickest--remember it is contoured not flat. also, the use of 8 variable cores and Android 4.2.2 equals energy efficiency. Moto says 24 hour battery life with normal use.
It looks like a nice phone and I do like the recessed screen and color choices. The slower processor and 16 GB storage option for a premium phone are questionable. Sealed battery is not a deal killer. Lack of a SD card is not a deal killer on the 32 GB model. Kinda so on the 16 GB model. The price is crazy wrong though. The GS4, HTC One and LG G Pro are much better choices for the same money.
I agree that the 16 GB is a deal killer, especially at this premium price. It would have been nice to see Moto change the memory game by making 32 GB the base memory size at $199 and a 64 GB model for $249. This would radically alter the memory pricing structure of every competing Apple iOS product. It would also leave enough space on board for plenty of media after the OS and apps are loaded. I like the 50 GB of Google Drive space, clearly that is the feature that Google is pushing as a replacement for the MicroSD card. And I agree with them while on your home network (WiFi/LTE/4G). But where this fails is when traveling over seas or anywhere without a strong & free internet connection.
Changing to 32/64 GB internal memory would mitigate both, keeping it "premium" and selling the "just works" approach the fashionistas prefer over nerds swapping out cards.
Yup. You can thank Microsoft for that, and them charging for the FAT file system, which is INSANE that it's not under FRAND yet. Here's a convicted monopolist with a 90 percent market share in PC's, and it gets to charge everyone for "allowing" other devices to be recognized by its OS. It's stupid. It should be a FRAND patent at the very least, if not free for everyone to use.
This really seems to be the first Android phone that has been designed for experience and not just for specs. I think that as a whole, the smartphone community has become obsessed with specifications and fringe performance cases and less about real world performance and usability. I've used a GS4 and it stutters and lags in some of the most used stock apps; Messages is the biggest offender in my opinion with visible lags between when the keyboard renders onscreen and when the text history redraws above it. Obviously a quad core CPU isnt the solution. Neither is 1080p. 720p in a phone is still incredibly rich and detailed. Even more important is color accuracy, gamut and contrast. Not driving 125% more pixels for greatly diminishing returns in clarity and a persistent blueish hue.
People want long battery life, quality construction, hardware visual appeal and smooth performance. Like it or not, this is why Apple still makes the best product. HTC is close with the One but their legacy of poor execution has scared away a lot of buyers. The GS4 is an impressive phone on paper but doesnt have an overall theme. It feels like a bunch of independent, half baked ideas that have been cobbled together and the hardware is nothing to get excited about. A friend has had one for about 2 months and it's in pretty rough shape with scratches and this odd crease in the extreme corner of the screen. They have marketed the snot out of their products and they sell. It's also easier to SELL ALL THE CORES in the aggressive environment of in-store, comission based sales.
Early benchmarks puts 3D performance ahead of the GS4's BenchmarkBoosting shenanigans. Good code will take advantage of the GPU horsepower. Dual core is currently the apex of SoC design from a power vs performance perspective. Apple will likely have dual core in the upcoming iPhone and perhaps even the next iPad again for the battery life and optimized performance they are able to deliver. Is that a mid-range phone as well? Say what you want about specs, but optimizing experience is everything. Kudos to Moto for making a serious effort at delivering that premium experience.
Nicely said, I think you have the best comment in this thread. There's no point of quad-core if your phone is still stuttering. Samsung and the others should be hang for associating Android with high spec requires, can't believe how many iFans are taunting "oh look at your quad-core phones and look at it's stuttering, versus my dual core phones and running smoother".
When testing the WiFi please test how much it varies over time especially with a lot of interference. For example, how much the data rate and latency changes. This can greatly affect streaming (voice/video chatting and video/audio streaming) and large data transfers.
You can test the peak transfer rate if you want but that's not really useful for most real world tasks.
Considering the type of equipment and space you would need to correctly test that, don't think it'll happen. You'd have to have a huge area that you control so that you can produce interference in a repeatable way. And you can't do that unless you live in the desert or build yourself a nice bunker. :D And in any case, you yourself would need to know the actual conditions of the interference in your own area to draw any kind of conclusion from the tests performed. Which I doubt you can do.
Still, showing a time graph of the WiFi's stability is better than just showing the max speed they're getting using iPerf. In both cases, the interference is still unknown.
Does the touchless control work if any person says "OK Google Now" or is it complex enough to lock onto your voice only? If not then can this the touchless control be completely disabled?
From the article: "It works surprisingly well, maybe even too well, as even after training saying “OK Google Now” can turn on every Moto X around you. Just something to be aware of."
I can actually understand the cost. You have to remember it is being assembled here and not in China. That adds alot of the cost to make the device. People might say screw that, give me the cheapest device with the best hardware. Well I for one am going to buy it and if I don't like it I will hand it off to a family member. You never know, you might be out of a job one day and ask why? Because it was cheaper to do your job somewhere else.
Most global companies' (e.g. samsung) are doing major stuff (design / marketing / R&D) in US and only manufactures in china. I just don't get why peoples are weighing that much on simple 'assmbly' done in US.
Why are the pictures inside, of that lady on the phone, so filled with noise? I'd be very interested to find out what's causing that as all the other pictures looked very sharp. Was it on auto ISO?
Also wondering what "the 5 major networks in the US" are. Since I'm only aware of ATT, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile for actual networks.
Shame the battery isn't removable; also a little confused as to why the screen isn't 1080p for a "flagship" device. Not the end of the world certainly but you'd think they'd want to put their best foot forward. At the same time, I think certain choices were made for stability and reliability which is always the most important thing when you get right down to it. Disagree? How long would you use a phone that wasn't stable?
"platform direction from Google with the price to back it up, which would've been $199 with no contract."
Brian - you surely meant $399... no contract/subsidy price - right?
And if you did, I would agree. Perhaps a max of $425 for the 16 GB model. Skip 32 GB. Say, $500 for a 64 GB model. Extra 48 GB of high quality eMMC costs approx. $50, so that would be fair price.
Far too expensive relative to the competition, which has been on the market for a good 6-10 months already. This phone should be free w/ 2 year or $200-300 max without contract. Not sure how Motorola/google expect to sell any of these as it is, especially now that real flagship handsets for Apple, Samsung, HTC are going for $100 or less.
$200 without a contract? I don't think people have a clue how these phones are made. What phone do you know that has these specs and costs $200 without contract, and isn't some garbage Chinese clone that only sells in one Chinese town?
Google just released the new Nexus 7 with basically the same guts, bigger screen, bigger chassis for $230 so I do think I have a clue how these phones are made and how much they cost.
Unfortunately for the smart phone industry, there are now tablets that tell us the true BoM on these phones, they don't cost anywhere close to what they charge you for out of contract, the price you pay with 2 yr. agreement is pretty much cost for them, they just eat the profit they would've made if you bought it outright and instead amortize it over the life of your 2 yr. plan.
Nice phone, bad price. The actual BOM for a flagship phone is 200-250 USD, by the way. All in all, this is the HTC One Mini hardware, priced like HTC One. Why should I choose it?
I need a phone but only once in a while for special cases. But I play a lot of media. Any electronic box I carry around must be able to swap media sets in and out quickly. With (micro)SD I can change 16GB or even 64GB in 5 sec - with no wires... and carry both sets with me. Filling fixed storage via USB is pathetic compared to that. I'm not going to buy pathetic. And to all those who say "you really don't need SD"... you're right. You don't. However, I and many others do. So stop apologizing for minimalist feature-weak designs.
The "always listening" part would qualify for Apple to copy to make Siri Always On feature. I suspect the algorithm would also detect movement (and directional movement as such or that part is done by the Contextual AP and passed to NLP AP). Like voicemail, the talking-to-machine part is more likely a US centric usage model while ROW (rest-of-world) prefers a silent usage model. The software would no doubt need a lot of refinement to make such features useful. If there is no >95% accurate speech recognition, most people would likely stay away or only use it for trivial tasks like setting alarm, reminders, book appointment. Still, I would think, this is innovation in a good way. It would not be long for software-only solutions to show up.
Not aligned with the industry of having larger and larger displays? I'm not sure if I can agree with that. Its display is bigger than the latest Nokia phones and as big as the latest HTC flagship phone, and slightly smaller than the latest Samsung ditto. I'd say it is aligned right in the middle of that trend. :)
The device looks good, but the SIM-free $575 (and on-contract $200) price is a bloody joke for a device with these specs. The SIM-free price is too close to the GS4 and HTC One GPE versions for the Moto X to make any sense at that price.
Is the Cirrus Logic Audio - Ultra-Low Power, 4-Channel Microphone A/D Converter Enhances Performance for Voice Applications CS53L30 inside the Motorola Moto X ??
Can someone -please- explain to me why every good feature of a phone is AT&T exclusive? Black, 64 GB HTC One in practical uses, and all the customization options with this now? Do they just pay Google and HTC a bunch of money for exclusive rights?
Sony used this technology in their smartphones a few years ago. They called the pixel a white pixel instead of clear but the technology is the same. They pulled it from their future smartphones because it would blow out the pic in low light
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DigitalFreak - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
This is Moto's "flagship" phone? LMAOprophet001 - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
What armchairs do to quarterbacks amazes me.Jumangi - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Its got a duel core CPU and a 720p display. That's not what you pay $199 + 2 years for. Its 2013 not 2011.Dentons - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Sad to say, but you're right.Even though almost no one can truly tell the difference between 720 and 1080 on such a tiny screen, the dated processor, lack of microSD expandability, lack of spare battery, and small screen size mean I won't be able to recommend this to anyone.
There are far better options available at the same price point. Tentatively, this looks to be a failure of imagination. Compared to the amount of hype, it's likely to be an outright failure.
pseudo7 - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
No microSD and no spare battery isn't a huge deal - i'd say most people don't need it, they just think they do.Reflex - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Yup, I thought I needed it, turns out I don't. Moved to a phone without it last October and I just don't miss either feature despite my earlier misgivings.I'd be more concerned with the out of date silicon and low res screen than with expandability options hardly anyone uses.
Zink - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
I have no problem with 720p at 4.7", it is the same DPI as an iPhone and Galaxy Note II users say 720p, even at 5.5", is good enough for the best phone available. Personally I care more about how the phone looks and the software than if I can detect perfect sharpness from 6" away. The SOC also isn't completely last gen, it is faster than a what the GSIII and Nexus 4 have for most task hopefully.jt122333221 - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
The silicon isn't "out of date" though - it's using two Krait 300 cores, which is the same core the 600 uses. While it's only two cores instead of four, it's still got a lot of power behind it. If it were made up with Krait 200 cores, that would be last year's silicon (your standard S4, found in the US versions of the One X and SIII).Gigaplex - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
The S4 doesn't use Krait 200. The quad variant uses Krait 300 and the "octa" uses a mix of Cortex A15 and Cortex A7.ParkNation - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
The S4 certainly does use Krait 200 - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snapdragon_S4 - the new chip in the only one in the entire S4 family to have Krait 300 CPUs. Methinks you've got Samsung on the brain and thought ppl were talking about the SGS4 phone, not the Snapdragon S4 SoC (these acronyms can get confusing).ollienightly - Monday, August 5, 2013 - link
In actuality the newer batches of the older named S4 have exactly the same Krait 300 cores, just as found in the new Nexus 7. It would be insane for Qualcomm to make both 200 and 300 based chip at the same time considering they cost pretty much the same.jleach1 - Wednesday, August 7, 2013 - link
They're talking about the Galaxy S4. Discern the difference.Jorgisven - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
S4 (snapdragon) ≠ SGS4. The SGS4 uses the 600 or 800 Snapdragon, which is what you describe (and also has the possibility of Krait 400, if it's the 800). The SGS4 does not use the Snapdragon S4, which almost all models use a dual-core Krait, with one model exception (APQ8064) that uses quad core Krait.ollienightly - Monday, August 5, 2013 - link
apparently you can't read properly, how do you find a G"S4" inside the "US versions of the One X and SIII" ?jleach1 - Wednesday, August 7, 2013 - link
The cores might be modular, but the design is not. An SoC is not a ram slot. You don't take a silicon wafer, and plop a couple, or a few cores in it and call it a day. This isn't an Intel or AMD CPU either, whrere the processors are the same, just with a varying amount of cores disabled. You don't even take into account the GPU, or the rest of the System.khanov - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
You both will be very happy to have a spare, user-replacable battery when your original battery dies. I had a RAZR V and the battery (not user-replaceable) lasted just over one year. Out of warranty Moto wanted $150 to fix it.I won't ever buy a phone that does not have a user-replaceable battery again.
jbrandonf - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
At that point your warranty is already up, find a computer repair shop and have someone do it for less than a hundred bucks.Hrel - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Shouldn't have to do that at all though, I can get over the SD card, it's nice to have but as long as the device can function as simple external storage in Windows I'm fine. User replaceable battery really isn't optional for anyone who keeps their phone for 2+ years. Which, if you change your phone more than that you're just too rich to even know what to do with yourself.darwinosx - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
That's a crap battery and before long there will be no phones with replaceable batteries or sd card slots so get used to it.krutou - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
And I've been using a Samsung Focus for the last 3 years and have never had to replace the battery.The problem is with the phone, not the fact that its not replacable.
hrrmph - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
I've got 3 devices: Z10, Note 2, Nexus 7 3G. The one that bugs me the most is the N7. Why?1. Because its the slowest to get data in and out of (due to not having a MicroSD slot);
2. It can't hold much data (due to not having a MicroSD slot);
3. Its slow to change a SIM chip (due to needing a tool to open the SIM carrier tray and the awkwardness of using the SIM carrier tray because the chip is always trying to slide out while you change it, such as when doing so on airplanes or boats); and
4. Changing a battery without tools is impossible (due to not having a removable back).
Compare that to the Samsung S4 where you just pop the back cover off and have access to Dual-SIMs, Micro-SDXC slot, and Battery, all ready for easy swapping and replacements.
The Moto-X brings an interesting size, a curved back, and WiFi-AC. Otherwise, it is lacking.
It is a "good enough" phone that will succeed only due to the massive marketing push behind it. It reminds me of those AOL CDs that used to fall out of magazines.
A lot of people are going to try it because its "there." They'll like it because its "close enough." And they'll feel good about it because it has some interesting colors.
It looks like Motorola is getting ready to fire up it's own "Reality Distortion Field." Mark my words, here comes another iteration of "form over function." And people will buy it, hook, line, and sinker. Kind of reminds you of Lumia, doesn't it?
skytophall - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
..."It reminds me of those AOL CDs that used to fall out of magazines"...now that's funny!darwinosx - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Too bad they don't have the Nexus 7 in 32 gb right?ESC2000 - Monday, August 12, 2013 - link
... they do have the nexus 7 in 32 GB... and i can tell you it is unequivocally the best small tablet on the market unless you cannot bear to give up iosDentons - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Not everyone has the same use case.If you travel, having a spare battery (or 3) is a tremendous benefit. I can carry 3 spare Samsung Galaxy batteries in the space of a single 3rd party chargers. I never have to hunt for outlets and can go for days at a time.
As for the lack of microSD, the only reason it's missing is because Motorola is pompous. They believe their phone is good enough to compete without a feature that would cost them pennies. Their phone is not that good. No phone is that good, exactly because some of the best phones in the world do have microSD.
For most customers, this phone will be exactly the same price as phones like the HTC One and Galaxy Note. This is Motorola's flagship phone. Compared to the flagship phones of Samsung, HTC, and Apple, the X is a failure.
Brutuski - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Why yes... Apparently I have found room in my anus for both Verizon and Motorola to shove their dicks in there. $199 on contract for last years hardware, sure!jbrandonf - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
A little graphic there but I agree with your point.jbrandonf - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Google removed the ability to install apps to SD cards, of course the Google-owned Moto isn't going to then throw in a card.Where they messed up is by defaulting to 16gb and making 32 exclusive. With more and more HD content available for phones(HD cameras,larger apps, movie rentals) 32gb will need to be the new standard.
darwinosx - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
The carriers love 16 gb with as little space available as possible so you store as much as possible in the cloud and use a lot of bandwidth. It's a racket.lunarx3dfx - Monday, August 5, 2013 - link
Um, I agree with you that being able to change batteries is a per use case type of preference, but your thoughts about the reasoning behind no microSD slot is dead wrong. It isn't missing because Motorola is pompous, it's because they are owned by Google and Google has been trying to eliminate microSD in Android for a few years now. This is old news.Seeing as Motorola is owned by Google now, I would say it is safe to assume that all future Motorola devices will lack microSD support.
That being said, while I really like the design of the X, I agree that it is overpriced, and Moto's attempt to make it sound competitive by claiming it has "8 cores" is just sad. Give me a Nexus 4 or a HTC One any day of the week over this thing.
JlHADJOE - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
I recently ditched my iPod in favor of connecting an external portable DAC/headphone amp to my SGS4. The SD card is pretty useful when you want to keep a decent-sized media library.I prefer to use .flacs, so what little the OS leaves of the internal storage after the is hardly going to be enough space.
shaolin95 - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
So just because you dont need it you think the majority of the world is with you right? Time to get out of that egotrip and realize the world does not revolve around you.jmunjr - Saturday, August 3, 2013 - link
I replace my battery several times a week and I used extended batteries too so I get a lot of up time with my phone. I constanty an on the move so using a charger is not always feasible. Having spare batteries to swap is a godsend.Maybe I am the exception but I frankly think most people just don't know what they are missing.
jleach1 - Wednesday, August 7, 2013 - link
Annnndddd......people like you absolutely do a disservice to everyone. By the time 32gb becomes standard, an increase in storage needs will render it just as small as 16gb is now. And because people continue to pay 50-100 bucks for just 16gb extra (more often than not, it's $100), ODM's will continue to charge that much for an increase that costs them in the single digits (and 80-90% of that is just the one-time fixed costs of starting parallel production).Davidjan - Sunday, August 25, 2013 - link
No MicroSD is not a problem, because I can use this reader to expand storage easily: http://goo.gl/U6IyYWolfpup - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
The CPU isn't dated. It's entirely current, clocked too fast is anything, and I'm not aware of "far better" android options.lunarx3dfx - Monday, August 5, 2013 - link
You are right, it is current in that it is currently being manufactured by Qualcomm. What it isn't is top of the line, which this thing is priced as. To warrant the price the X needed a 1080p display and a quad core Snapdragon 600 at the least. As it is now, it doesn't compete with the far better android options of the Nexus 4 or the HTC One.Davidjan - Sunday, August 25, 2013 - link
Why don't we use this tiny reader to add storage : http://goo.gl/U6IyY ?themossie - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Agreed. Who is this phone for? What's the market? This phone isn't better than my year-old Evo 4G LTE... smaller usable screen (onscreen buttons), slightly better processor, more RAM, worse screen, no kickstand.Before my current phone, every smartphone I've owned was Motorola. Why?
- Dedicated HDMI out (HDMI+USB OTG is great)
- Great screens (Droid 1 and 2, pre-pentile)
- Top-notch specs
- MicroSD (most phones had this all of 2 years ago)
- Removable battery
- Best talk battery life!
- Keyboard (in the Droid 1-4 days...)
This phone has none of those except (maybe) the battery life.
themossie - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
* accidental submit...This will alienate traditional Motorola customers, assuming I'm at all typical. So. Where's the market for a midrange phone at a high-end price without any differentiation except wood?
Finally... If you have to do wood... give me a Surface Pro-style wooden kickstand :-)
UpSpin - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Compared to your Evo 4G LTE the Motorola:- has a better (if you love OLED) or at least equivalent screen (no Pentile!)
- a faster CPU
- a much faster GPU
- more RAM
- much more responsive interactions, simpler usage of Google Now and probably longer standby time thanks to the dedicated natural language processor and contextual processor
- (for root) same usable screen (you can switch them off) and use Pie Control instead
- better camera
- overall smaller
- but most importantly: customizable.
So for whom is this phone? Probably young people who want to have their personal device instead of a phone everyone has.
PS: Not every phone must be suited for you, and just because you don't like it, doesn't mean that others, maybe younger people with different interests, use cases and priorities (like personalization instead of a kickstand), also don't like it.
themossie - Saturday, August 3, 2013 - link
My comment was intended to show how Motorola is alienating much of their previous smartphone audience. Other comments have amply criticized this phone spec-wise in comparison with current-generation phones in its price range, so I did my best to give a different perspective :-)The best anyone has said in its defense is "it's good enough" (yes, but not cheap enough for 'good enough') and "it's customizable" (check out custom battery doors for the Galaxy S3/S4)
My more fashionable friends buy custom cases for their phones... and they switch out these cases every few months depending on moods. No switching out the back of a Moto X.
It's the price that will kill it in the market - it's not an objectively bad phone. Limited customization isn't enough differentiation to justify this kind of price. I see little interest in 'Touchless Control' / 'OK Google Now', if comments on Anandtech and ArsTechnica posts are any indication.
So, yes, I do expect that other, maybe younger? people (I'm 25) also won't like it. For whom is this phone indeed?
I still want to see a (wooden?) Surface Pro style kickstand on a smartphone :-)
- The Mossie
Krysto - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Tell that to Nokia, too.CSMR - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Quad core and 1080p are just for ignorant consumers who don't understand that the third and fourth cores will never be used and the extra pixels over 720p will not be seen,darwinosx - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Agree on the cores. Not sure I do on 720 vs 1080 tho. I would.akdj - Monday, August 5, 2013 - link
I couldn't agree more. Excellent post. Five years from now when developers and UI's take advantage of multiple core procs, absolutely. Today...they mainly sit idle while consuming power. IOW, battery drain.Same as 1080p on a 5" screen. These DPI measurements are off the chart. While the 'retina' idea and push has been phenomenal for everything visually....1080p and >350 ppi is largely overrated and again, a battery suck
300-350 ppi with better contrast, whites blacks and color will, IMHO lay waste to any 1080p high density phone that forgets the 'real' attributes to what makes a 'good' display vs a 'great' display.
J
gallen408 - Saturday, August 10, 2013 - link
*facepalm* No, I would rather spend $199 +2 years for a phone with 4 application cores (two of which are frequently unused even by the os, really just great for benchmark bumping really), and a 1080p display that 80% of consumers would not have noticed if not for told by a marketing team that gets barely three hours of actual screen on time and needs to be recharged two or three times a day. Oh, and dont forget that the quad core 320GPU in this thing smokes the GS4 & HTC One in nearly every benchmark...Specs are becoming less important as the user experience improves to take advantage of the HUGE amount of unused power these devices have. The nano-particle water resistance is a nice thought as well.
I am all for as much power as possible but there needs to be a threshold between power & efficiency. After all, how many consumers purchase 350+HP sports cars that really don't fit their day to day lifestyle? This is more like the crossover hybrid.
StormyParis - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
'coz we all know the Antutu score is the most important feature of a phone. Which is why my PC is the best phone, ever !Zink - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Yeah, at 1.7 GHz this phone should match the HTC One for all but some games and photo editing etc. Quad core performance is nice to have but will not be noticeable for most users I would think.flyguy29 - Monday, August 5, 2013 - link
A spec battle cannot be won outright. The customization options differentiates it and may give t a longer shelf life than your average flagship. Look how quickly the BB Z10 faded into obscurity. I would imagine that them flagship pricing helps cover the costs of stocking, servicing and marketing all of those back covers. Your choice. I too would chose specs (especially mi memory) than having the ability to choose from 15 different battery covers, for which I could only use one. "contextually aware" is smoke and mirrors for " 720p is good enough since we have smart indicators and microphones".BryanDobbins - Saturday, August 17, 2013 - link
my neighbor's mom makes $72/hour on the internet. She has been unemployed for 7 months but last month her pay check was $19114 just working on the internet for a few hours. Read more on this web site... http://goo.gl/qHdAQ4gobaers - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
8960Pro is mid-range now? Man, things move fast in this business.sherlockwing - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
LG is announcing a 8974(Snapdragon 800) phone with 5.2" 1080p display in 6 days, ofc a 8960Pro 720p phone is mid-range.Paulman - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
It's dual corePiano Man - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
$199/$249 on a 2 year contract for this phone? What a let down.kosmonautbruce - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Same reaction I had. I was looking for this to be much cheaper off contract than the now likely $500 plus. Oh well, will likely wait until the next version of the Note comes out instead.amdwilliam1985 - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
totally agree, I was hoping Nexus phone prices like $300/$350 so I can replace my SGS3 with it. Guess not, there's always the Nexus 5 to look forward to at the end of the year, hopefully with a 32GB option.darwinosx - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Motorola cannot afford to make phones for no profit like the Nexus line.zlandar - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Who cares if Motorola or any other company can afford to or not?The only thing that matters to most consumers is the price for the product. They don't care if certain companies can built products for less because of better efficiency, scale, etc.
Google can "afford" to built the Nexus line for little to no profit on the hardware side because they want to make the money on the advertisement side. There is a method to the madness.
KZ0 - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Motorola probably cares if they make a profit. They happen to set the price as well.haukionkannel - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Well it is made in USA so it will cost more. You can make cheap phones in Asia and use slave labour to do it. You as a customer have to deside if is a worth of it.I personally would like a full test of this device until I will make my desision. This seems to be extremy well done phone, so it has its merit even without the most powerfull hardware. I am guite sure that there will be customers to a phone that looks and feels nice in the hand.
darwinosx - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
It is assembled in the US with parts made in Asia. Big difference. And it's Texas where they have slave labor wages.darwinosx - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Because if they don't make a profit they go out of business. Did you really have to have that explained.gorskiegangsta - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Indeed it is. :(I was hoping for a <$400 off-contract Nexus-type device. $199 on contract, when one can get HTC One, GS4, or iPhone 5 for the same price pretty much makes Moto X DOA.
boot318 - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Google should have Moto built their Nexus devices. I mean, do something with your investment. Anyway, I like the design for some reason. The 'curves' are to my likely. The price is an let down though.Thanks for this preview @ Anandtech and Brian
darwinosx - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
This would further alienate the other Android manufacturers who except for Samsung are losing money by the bucketful and have been for years. Samsung of course won't say how much they make and are notorious liars anyway. But then so is Google.dNj - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Not attacking you but I'm tired of the excuse, Google would alienate other Android OEM's. These OEM's have had years to do something impressive with Android. Yet all they end up doing is pissing on the Android brand with crap skins and duplicate apps already incorporated to the OS. It is way past the time for OEM's to sink or swim. I say let them all sink and leave the world with only a few solid Android device makers.darwinosx - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
I suppose I agree but I doubt Google would.krutou - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Good luck with that.Android phones are popular but Google isn't automatically godly at making and selling phones.
darwinosx - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
"The idea of a wood-backed phone excites me"Seriously?
This phone will be a flop.
jt122333221 - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
For you, yes. There will likely be millions of customers who are interested in this device. It may not sell like the S4 or iPhone, but it will succeed if only because of how much marketing is planned.jiffylube1024 - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
720p AMOLED with RGB stripe could be a very nice screen (remember, Galaxy S3 was 720p using crappier PenTile tech). Still, I can't help but feel that this is "too little, too late."It looks like the phone has a little lip aorund it too, meaning if you rest the phone its front on a table the screen won't contact the table, which is nice.
However, I almost feel like they should have gone even smaller, like a 4.5" screen with a smaller in-hand size. At least that would address a market niche that's not really being adequately serviced right now (remember, a 4.5" display with on screen buttons gives you about a 4.3" useable display).
This is a bit reminiscent of the new Blackberry 10 phones - OK devices, but way too late to market to make a difference.
Bob Todd - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Nice looking phone, but as you noted the price seems a bit unrealistic, especially if the off-contract price ends up being in the ~$500 range. $150 more than a Nexus 4 seems a bit optimistic considering the similar specs, even with AC Wi-Fi being a nice addition. And the software customizations just make me worry about updates. I'm also baffled at the lack of 4.3 here at launch. Not really sure why I'd want this over a N4, or the N5 which will likely come in a few months. I know those are niche devices for nerds, but I'm sure this thing will be down to $100 in a few weeks after trying to compete with the S4 and One.darwinosx - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
When will people realize that all Nexus devices are sold at or slightly below cost?Judging from Brian's comments so far it looks like we can expect another softball review like he did with the Chromecast. Is even Anandtech now reduced to grubbing for Google ad money?
eallan - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
People will probably realize it when there is evidence to back up that claim.matt30 - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Yeah. Not true.http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2013/07/3...
Friendly0Fire - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
I've not seen conclusive evidence that this is the case, but even if it were... The consumer doesn't care. The economics behind the phone are entirely irrelevant, as well they should.If you have two similar products, one 150 dollars cheaper than the other, with no significant compromise on reliability or quality, it's in the consumer's best interest to pick the cheaper option. Simple as that.
Death666Angel - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
So all those Chinese companies that sell 720p / 1080p smartphones with everything equal except for the SoC and camera modules but at 30 to 60% the cost are losing money as well? I've bought my wife an SGS3 knock off that has 720p display, 4GB NAND, 1GB RAM, middling dual core SoC, changeable battery and mSD card, 5MP camera with LED flash for 165€ when the SGS3 was still selling for over 400€ here in Germany in December last year. Yes, the SGS3 has a better SoC, camera module, more NAND. But the BOM increase does not justify the 250 to 300€ it costs more.Wolfpup - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
As Darwinosx mentions, Nexus is sold with different goals...also, Nexus 4 is supposed to be bad as a PHONE. Also, this is built in the U.S., which makes it my #1 Android phone in and of itself, even if I didn't think it was otherwise pretty neat.Krysto - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Come on Brian. do you really think they could've sold this phone for $200 without massively subsidizing it? Remember the Nexus 4 was also subsidized at $300...it wasn't its "real" price. Europeans quickly learned that.TheVerge were the only idiots (for lack of a better word..such as "morons"), who said it will be $200 UNLOCKED. But that price never made sense, unless Google would subsidize it. But why would it? They're already losing money with Motorola, and they plan to invest half a billion in marketing. So why would they subsidize it?
I agree the $200 price is a bit steep on contract, though, but doesn't it have kind of iPhone specs? So I think they're trying to copy Apple here - make a phone that doesn't have the most cutting edge specs available in other phones, but it's easily sold to the masses because it's "pretty", and for a higher price.
sherlockwing - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
It have GS4 Mini/HTC One Mini specs aside from a larger screen, yet is priced to compete with GS4 & HTC One. That's the fatal flaw with this phone.Spunjji - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
"Europeans quickly learned that"Learned what? My girlfriend just bought the 16GB model for £290 including VAT; so that's roughly $360 excluding VAT. I'm not sure what this has "taught" me besides what I already knew which is that everything costs more here for no good reason.
I entirely agree that they're trying to make an "iPhone", though. They've even gone with an Apple-esque balance of GPU and CPU power and are differentiating their product via unique aesthetic choices.
Grennum - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Well the iPhone 5 was released 10 months ago. In 2 months we will see was Apple releases.I do think that Motorola/Google is copying Apple in that hard specs don't really matter, user experience does. Until very recently various Android phones have had superior hardware to the iPhone but all of them were not as smooth as the iPhone was.
What is being sold here is a more usable device with features that Motorola/Google has determined are actually important to most users(Smaller screen), I suspect they will be very successful.
divinitus - Thursday, August 8, 2013 - link
"all of them were not as smooth as the iPhone was"I think the phrase should be "some of them". That statement is pretty much generalization. It's true some phones still produce a bit of choppiness, mainly due to carrier bloat. However, there are also devices without carrier bloat that average response time is faster than the iPhone 5.
mrochester - Wednesday, August 7, 2013 - link
Apple is able to sell the iPhone 5 at the price they do because it offers something different; iOS. Motorola may struggle to sell the X for $200 precisely because it doesn't offer anything different over the other $200 Android phones; they are all still Android phones. They'd probably need to use a different OS to be able to offer something that's worth the $200 asking price.halcyon - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
- Pink, medium res screen- Medium size battery (sans MAXX)
- 32GB only, no SD slot
- Medium-grade SoC
- Android 4.2.2
- Quick features taken off Samsun's TouchWiz
- acceleration sensing features that work hit&miss style
All this for $200/$300 locked-in to a 2-yr contract?
FAIL. Sorry Moto.
Sony, LG, Samsung and Apple will get the buyers (excl. a few people who buy it for the wooden back panel).
BlueScreenJunky - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Oh well... Thought I would finally replace my SGS 2 with this phone, but unless they release a "China Edition" assembled in China and sold at $299 off contract, I think my S2 is going to get another year of use ^^Phone looks great, especially the form factor (The Nexus 4 is a tad too large for my taste, but the Moto X looks perfect, slightly narrower than the S2), but there's no way I'm paying 500-600€ for a phone.
twtech - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
I'm concerned about the battery size. I was hoping they were going to continue with the trend of having a flagship with over 3k mAh. Battery life is really the #1 important feature to me. It doesn't matter how fast the phone is, or what features it has, if it's off because the battery is dead.This seems like a very ordinary phone, not bad, but that doesn't really have a must-have feature, unfortunately.
Mondozai - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Just no.Price that high for contract? Their major selling point(customization) only for one operator? No LCD screen?
Also, being owned by Google and still being on 4.2.2?
Just no.
jt122333221 - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
I agree that it was a mistake to lock the customization to AT&T, but based on info I've heard from other sites and sources, that should only be for the first couple of months. It should be (in my opinion, for future devices) available to any carrier and even unlocked devices at launch. The LCD screen isn't something that would provide good battery life with Active Notifications, which is a large reason they went with AMOLED (the other reason is probably because they've been using AMOLED for a few years in their Razr line). Next, 4.3 just came out last week... While Samsung and HTC have been working on it, Moto's likely been doing the same for their device, but these things all take time. It's not like everything can be done overnight.Ydeme - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
At least it looks like Samsung is pushing ppi in RGB AMOLEDs. Maybe a 1080 RGB panel for the Note III isn't out of the question.Spunjji - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Agreed, especially given that this device already has the same sub-pixel layout at an incrementally higher density than the Note II.Death666Angel - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
PPI increase with funny sub pixel matrix for the S line and PPI increase with standard RGB stripe for the Note line. It's been that way since the launch of the first Note, so my money is on 1080p AMOLED+ for the Note3. Nothing new or shocking about that though. :)mygocarp - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Interesting to see the option for wood backs. If I'm not mistaken, it's the first of its kind for mass market.I bought a wood aftermarket replacement back for my phone, and it's quite nice compared to the original glass. Concur with the Brian's assessment on appearance, and it makes for a great feel in the hand too.
shermanx - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
"made in USA" is hard to catch up in speed with sweat factories in Asia where they can call people up anytime to work overtime from on-site dorms.jt122333221 - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Alternatively, Mandatory OT is an option here in the US. It's unavoidable (depending on the state) unless there's a valid medical reason.01nb - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
IF this device was presented at Nexus off-contract prices, I probably would have grabbed it and sold my S4. The S4 is great, except for TouchWiz which is garbage. Since rooting/altering phones (app overlays fine, custom ROMs not) is prohibited (and punishable) by my compliance overlords, having a near-stock non-$600 alternative would have been nice.Oh well. Maybe the next Nexus...
barry spock - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
I'm still finalizing my wood too, but this phone does look pretty exciting.mrdude - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
"The camera sensor is 16:9, and the preview is likewise 16:9, so there’s at least no cropping going on."If you read the line above closely, you can make out Brian breathing a sigh of relief, followed by a whisper of "Thank God."
JNo - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Small point but you write, "The Moto X is a hugely aspirational product for Motorola, nee Google."née meaning 'born' from the french past participle of naître. So I think it should read:
"The Moto X is a hugely aspirational product for Google, née Motorola."
jrs77 - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
End of the year the Jolla will be available for purchase, and it'll beat every smartphone currently on the market.It might not have the beefiest SoC or the best screen, however, it'll have a evolution of the MeeGo OS (Sailfish) that can handle Android-Apps and it'll have a user-replacable battery, all for €400 without a contract. Oh, and it'll have a microSDHC-slot ofc.
I can't wait :)
Krysto - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Will it beat the Ubuntu Edge in sales?crabperson - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Assembled in America people, if you want to pay more for what is likely that reason alone then there is finally an option for you. I personally am seriously considering it (or the HTC One), so I look forward to the review.Wolfpup - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Wow, pretty cool. Built in the U.S.? Customizable backs? Nice design? Looks great...this is what I'd buy if I was buying an Android phone...first Android phone to actually tempt me at all. Unfortunately for better or worse I need iOS' awesome podcast support.sherlockwing - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Android Podcasting apps is as good as IOS's, Pocket Cast is very good.ruzveh - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
I wonder what made them wait so long to come out with this phone. Now coming to the point yes i have few doubts and suggestions to make here..MIC - Firstly cant they integrate a mic port onto the phone and next to the earphone? As this will help me to use bigger and better noise cancelling earphones and record super clear notes, music or even help for phone calls.
USB - Secondly cant they integrate US3 connector which is faster to fill up those 16gb + 46gb space and which can also be used to fast charge our mobile phones?
OS - Yea even i am wondering why not 4.3 OS? Maybe they have build this phone long time back with testing done with 4.2.2 and that time 4.3 wasnt available.
Battery - I guess the standard battery these days should be atleast 3000mah capacity. Nothing less then this should be acceptable. I dont care those round edges of the phone which may make a hole in my pocket but i do care about the battery life
HDMI - yea i want this to be seen on my phone each and every time. I wan that micro or mini HDMI connector sitting where i can simply use the cord to connect it to my TV or monitor
USB Host - is this possible?
phoenix_rizzen - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
USB: There's no point in adding USB3 support when the internal eMMC/flash can't write as fast as USB2 supports. In order to support USB3, they'd need to rework the flash controller, use different/better/faster flash, and increase the price even more.Battery: It's over 2200 mAh, with only a dual-core CPU and low-power SAMOLED screen. Battery life should be better than most current phones.
HDMI: Would be nice if phone vendors had standardised on "micro-HDMI + micro-USB", side-by-side, the same distance apart, on the bottom of the phone. That could easily have become the "Android Dock Connector", providing (virtually) everything the Apple Dock/Lightning Connector provides, and kick-started a revolution in Android accessories. Instead, we're stuck with each individual vendor providing crappy accessories that only work with a single phone (rarely, a single phone line). :(
ayqazi - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
I stopped reading when I realised it had a pentile display...piroroadkill - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
It doesn't...Azurael - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
I still have yet to find a convincing argument for a 1080 screen <5". It's a waste of battery power and performance for something you can't see unless you're holding the phone at your eyes' minimal focal distance. I find it hard enough to see the pixels on 720 displays this size unless I'm really looking for them. What is the big deal with these marketing tickboxes that are disadvantaging all the people who don't understand? In theory, it should also take less backlight power to drive a less pixel-dense screen at equivalent brightness too.Quad cores are much the same. I bet this device feels every bit as fast as an S4 or HTC One out of the box, if not faster due to the lower screen res and comparative lack of bloatware... I usually run with two cores disabled on my quadcore Android devices and 99.9% of the time there's no difference unless you actually care about (utterly worthless IMHO, considering how Intel and now Samsung have demonstrated the quality and consistency of its results) Antutu results. I'd rather see more of the transistor budget in these SoCs spent on a better GPU or more memory controller width as Apple have done if Android and its app ecosystem aren't eveolving fast enough to take advantage of quads today...
nerd1 - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Then you can always get last year's phone at great discount.Azurael - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Which is why I have a Nexus 4 and won't be picking up any of the current generation phones when my contract expires in a month...Still, I'd like to have the latest production technology and components in a high end, nicely made phone without these stupid battery sapping gimmicks. The Nexus 4 is the first Android phone I've owned with acceptable battery life, and this seems like a conspiracy to drag things back to the barely making it through a day nonsense my One X, Atrix, Desire Z and Desire have given me.
DBissett - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
There is such a huge bite of style and glamour associated with this that Mot is obviously trying to market to an audience that's flattered with a "high end" phone based on said style and glamour rather than specs. I can hear it now...."What color would you like than in? How many pixels? What's that?" It's not touchable for 199, maybe 99, but many will get oh so excited they just won't be able to help themselves.nerd1 - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
So the much hyped 'personalization' is custom backplate that is non-removable.It's WAY better to make backplate removable, which enables easy battery swap AND tons of personalization too, just like old-school phones.
dusk007 - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
I think this phone is pretty much a fail for gaining significant market share, not because it is bad, but because barely anybody can buy it. I see no turn around here for Motorola.The form factor is IMO the biggest selling point. The reason I would buy it, even though I wished it was 1-2mm thicker and had more battery. 4.7" compact is perfect.
But they had a lot of publicity with many people looking what the first true Google/Motorola Spawn would be like and now they effectively have a paper launch. Marketing the ability to customize the exterior as a feature that won't be available to most people. Everywhere except the US people barely know Motorola still exists but they could have changed that had they actually launched a new device. Instead all they get is a short news piece everybody will have forgotten in a few days. The time actual phones show up in the world few people will even take notice and the killer features that really attract attention are missing too. I can see this device winning if you compare them in store (people that care little about specs and more about feel) without any idea what to buy but it won't get much attention otherwise.
The price is also too high. You cannot go iphone 5 prices without having a reputable brand first. Slightly below the Samsung S4 would still be okay but not this high.
I am really wondering when and what will actually show up in europe. If they wait too long, they compete with the first Merryfield phones on european soil where made in US means little and while the iphone brand isn't as much of a competition the Motorola brand is less known than Siemens Mobile (which died a few years ago I think).
The phone is great. Specs are good enough and the form factor look spectacular. Voice features are nice to have, who knows how well they work. It seems the people that maneuvered the company into a corner where they basically work for one American mobile company only and loose most of their presence world wide, are still active in their sales&distribution department. They should replace them if they ever want to be a big player again.
nerd1 - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
It is way thicker than other flagship phones @ 10.4mm, yet packs only 2200mAh battery which is non-removable. Isn't moto well known for RAZR-thin phones years ago? Modern samsung, sony and HTC phones are around (or less than) 8mm, and sammy managed to pack 2600mAh battery which is user swappable.amdwilliam1985 - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
battery size != battery life :)Death666Angel - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
But all things being roughly equal (which they are in all smartphones of this size), battery life ~ battery life. :)elotrolado - Saturday, August 3, 2013 - link
10.4mm at it's thickest--remember it is contoured not flat. also, the use of 8 variable cores and Android 4.2.2 equals energy efficiency. Moto says 24 hour battery life with normal use.superflex - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
It looks like a nice phone and I do like the recessed screen and color choices.The slower processor and 16 GB storage option for a premium phone are questionable.
Sealed battery is not a deal killer. Lack of a SD card is not a deal killer on the 32 GB model. Kinda so on the 16 GB model.
The price is crazy wrong though.
The GS4, HTC One and LG G Pro are much better choices for the same money.
kwrzesien - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
I agree that the 16 GB is a deal killer, especially at this premium price. It would have been nice to see Moto change the memory game by making 32 GB the base memory size at $199 and a 64 GB model for $249. This would radically alter the memory pricing structure of every competing Apple iOS product. It would also leave enough space on board for plenty of media after the OS and apps are loaded. I like the 50 GB of Google Drive space, clearly that is the feature that Google is pushing as a replacement for the MicroSD card. And I agree with them while on your home network (WiFi/LTE/4G). But where this fails is when traveling over seas or anywhere without a strong & free internet connection.Changing to 32/64 GB internal memory would mitigate both, keeping it "premium" and selling the "just works" approach the fashionistas prefer over nerds swapping out cards.
darwinosx - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Apple doesn't see this phone as competition.elotrolado - Saturday, August 3, 2013 - link
not if you don't want something that bigRoph - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
No MicroSD slot = no buy. 0% chance that you will get a single penny from me moto.darwinosx - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Get used to it. All phones will be like this soon.Krysto - Saturday, August 3, 2013 - link
Yup. You can thank Microsoft for that, and them charging for the FAT file system, which is INSANE that it's not under FRAND yet. Here's a convicted monopolist with a 90 percent market share in PC's, and it gets to charge everyone for "allowing" other devices to be recognized by its OS. It's stupid. It should be a FRAND patent at the very least, if not free for everyone to use.Devfarce - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
This really seems to be the first Android phone that has been designed for experience and not just for specs. I think that as a whole, the smartphone community has become obsessed with specifications and fringe performance cases and less about real world performance and usability. I've used a GS4 and it stutters and lags in some of the most used stock apps; Messages is the biggest offender in my opinion with visible lags between when the keyboard renders onscreen and when the text history redraws above it. Obviously a quad core CPU isnt the solution. Neither is 1080p. 720p in a phone is still incredibly rich and detailed. Even more important is color accuracy, gamut and contrast. Not driving 125% more pixels for greatly diminishing returns in clarity and a persistent blueish hue.People want long battery life, quality construction, hardware visual appeal and smooth performance. Like it or not, this is why Apple still makes the best product. HTC is close with the One but their legacy of poor execution has scared away a lot of buyers. The GS4 is an impressive phone on paper but doesnt have an overall theme. It feels like a bunch of independent, half baked ideas that have been cobbled together and the hardware is nothing to get excited about. A friend has had one for about 2 months and it's in pretty rough shape with scratches and this odd crease in the extreme corner of the screen. They have marketed the snot out of their products and they sell. It's also easier to SELL ALL THE CORES in the aggressive environment of in-store, comission based sales.
Early benchmarks puts 3D performance ahead of the GS4's BenchmarkBoosting shenanigans. Good code will take advantage of the GPU horsepower. Dual core is currently the apex of SoC design from a power vs performance perspective. Apple will likely have dual core in the upcoming iPhone and perhaps even the next iPad again for the battery life and optimized performance they are able to deliver. Is that a mid-range phone as well? Say what you want about specs, but optimizing experience is everything. Kudos to Moto for making a serious effort at delivering that premium experience.
sherlockwing - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
So called "Premium experience" is no match for a HTC One or GS4 Gpe.sherlockwing - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Not to mention the shameful scam of charging highend price for mid-range silicon and last year's screen tech.darwinosx - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
You know this how? Oh, you don't. Are you aware Android OS and apps can't really make use of quad core?amdwilliam1985 - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Nicely said, I think you have the best comment in this thread.There's no point of quad-core if your phone is still stuttering. Samsung and the others should be hang for associating Android with high spec requires, can't believe how many iFans are taunting "oh look at your quad-core phones and look at it's stuttering, versus my dual core phones and running smoother".
mrochester - Wednesday, August 7, 2013 - link
Couldn't agree more :)jamesva - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
When testing the WiFi please test how much it varies over time especially with a lot of interference. For example, how much the data rate and latency changes. This can greatly affect streaming (voice/video chatting and video/audio streaming) and large data transfers.You can test the peak transfer rate if you want but that's not really useful for most real world tasks.
mclain - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Yes, please add these types of WiFi tests. Only measuring averages and/or peaks is like only measuring sequential throughput of HDDs/SSDs.Death666Angel - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Considering the type of equipment and space you would need to correctly test that, don't think it'll happen. You'd have to have a huge area that you control so that you can produce interference in a repeatable way. And you can't do that unless you live in the desert or build yourself a nice bunker. :D And in any case, you yourself would need to know the actual conditions of the interference in your own area to draw any kind of conclusion from the tests performed. Which I doubt you can do.johnb343 - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Still, showing a time graph of the WiFi's stability is better than just showing the max speed they're getting using iPerf. In both cases, the interference is still unknown.jamesva - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Does the touchless control work if any person says "OK Google Now" or is it complex enough to lock onto your voice only? If not then can this the touchless control be completely disabled?Death666Angel - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
From the article:"It works surprisingly well, maybe even too well, as even after training saying “OK Google Now” can turn on every Moto X around you. Just something to be aware of."
johnb343 - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Can it be disabled? Seems like crappy feature.chetanj - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Beautiful Designgrimm2000 - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
I can actually understand the cost. You have to remember it is being assembled here and not in China. That adds alot of the cost to make the device. People might say screw that, give me the cheapest device with the best hardware. Well I for one am going to buy it and if I don't like it I will hand it off to a family member. You never know, you might be out of a job one day and ask why? Because it was cheaper to do your job somewhere else.darwinosx - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
It is being assembled in Texas so they are still slave labor wages.nerd1 - Saturday, August 3, 2013 - link
Most global companies' (e.g. samsung) are doing major stuff (design / marketing / R&D) in US and only manufactures in china. I just don't get why peoples are weighing that much on simple 'assmbly' done in US.Hrel - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Why are the pictures inside, of that lady on the phone, so filled with noise? I'd be very interested to find out what's causing that as all the other pictures looked very sharp. Was it on auto ISO?Also wondering what "the 5 major networks in the US" are. Since I'm only aware of ATT, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile for actual networks.
Shame the battery isn't removable; also a little confused as to why the screen isn't 1080p for a "flagship" device. Not the end of the world certainly but you'd think they'd want to put their best foot forward. At the same time, I think certain choices were made for stability and reliability which is always the most important thing when you get right down to it. Disagree? How long would you use a phone that wasn't stable?
sb605 - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
"platform direction from Google with the price to back it up, which would've been $199 with no contract."Brian - you surely meant $399... no contract/subsidy price - right?
And if you did, I would agree. Perhaps a max of $425 for the 16 GB model. Skip 32 GB. Say, $500 for a 64 GB model. Extra 48 GB of high quality eMMC costs approx. $50, so that would be fair price.
kddd - Saturday, August 3, 2013 - link
Pity that it's unavailable for countries other than the USchizow - Saturday, August 3, 2013 - link
Far too expensive relative to the competition, which has been on the market for a good 6-10 months already. This phone should be free w/ 2 year or $200-300 max without contract. Not sure how Motorola/google expect to sell any of these as it is, especially now that real flagship handsets for Apple, Samsung, HTC are going for $100 or less.Krysto - Saturday, August 3, 2013 - link
$200 without a contract? I don't think people have a clue how these phones are made. What phone do you know that has these specs and costs $200 without contract, and isn't some garbage Chinese clone that only sells in one Chinese town?Hon - Saturday, August 3, 2013 - link
It's $200 with a contract...chizow - Saturday, August 3, 2013 - link
Google just released the new Nexus 7 with basically the same guts, bigger screen, bigger chassis for $230 so I do think I have a clue how these phones are made and how much they cost.Unfortunately for the smart phone industry, there are now tablets that tell us the true BoM on these phones, they don't cost anywhere close to what they charge you for out of contract, the price you pay with 2 yr. agreement is pretty much cost for them, they just eat the profit they would've made if you bought it outright and instead amortize it over the life of your 2 yr. plan.
Mugur - Saturday, August 3, 2013 - link
Nice phone, bad price. The actual BOM for a flagship phone is 200-250 USD, by the way. All in all, this is the HTC One Mini hardware, priced like HTC One. Why should I choose it?grahaman27 - Saturday, August 3, 2013 - link
so thats why samsung's design inspiration videos are in korean?Arbie - Sunday, August 4, 2013 - link
-No SD card = no sale.
I need a phone but only once in a while for special cases. But I play a lot of media. Any electronic box I carry around must be able to swap media sets in and out quickly. With (micro)SD I can change 16GB or even 64GB in 5 sec - with no wires... and carry both sets with me. Filling fixed storage via USB is pathetic compared to that. I'm not going to buy pathetic. And to all those who say "you really don't need SD"... you're right. You don't. However, I and many others do. So stop apologizing for minimalist feature-weak designs.
No SD card = no sale.
abazigal - Sunday, August 4, 2013 - link
Is it just me, or is "Ok, Google Now" seem quite cumbersome to say, especially for something you expect to activate many times over a day?fteoath64 - Sunday, August 4, 2013 - link
The "always listening" part would qualify for Apple to copy to make Siri Always On feature. I suspect the algorithm would also detect movement (and directional movement as such or that part is done by the Contextual AP and passed to NLP AP). Like voicemail, the talking-to-machine part is more likely a US centric usage model while ROW (rest-of-world) prefers a silent usage model.The software would no doubt need a lot of refinement to make such features useful. If there is no >95% accurate speech recognition, most people would likely stay away or only use it for trivial tasks like setting alarm, reminders, book appointment.
Still, I would think, this is innovation in a good way. It would not be long for software-only solutions to show up.
theduckofdeath - Sunday, August 4, 2013 - link
Not aligned with the industry of having larger and larger displays? I'm not sure if I can agree with that. Its display is bigger than the latest Nokia phones and as big as the latest HTC flagship phone, and slightly smaller than the latest Samsung ditto. I'd say it is aligned right in the middle of that trend. :)Twister292 - Sunday, August 4, 2013 - link
The device looks good, but the SIM-free $575 (and on-contract $200) price is a bloody joke for a device with these specs. The SIM-free price is too close to the GS4 and HTC One GPE versions for the Moto X to make any sense at that price.irule9000 - Sunday, August 4, 2013 - link
I think this would pair very nicely with a smartwatch http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/kreyos-the-only-... dont you?mk54321 - Monday, August 5, 2013 - link
Is the Cirrus Logic Audio - Ultra-Low Power, 4-Channel Microphone A/D Converter Enhances Performance for Voice Applications CS53L30 inside the Motorola Moto X ??garadante - Friday, August 9, 2013 - link
Can someone -please- explain to me why every good feature of a phone is AT&T exclusive? Black, 64 GB HTC One in practical uses, and all the customization options with this now? Do they just pay Google and HTC a bunch of money for exclusive rights?Akv - Saturday, August 10, 2013 - link
Call me stupid, but with all that contradictory talk, I still find the interest or lack of interest of this phone totally non intelligible.I understood I can personalize back covers though. But that is only remotely interesting to me.
enik - Thursday, August 15, 2013 - link
Sony used this technology in their smartphones a few years ago. They called the pixel a white pixel instead of clear but the technology is the same. They pulled it from their future smartphones because it would blow out the pic in low light