A Quick Look at the Moto X - Motorola's New Flagship
by Brian Klug on August 1, 2013 3:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Qualcomm
- MSM8960
- Motorola
- Mobile
- Android 4.2
- Moto X
- S4 Pro
Thoughts on Moto X
My initial thoughts with the Moto X are that it's a great device, easily one of the best feeling, sized, and shaped devices of this year. The screen is big enough without the device being bulky, and Motorola says that over 70 percent of the front surface of the Moto X is display. I'm still not a fan of AMOLED, but in this case a lot of the features (active display) do need it to be power efficient. The customization options are novel and unique, even if they're limited to AT&T in the USA for the time being. The idea of a wood-backed phone excites me since it means each device will be unique and have different wood grain, and having some way to differentiate one's handset from all the other black squares out there would be awesome. Having the same device available on all the US operators is also a huge win for Motorola, who has been otherwise stuck to endless Verizon exclusives that dramatically limit the reach of its flagships, even if the Moto X isn't a single SKU solution for all the operators (I do not have cellular banding information for each variant). Even now though, we saw the announcement of some Verizon Motorola Droids that basically include the same hardware platform and a number of features from the X.
The fruits of Google's interaction with Motorola are a bit more unclear. The Moto X runs a primarily stock UI, but it isn't entirely free of operator interaction – there's operator branding and light preloading, of course nowhere near the level that you'd get on a phone that goes through the normal interaction, but calling this "unadulterated android" still isn't factually correct, and it's definitely not Nexus with all that operator branding. I find myself puzzled as well that the Moto X isn't running Android 4.3. For other OEM partners, I can understand not having the absolute latest version of the platform running because of UI skinning and features, with a stock UI and operating under Google's umbrella, it's just a bit harder for me to explain away, especially given how far along Samsung and HTC allegedly are with 4.3 builds.
The last bit is pricing. The rumor and buildup led me to believe that Moto X would be priced like the midrange device the silicon inside misgives it for, but at $199 on contract it's priced just like a flagship halo phone with a quad core SoC. I realize specs aren't the be all end all for everyone, but I was hoping the Moto X would be the realization of an Android for the masses movement and platform direction from Google with the price to back it up, which would've been $199 with no contract. I have no doubt we'll see the Moto X move down in cost quickly, and it's premium, it's just surprising to see $199 out of the gate for what is a midrange platform (8960Pro) right now.
I need to spend more time with the Moto X to really pass judgment. I've popped my personal SIM in and will use it as my daily driver for a while and give it the full review treatment.
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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 :-)