There were no major surprises during the media event today when the Moto X was revealed. The Motorola X is being touted as an innovation in smartphones with personalization features and voice activated controls without touching it. Demonstration videos follow.
Buyers choose the colors, front, back, accents, memory, wallpapers, even add a name or a short message. The system is called MotoMaker a video demo appears below. Motorola claims it will complete customization shipped to within in four days or less after parts are assembled in Fort Worth, Texas. If you don't like it you can return it in 14 days. This feature will only be available for AT&T at first, when it launches in late August or September. A wooden case won't be available until Q4.
A video demo shows how Google Now is used to take a note and set an alarm. The sleepy guy in bed says "O.K. Google Now wake me up in twenty minutes."
The 16GB Motorola X 16GB in woven black and woven white models will be available at AT&T, Sprint, US Cellular, Verizon Wireless with a suggested retail price of $199 with a new two-year agreement. A T-Mobile version will be available later directly from Motorola.
M4DE Motorola accessories include headphones, speakers, cases, docks and more. You can buy matching headphones in the same colors:
- On the outside of your ears there SOL Tracks HD headset with a V8 sound engine that has deep base and high quality.
- In your ear earbuds, the SOL JAX earbuds has controls for calls and music, plus free ear tips for life.
To activate the camera you twist your wrist twice for Quick Capture by touching the screen. The curved back and 4.7" screen size is for one-handed operation.
The original announcement from Motorola does not mention specs at all. It does use the same Motorola X8 mobile computing systems as the Droid mini/Ultra/MAXX that includes the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro ( packed with 1 dual.7 GHz dual-core Krait CPU and a quad-core Adreno 320 GPU) along with two Motorola processors. It also features a 2220 mAh battery, 10MP camera, front camera, 2GB RAM
As far as specs go the Moto X has a 720p display which is less than the HTC One or Galaxy S4 and it lacks the super 41 MP camera of the Lumia 1020. It's focus is on its special software and usability.
While some call it the anti-iPhone for letting the customer decide colors, home screens and other features, the Moto X enters a very crowded market dominated by Samsung and Apple.
The color options may be very appealing to those who want to look different. We do however know that Apple will be producing an iPhone 5C in multiple bright colors. Nokia phones already come in brightly colored options.
In the past, I've paid $300 more for a computer because it came in hot pink and then paid $50 extra to have my name engraved on it. I still woefully decry the day, I spilled water on it and would cost more to fix than to buy a new notebook computer. The current brown one, with more power and a hot pink keyboard protector lacks excitement and doesn't match my pink leather jacket. Therefore, I find the Moto X very appealing, however the color they are showing as pink, raspberry doesn't match my jacket, either....