The Droid Moto X is the first smartphone ever to be designed and assembled in the U.S. after Google acquired Motorola. Users will love the handy design, considerable battery life, and light weight usability.
This Moto X phone was the first mobile phone ever to make me forgot I had it in my pocket. It’s lightweight at 4.5 ounces (130 grams), but very durable thanks in part to the Corning Gorilla Glass over the multi-touch display and water-repellent coating. The outer case has a nice grip and the overall dimensions are 5.09 x 2.57 x 0.41 inches (129.3 x 65.3 x 10.4 mm).
Features like hands-free operation and special Moto maker customization (AT&T customers only for now) reflect the innovation for safety, convenience, and functionality. The options are very detailed ranging from the outer case to the ring around the power button. Moto Maker also covers personalized wallpapers and welcome messages.
Don’t let the light weight fool you…the design fits well in the hand with form-fitting comfort. Even larger handed users (like me) won’t be fumbling the Moto X in quick pick up and important communicas.
The 4.7-inch AMOLED high-definition display has a 720 x 1080 resolution. No physical branding on the front case, so some users might not be able to identify the phone immediately, but once the sharp display appears, then users can easily recognize the Moto X and its very user-friendly experience/interface.
The 3.5mm headphone jack is on top with a noise-cancelling microphone nearby and the second noise-cancelling microphone on the back near the Verizon logo. The 10 MP ClearPixel camera has a single-LED flash directly above the Motorola logo. Users can twist their wrist twice while holding the camera to activate it. Users can also share videos wirelessly with a Wi-Fi enabled TV.
The micro USB charger is located at the bottom. Most charges lasted about 40 to 45 hours of use.
The left side of the Moto X contains a SIM card tray (pre-installed). A tool to remove the SIM card is also included.
The buttons on the right are the power/lock key and volume keys. Users can press the volume down and power button to take instant screenshots. The volume up button activates ringtones. Users can silence the phone by pressing the volume down button until the vibrate icon or silent icon appears on the home screen.
Even without Moto Maker, users can personalize the Moto X apps, settings, sound and phone ringtones. Users can also add a personal email and Microsoft Exchange server work email account.
The handy touch screen interfaces include handling incoming calls with a touch to call or dragging the icon aside to ignore.
The Play Music audio features works as Google’s own music player with excellent sound performance and options like an equalizer.
The ever-expanding accessories include the Motorola Skip, a small, wearable clip that unlocks your phone with a single tap.
The Moto X caters to the user experience first and hardware considerations as the secondary focus.
- Processor: Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon Pro chipset with dual-core 1.7GHz Krait CPU; Adreno 320 GPU; 2GB of RAM
- Operating System: Android OS v4.2.2 Jelly Bean with stock UI
- Memory: 16/32GB of built-in storage; 50GB of free Google Drive storage
- Display: 4.7″ 16M-color 720p RGB AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with 316ppi pixel density; Gorilla Glass
- GPS: A-GPS; GLONASS
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0, EDR, Wi-fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, n 5GHz, ac; mobile hotspot, USB 2.0 using microUSB, NFC, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA syn
- Cameras: 10 MP autofocus ClearPixel camera with LED flash with video recording @ 30fps with HDR (H.263, H.264, MPEG4, VC-1, VP8 in up to 1080p resolution), continuous autofocus and stereo sound; 2 MP front-facing camera with 1080p video recording
- Battery: 2,200mAh
- Special Features: light sensor, proximity sensor, scratch-resistant glass, hearing aid compatibility for M3 and T3
The Droid Moto X by Motorola is available from Verizon and other resellers. It is currently available in woven white or black color. The price is fairly reasonable for this high-quality smartphone.
MSRP: starts at $99.99 with a two-year contract; plans vary according the activations, contracts, etc.
What I Like: light weight, substantial battery life; Large high-res display; high-res camera; Durable design; hands-free voice activation functionality; considerable RAM (2048 MB); Near Field Communication (NFC); Migrate App for wireless information imports; strong ergonomic considerations; high call quality
What Needs Improvement: No microSD slot; no microHDMI port; more memory (current maximum is 23.8 GB); screen panel attracts considerable dust particles; non user-accessible battery; no expandable memory; camera focus features
Source: Manufacturer supplied review demo unit