When I was asked about the “alternatives”  for Moto X, the firs one popping out  is HTC One. Not just because of the similar screen size.

But yes, Moto X and HTC One both have small display (compared with other flagship Android phones from Samsung,  Sony and LG). It is 4.7″. Actually the display is not small. Both of them use very thin bezel and therefore, they looks even smaller than their actual size. Just for your information, Moto X has similar front surface area with iPhone 5, but with 20% more display space.

Unlike Asian users, most American users still prefer one-handed smartphone, i.e, the phone can be easily operated with one hand. Moto X apparently caters such demand. It is not a coincidence that both Moto X and HTC One are in the same size range of iPhone 5.  Of course, Android users are spoiled  with large display, so 4.7″ screen is a reasonable compromise.

Design and build quality

Among today’s Android manufactures, HTC is still a  leader in hardware design. I’m not talking about market share, for which HTC is plummeting. Maybe HTC will have to leave US market just in 2 to 3 years if the trend cannot be reversed.

The design of HTC One seems better than Moto X. The metal body will strengthen your impression when you compare Moto X and HTC One side by side.

Moto X actually deviates from Motorola’s old design,  especially the robotic Droid design. The exterior design of Moto X is very similar to HTC One: simple and elegant. What drags Moto X down is the plastic feeling.  Because Moto X wants to offer customization on the back plate, metal or tempered glass is out of the options.

So, from the view point of design and build quality, HTC One is surely better.

BTW, “designed, engineered and assembled in the USA” does not help much on design and build quality for Moto X.

Software

Both Moto X and HTC One run Android Jelly Bean 4.2. Both will be upgraded to 4.3 in a couple of months.

Moto X … Continue to read....