Moto X Phone Reviews

Top 5 new features in Moto X 2015 (Moto X Style, Moto X Pure edition and Moto X Play) vs Moto X 2014

Moto X 2015 vs Moto X 2014: micro SD card support, improved camera, 5.7" 1440p Quad HD screen for Moto X Pure edition and Moto X Style, faster CPU and more RAM, and Moto X Pure Edition works on all networks

September 28, 2015 by simon Leave a Comment

Moto X 2015 is the third generation of Moto X. And Motorola brought 3 models for the public: Moto X Pure edition (for the USA), Moto X Style (for other regions except for USA), and Moto X Play. There are some interesting new features in Moto X 2015 (Moto X3).

As explained in this post, Moto X Pure edition and Moto X Style are twin brothers heading to different regions (US or international markets). Moto X Play is a scaled-down version Moto X Style.

Now, the question is what are the improvements and new features in Moto X 2015 vs Moto X 2014.

This post will try to answer the question of Moto X 2015 vs Moto X 2014 to help you decide whether you should upgrade to Moto X 2015 (Moto X 3rd gen) if you own a Moto X or Moto X 2014 (Moto X 2nd gen). The new features in Moto X 2015 were explained.

#1. micro SD card support: the most welcomed new features in Moto X 2015

Motorola finally changed mind on the stance on SD card support.

Moto X 2015 supports micro SD card up to 128GB. You can instantly expand additional 128GB storage at around $60 for your Moto X 2015.

Although SD card is not often used, a lot of smartphone owners still prefer some “backup” options. You may need it one day.

Some Android vendors are going the opposite (and surely wrong) direction. For example, Samsung removed the micro SD card support in Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge+. The weaker-than-expected sales of Galaxy S6 and Note 5 already make it clear that Samsung is wrong.

Some expert may argue:

micro SD card is seldom used. Samsung was misled by such experts. The survey may be legitimate. But the issue is that most owners think they may use it someday. Just like airbags in your car, you probably never use it. But if car manufacture removes it, will you still buy the car? Samsung now probably knows the answer.
Performance of micro SD card

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Moto X 2nd generation VS Moto X 1st generation: What’s new in the new Moto X (Moto X 2014) ?

September 18, 2014 by simon 8 Comments

The new Moto X, a successor for Moto X 2013 was announced early this month. You can pre-order this new Moto X (aka Moto X 2nd generation) from today..

Some Moto X owners are curious about what’s new in the new Moto X (Moto X 2nd generation). This post will give you the answer.

First, the official name of the new Moto X is Moto X 2nd generation (Moto X 2nd Gen), not Moto X+1 as rumored. Of course, many may just call it Moto X 2014.

Let’s check the comparison of Moto X 2nd generation vs Moto X 1st generation.

1. Cheaper: Moto X 2nd generation vs Moto X 1st generation

One of the biggest mistake preventing Moto X (1st Gen.) to get the deserved popularity is the stupid pricing strategy for the old Moto X in last year.

Although almost all potential buyers are excited with the unique features in Moto X 1st generation: touchless control (now it is re-branded as Moto Voice), Motorola Assist, Active Display and possible customization (through Moto Maker), they did not become a Moto X owner due to the wrong pricing strategy as analysed in this post: Why Moto X failed to save Motorola?

Moto X 1st generation was packed with middle-range hardware (with best software). The pricing Motorola asked is that for the smartphones with top-notch hardware.

For the new Moto X (Moto X 2nd generation), Motorola apparently corrects this mistake. The most advanced and high quality hardware, with the best (arguable) Android experience, is asking for a cheaper price!

The contract-free, unlocked 2nd generation Moto X (Moto X Pure edition) starts from $499. This is one of the most affordable flagship phones in 2014.

2. Faster: Moto X 2nd generation vs Moto X 1st generation

The new Moto X (Moto X 2nd generation) got a big update in processor and graphics. It is at least 3 times faster than 1st generation Moto X.

The second generation of Moto X is equipped with Quad-core 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (which has 3 times raw processing power than Snapdragon … Continue to read....

What’s new in Moto X KitKat 4.4.3 update?

June 21, 2014 by simon 12 Comments

KitKat 4.4.3 is coming to Moto X!

T-Mobile and Sprint customers should get the Moto X KitKat 4.4.3 update already. Others will get it soon.

Moto X KitKat 4.4.3 update is mainly on bug fixes and framework update. So, you probably will not notice any difference after the update.

Actually, there are few notable features or improvement you should try in this Moto X KitKat 4.4.3 update.

Motorola Alert

Motorola Alert is an extremely useful emergency alert app that lets you quickly alert people important to you when you need them. It was initially released as an exclusive app for Moto E. Now it works with Moot X and Moto G as well.

Motorola Alert is also an location reminding app. The Follow Me and Meet Me modes are useful in notifying your whereabouts to your loved ones.

For more detail on the usage of Motorola Alert, please read this detailed guide: http://motoeguide.com/motorola-alert-guide/

Pause the video recording

One feature missed in Moot X camera app is the pause button. When recording a video with Moto X, you had no way to pause the recording. You had to stop it and started a new video if you actually just wanted to pause the recording for a few seconds. This made the user interface of the camera app very simple and clean.

But omitting the pause button irritated some Moto X owners. A lot of users are not sure how to combine a few videos into one, although it is trivial for nerds.

In this Moto X KitKat 4.4.3 update, Motorola brings back this pause button for video recording.

Improved camera

Moto X has a quite fast camera. Although the image quality is not outstanding, the photos are usually acceptable with all default settings. In other words, you get decent pictures without fiddling around the camera settings and options.

In this Moto X KitKat 4.4.3 update, Motorola mainly addressed 3 reported issues:

Unrealistic color when flash is used. Sometimes, the photos was taken as if some filters were applied on the lens. In this update, you will get more realistic colors

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Why Moto X failed to save Motorola?

March 10, 2014 by simon 4 Comments

Lenovo’s $2.91 billion acquisition of Motorola will be approved soon. Motorola Mobility, a Google company, will soon become a Lenovo company.

Moto X, the last bet of Motorola, failed to rescue Motorola from being sold. Bye bye Motorola!

It is a tragedy for all our Moto X fans.

After 6 months, Moto X is still unique and attractive, compared to recently announced Samsung Galaxy S5 and SonyXperia Z2.

But why did Moto X fail to fly? I believe you may have the same question.

USA is not the whole world

The tagline of Moto X is “The only smartphone assembled in the U.S.A” or “The first smartphone designed, engineered and assembled in the USA”.

It is a smart marketing strategy for US market.

But it is not a good sales strategy if you make it “the only smartphone that are exclusive to USA (and Canada)“.

After Motorola was bought by Google, most international operations stopped. This may save cost, but reducing sales and marketing power in such regions also means giving up such markets.

Moto X got excellent reviews from most technical media and geeks. But the reception of US consumers is another story. The sales of Moto X in US is far below the expectations from the launch day.

At the same time, a lot of international consumers are excited about this phone,but it is not available for them. Technical difficulties in touchless control for non-English languages are just an excuse. Please remember voice command with non-English languages had been used in many old smartphones.

Even for British English, it tooks Motorola 3-4 months to figure out.

Putting all eggs in one basket! Even your grandma knows this is not a good idea. But these well-paid MBAs ignore this simple principle.

After more than 6 months, Moto X finally will go to more non-USA regions. But who cares about a 6-month-old smartphone when the life cycle of the smartphone is just about 12 months?

Stupid pricing strategy

The hardware specs put Moto X among the middle range smartphones.

Of course, the software puts Moto X in … Continue to read....

Top 10 improvements in Android KitKat update for your Moto X

November 24, 2013 by simon 24 Comments

Motorola beats all Android smartphone makers again with the Android 4.4 (KitKat) update!

When Samsung, HTC, Sony and LG are still struggling to push Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean 4.3) update for their flagship phones, Motorola gives us the KitKat treat. We got this Android 4.4 update even a few days earlier than the owners of pure Android Nexus 4.

And it seems the update works very smoothly. Most Moto X owners are enjoying the updated phone. As a contrast, a lot of Samsung Galaxy S4 owners are grumbling about the latest Android 4.3 update.

There are quite a lot of improvements in the Android 4.4 (KitKat) update for Moto X. In this post, you will learn the top 10 improvements or new features you may enjoy everyday.

1. Unified messaging with Hangouts

If you have mixed contacts on phone and Google, you know all the contacts are combined in your phone. The new Hangouts app now moves a step further: it can (optional) combine your messages (SMS, MMS) with all other conversations in Hangouts. With the new Hangouts app, all of your SMS and MMS messages are together in the same app, alongside your other conversations and video calls.

The new Hangouts app also allows you to share your location and send animated GIFs. This makes it better than the most popular SMS app: WhatsApp.

Essentially, the new Hangouts app eliminates the need of a separate messaging app. Of course, if you are not ready for this change, you can still use messaging and Hangouts individually (although they share the same contact list).

2. Drag to focus and expose

You can focus on any location on the viewfinder by just dragging the crosshair to the desired objects or location. Moto X will automatically adjust the expose and lighting conditions for the photo. The result is better image quality.

This is actually a nice enhancement of the old “touch to focus”. You now get the option with a new circular, on screen control that can be dragged by your finger around the viewfinder to adjust a photo’s focus and exposure.… Continue to read....

Moto X Price Halved (including Moto Maker)

October 26, 2013 by simon 1 Comment

motox_moto-maker It seems Motorola (Google) finally realized the initial price of Moto X was not accepted well by consumers, even among long-term Motorola enthusiasts.

After 2 months of launching the handset, Motorola halved the price of Moto X to $99.99 (with 2 year contract) quietly. No public announcement. This includes Moto Maker, which allows you to customize your Moto X. Very likely, the contract-free Moto X price will drop within next a few weeks.

So, if price pushed you away from getting a Moto X, now it is probably the good time to get your hands on a new Moto X. It is unlikely to see a further price cut for this handset in next a few months.

$99.99 is actually the most reasonable price for this handset. Consumers still cares about specs, although user experiences are getting important day by day.

No one denies the unparalleled software innovation in Moto X (e.g., touchless control, Motorola Assistant), and most users enjoy them. The recent software update fixed most camera issues. Moto X is arguably the most attractive phone in the market.

Technically, the hardware in Moto X is more than sufficient thanks to the optimization of the code and close-to-vanilla-Android implementation. Moto X is actually more snappy than Galaxy S4 and HTC One. However, consumers are still thinking about hardware specs when touching the wallet. They are still unwilling to pay too much premium for optimized software. The mid-range hardware specs spoil the perfect image of Moto X. Most consumers and reviewers were surprised when the price of Moto X was announced in August.

This is a lesson Motorola should learn. Consumers are not ready to ignore hardware specs.

The price reduction is a correct step to educate consumers what a smartphone should be. Without reaching the hands of consumers, all innovations are wasted, and competitors will close the gap soon. Very likely, Moto Maker will not be exclusive to AT & T after middle or late November. This will remove another barrier between Moto X and its potential buyers.

Another reason of … Continue to read....

Moto X or HTC One?

August 31, 2013 by simon 1 Comment

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....

Top 5 Unique Features of Moto X

August 5, 2013 by simon 2 Comments

Moto X is finally announced on August 1. By the end of this month, you may have the chance to get one in your pocket from the major carriers in US or BestBuy.

The biggest surprise of Moto X is not the phone, is its price. Motorola asks for similar price as that for Galaxy S4 and HTC One, although the hardware specifications are obviously inferior (arguable).

Motorola is confident consumers will like their unique features and fork money for features rather than hardware specs. They may be correct. Most flagship Android phones are obsessed with hardware specs, and therefore are overpowered (i.e., wasted).

The problem is what these features are and why people are willing to pay for them instead of better specs.

In this post, I will share with you the top 5 unique features of Mot X.

Touchless control

Touchless control is the killer feature of Moto X. You can control and operate the phone without touching it. It is also dam smart as well: it knows what to do and when.

Essentially, it is a combination of voice control and Google Now. What makes Moto X stand out of the crowd of Siri, S Voice and other similar apps is that you can use voice control even the phone is locked. “OK Google Now” is the hot words (Moto magic) to wake up the phone. You probably can configure this to something else like “Oh, Moto Magic” if you want.

More interestingly, Moto X only responds to your command, not others’. If 10 other people around you shout “OK Google Now” , your Moto X will not respond to them, because it knows your voice and knows you are the master. It is more loyal than you secretary.

Google Now is one of the best innovations from Google. It was officially unveiled in Google I/O 2012. Its predictive, not responsive, thinking make the smartphone smarter. By combining voice control and Google Now, Moto X now is No.1 in intelligence and voice control among smartphones. There are no comparable products in the market yet. Of … Continue to read....

What is Motorola X8 Mobile Computing System?

July 27, 2013 by simon 1 Comment

On July 23, Motorola Mobility (a subsidy of Google) unveiled the new generation of Verizon Droid phones (Droid Ultra, Droid Mini and Droid Maxx). The most interesting info from the event is that all these 3 phones are powered by custom-made system-on-a-chip (SoC) (based on Snapdragon S4 Pro), not the stock Snapdragon chip.

Motorola named it as the X8 mobile computing system. The coming Moto X phone will surely be powered by this mobile computing system.

What makes this X8 mobile computing system unique? Will it be a game changer for mobile phones? Why it it named as a “computing system”?

The uniqueness of X8 is its two additional cores. There are totally 8 cores in X8 (this probably explains why it is named as X8). Among them, two CPU cores, four GPU cores, one natural language processor/core, and one contextual computing processor/core.

If you own a Samsung Galaxy S4, you probably already have a Exynos Octa 5, which has 8 cores. But all of them are CPU cores. The 4 A15 cores at 1.8GHz are for CPU intensive jobs, and another 4 A7 cores at 1.2GHz are for less intensive jobs to save power.

So, 8-core (actually 4 CPU cores) itself has nothing to boost. Most 2012/2013 flagship smartphones already have quad-core inside: Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S4, HTC One, HTC Butterfly, Sony Xperia Z…

We are excited about Motorola’s X8 because of their two non-conventional cores.

With the Motorola X8’s natural language processor, Moto X is ready to respond any voice commands without touching your phone. It should work even when the display is off. If Motorola can (why not?) combine this capability with Google Now, the Moto X will definitely give owner an exceptional experience. You can instantly get the traffic info, reminders, news, calling and texting information. This is clearly demoed in the Rogers’s video.

The contextual computing processor is even more useful. It simply makes Moto X smarter. The phone always knows whether your Moto X is in your pocket, in your hand or in your … Continue to read....

Moto X will be officially announced on August 1: will it be a game changer?

July 20, 2013 by simon Leave a Comment

Finally, the birthday of the Moto X was confirmed. It will be on August 1, 2013.

According to Business Insider, Motorola is sending out invitations for the Moto X event in New York on August 1. Obviously, Moto X will be announced in this event.

We will see this long -awaited smartphone on the stage in New York. The rumors will stop then.

It is the last chance for Motorola Mobility in the fast-growing mobile phone industry. This is the sad fact for the past market leader in this industry. We are interested in this Moto X phone based on rumors; but we are more eager to know whether the 12.5 billion Google acquisition will save Motorola or will accelerate the death of Motorola.

Moto X is the first smartphone project in Motorola with Google’s leadership. Will it be a game changer?

The rumored specs ( 2GB RAM, 16GB/32GB storage, 10MP clear pixel camera, 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 720p HD display) indicate Moto X is targeting the middle range market. This market is volatile because major players just provide a strip-down version of the high-end flagship models. Potential users are driven away to either high-end or budget end, because there are no exciting offers in this category.

So, aiming at mid-range market is a smart move, if Motorola prices the Moto X wisely.

Currently, most high-end smartphones are overpowered, for example, a full HD display on a 4-5″ screen does not make sense, but all manufactures are in the race of hardware, because this is the easiest way to “differentiate” to competitors. Eventually, consumers are over-paying.

What was overlooked is the day-to-day user experience. Based on the leaked (official) Roger video, Moto X does a quite good job in this aspect. For example, the always-on voice activation (OK Moto Magic), notification screen when screen is off, double twist (although a bit awkward, maybe customizable) to launch camera.

Moto X will very likely come with Android 4.3 with very minor customization. It is not Nexus, but user experience will be very similar. Although it is arguable whether the … Continue to read....

OK Moto Magic: Moto X Phone officially leaked by Eric Schmidt (photo) and Rogers (video)

July 14, 2013 by simon 1 Comment

After the teaser in July 3rd, a new wave of teasers of Moto X are available to the public this weekend. Now the exterior, camera and voice control are quite clear from the official videos and photos.

Eric Schmidt, the Google Chairman, was using a Moto X phone publicly at the Sun Valley Conference “Camp for billionaires”.

The photo confirmed Moto X is not a giant phone, very likely less than 5″. So, the size is similar to Nexus 4 or even older Galaxy Nexus.

The thickness suggested the battery probably is quite large. The battery capacity is very likely somewhere close to 3000mAh, which is comparable to Droid Razr Maxx’s 3300mAh.

The exterior material is plastic without the metal rim as in Samsung’s. The back can be customized as suggested in the official teaser page. Plastic make senses for quick customization.

For the camera, the official Motorola Mobility account tweeted some blurred photos and mentioned “Either this kid is really fast, or today’s phones are really slow.” #AlmostGotIt pic.twitter.com/mdMEOGqfhr This indicates Motorola wants to remind us there are significant improvement on camera. Maybe not on the number of pixels, but more on the image quality for real life.

The most juicy leak is the commercial Rogers (a Canadian Telecom company) prepared for the launch of Moto X. In the long (close to 2 mins) video, you get a closer look of the Moto X phone.

Some unique features are illustrated in the video. For example, double twist to launch the camera. The voice control and new notification also makes the phone standing out. Apparently, these new features are quite practical, not just software gimmicks in Galaxy S4.

The technical specifications are still a secret. But based on rumors, the phone will feature 2GB RAM, 16GB/32GB storage, 10MP camera (non-conventional one) , 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 720p HD display

What do you think about Moto X Phone? Share your thoughts in the comment box below!

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