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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....

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....