Moto X Comes up Short With A High Price
Motorola Mobility finally announced the 4.7-in. Moto X smartphone on Thursday
but in a saturated smartphone market, it's getting harder for Google-owned
company to stand out.
The new smartphone can be personalized with a choice of colors and materials
such as wood -
a novel touch which may appeal to fashionistas. Users can choose from 18
different back covers (wood is an upcoming option, Google said) and they can
choose black or white for their phone's front cover. Additionally, users can
also choose the color they want for smaller parts on their phones, such as the
volume buttons and the rings around the camera lens. Users can also choose
between 16 and 32 gigabytes of storage, and they can also put an engraving on
their device.
On the other hand, the Moto X lacks the 'magic' offered by other high-end smartphones, in terms of technological breakthroughs.
The Moto X does not include the newest version of Android. Instead, it comes with a Android 4.2.2 OS. The phone uses a 2200 mAh battery, a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro dual-core processor clocked at 1.7 GHz with 2 GB of RAM. A 2- megapixel front camera complements a 10-megapixel rear camera. The device supports LTE wireless.
Similarities in the Moto X to the Droid Ultra, Maxx and Mini models from Verizon include a similar processor, camera, display and natural interaction features, such as voice commands that work when the phone is idle and a gesture to activate the camera instead of using a specific button.
The Moto X will go on sale in the United States at the end of August or the beginning of September for a suggested retail price of $199.99 to customers who sign a two-year contract at five of the biggest U.S. mobile network operators.
While AT&T will allow customers to customize their phones, rivals Verizon Wireless , Sprint Corp, T-Mobile US and U.S. Cellular will only be able to offer black-and-white versions of the device.
On the other hand, the Moto X lacks the 'magic' offered by other high-end smartphones, in terms of technological breakthroughs.
The Moto X does not include the newest version of Android. Instead, it comes with a Android 4.2.2 OS. The phone uses a 2200 mAh battery, a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro dual-core processor clocked at 1.7 GHz with 2 GB of RAM. A 2- megapixel front camera complements a 10-megapixel rear camera. The device supports LTE wireless.
Similarities in the Moto X to the Droid Ultra, Maxx and Mini models from Verizon include a similar processor, camera, display and natural interaction features, such as voice commands that work when the phone is idle and a gesture to activate the camera instead of using a specific button.
The Moto X will go on sale in the United States at the end of August or the beginning of September for a suggested retail price of $199.99 to customers who sign a two-year contract at five of the biggest U.S. mobile network operators.
While AT&T will allow customers to customize their phones, rivals Verizon Wireless , Sprint Corp, T-Mobile US and U.S. Cellular will only be able to offer black-and-white versions of the device.
| Moto X | |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro (MSM8960Pro) 1.7 GHz Motorola X8 System (SoC+NLP Processor+Contextual Processor) |
| Display | 4.7-inch AMOLED (RGB) 1280x720 |
| RAM | 2GB LPDDR2 |
| WiFi | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, BT 4.0 |
| Storage | 16 GB standard, 32 GB online, 2 years 50 GB Google Drive |
| I/O | microUSB 2.0, 3.5mm headphone, NFC, Miracast |
| OS | Android 4.2.2 |
| Battery | 2200 mAh, 3.8V, 8.36 Whr |
| Size / Mass | 65.3 x 129.3 x 5.6-10.4 mm, 130 grams |
| Camera | 10 MP Clear Pixel (RGBC) with 1.4µm pixels Rear Facing 2 MP 1080p Front Facing |
| Price | $199 (16 GB), $249 (32 GB) on 2 year contract |
