The Moto X is an amazing smartphone, just not revolutionary. Its name implies the phone is built in the spirit of Google's X program, w...
The Moto X is an amazing smartphone, just not revolutionary. Its name implies the phone is built in the spirit of Google's X program, which seeks to improve things by monumental leaps rather than increments. The first phone to be designed and built by Motorola as a Google company isn't going to transform mobile communication as we know it (the company's stated goal since the acquisition), but it is a fantastic phone with many great features.
My favorite is Touchless Control. Apple likes to talk about the "magic" of its products, but this feature is the most magical thing I've seen in mobile in a long time. With your phone sitting on the table, you can utter the words "OK, Google Now," and it immediately comes alive, listening for voice commands. Ask it the weather, to call a friend or do a Google search, and it'll just do it, and you never have to touch the phone.
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For slightly more complex actions, such as sending a message or creating a reminder, it'll start the action, but you'll need to hit Save or Send. Still, it's appreciated. And if you have a lock screen enabled, you can still access the Touchless Control as long as you pair the phone with another device that you tell the phone to "trust." Motorola assumes that if your Bluetooth device is around, that's considered two-factor authentication and the phone stays unlocked. There's some logic to that, but it's not so good if someone steals your whole carry-on
.
Searching for a Differentiator
Touchless Control is an impressive feature. It's also a week old — Motorola showed it off in its new line of Verizon Droid smartphones that were unveiled last week. That doesn't make it any less useful, but it's not a differentiator for the Moto X specifically.
How can the phone always be listening to you, even when in standby mode? How can the phone always be listening to you, even when in standby mode? It's thanks to Motorola's X8 processor — also found within the new Droids — a custom system-on-a-chip (SoC) design that includes a dedicated low-power core, separate from the main quad-core CPU, that uses only a tiny bit of power.
There's one other low-power core in the X8, and that's for the sensors. In addition to always listening, the phone is also hyperaware of where you are. It knows if it's face down, in a pocket or in a moving vehicle, and it adjusts its behavior based on what you're doing (it won't show notifications if it's face down, for example). The awareness extends beyond sensors — if your calendar says you're in a meeting, it can send all calls to voicemail.
Again, that's all part of the Droid package, too, as is the convenient way to activate the camera — just twist the phone back and forth. You take pics by touching the screen (you can disable this if it irritates you), and pressing and holding activates the built-in burst mode. You can access advanced settings by swiping from the side, but the primary camera screen is extremely austere.
My favorite is Touchless Control. Apple likes to talk about the "magic" of its products, but this feature is the most magical thing I've seen in mobile in a long time. With your phone sitting on the table, you can utter the words "OK, Google Now," and it immediately comes alive, listening for voice commands. Ask it the weather, to call a friend or do a Google search, and it'll just do it, and you never have to touch the phone.
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| The Moto X is Motorola's latest flagship smartphone. Coming to five U.S. carriers in late summer for $199 (for 16GB), it has shares many features with the latest Verizon Droids in addition offering buyers the option of designing their own custom color combinations. |
For slightly more complex actions, such as sending a message or creating a reminder, it'll start the action, but you'll need to hit Save or Send. Still, it's appreciated. And if you have a lock screen enabled, you can still access the Touchless Control as long as you pair the phone with another device that you tell the phone to "trust." Motorola assumes that if your Bluetooth device is around, that's considered two-factor authentication and the phone stays unlocked. There's some logic to that, but it's not so good if someone steals your whole carry-on
.
Searching for a Differentiator
Touchless Control is an impressive feature. It's also a week old — Motorola showed it off in its new line of Verizon Droid smartphones that were unveiled last week. That doesn't make it any less useful, but it's not a differentiator for the Moto X specifically.
How can the phone always be listening to you, even when in standby mode? How can the phone always be listening to you, even when in standby mode? It's thanks to Motorola's X8 processor — also found within the new Droids — a custom system-on-a-chip (SoC) design that includes a dedicated low-power core, separate from the main quad-core CPU, that uses only a tiny bit of power.
There's one other low-power core in the X8, and that's for the sensors. In addition to always listening, the phone is also hyperaware of where you are. It knows if it's face down, in a pocket or in a moving vehicle, and it adjusts its behavior based on what you're doing (it won't show notifications if it's face down, for example). The awareness extends beyond sensors — if your calendar says you're in a meeting, it can send all calls to voicemail.
Again, that's all part of the Droid package, too, as is the convenient way to activate the camera — just twist the phone back and forth. You take pics by touching the screen (you can disable this if it irritates you), and pressing and holding activates the built-in burst mode. You can access advanced settings by swiping from the side, but the primary camera screen is extremely austere.
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