The Moto X is probably one of the most hyped and talked about Android device this better half of the year, and it is not hard to see why. The Moto X will be the first Googorola phone, the first born of the now married Google and Motorola. Well, when I say married…
Anyway, even though the device itself might not ever reach the sunny shores of Singapore, there are lots I like and find interesting about the device (both software, & hardware). If this is indicative of the direction that Motorola will be taking going forward, I have to say I am hopeful for their future. (Disclaimer: Obviously I do not have a device that I can play with, so just keep that in mind when reading through my post. These are things that I find interesting in the device at this point, but I will reserve my final judgement till I actually have one to play around with in real life.)
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Hardware:
I love its hardware design, there’s no other way of putting it. Every since I first saw the photos of Eric Schmidt holding one, I thought it was great looking. The curves around the back, the small footprint of the device, the omission of any branding on the front of the phone, the almost edge to edge bezel, and of course the customisability.
Personally I am a black phone kinda guy, so this doesn’t appeal to me. Not that it matters since it’s exclusive at the moment to AT&T only, and not to mention the device will not be sold in Singapore.
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Specs:
I actually do not mind the specs of the device at all. I actually like the direction Motorola took. The specs that I really care about, is battery life. If Motorola’s claim of a day of use is accurate, I will be a happy man. I do not mind a slightly slower CPU as long as it runs the things I need it to run well. I do not mind a 720p display as long as it still looks good.
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Active Display:
I love the idea that I don’t have to do anything to the device, and it will show me my new notifications. Kinda like the notification LED on a BlackBerry does. While I think that the idea can definitely be improved upon. I also like how they used the sensors on the device to detect when the phone is being taken out of the pocket, so it immediately shows you any new notifications you might have.
Something similar to BlackBerry 10.2’s lock screen notifications preview, as well as interactive notifications. But the limitation on the Moto X is that it is only able to display the most recent notification. I would love to be able to scroll through my notifications on Active Display.
If only the 2 company can combined both ideas into a single implementation, I think that would be a dream come true for me.
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Touchless:
"Okay, Google Now" is all you have to say to activate Google Now. I like the idea very much. Google Now is leaps ahead of Apple’s SIRI in my opinion, and the ability to use Google Now without touching the phone is great. This might not be something that I will be using out in the open, but it’s something I could find a lot of use for at home, or while driving.
The video above is the perfect use case scenario. Another is the fact that I work from home, and my phone is always on the desk in front of me. The ability to use the phone without touching it could be extremely useful. Which brings me to my next point.
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Motorola Connect:
Motorola Connect, something that is not often talked about, is something I think shows the motivation behind the software enhancements on the Moto X. Motorola Connect allows the user to connect their Moto X (along with the recently announced Droid devices) to connect to a Chrome extension that will allow you to reply to messages, see who’s calling, missed calls, etc. Imagine being able to still send text messages while still on the computer without ever the need to reach for your phone. Imagine being able to see who’s calling on you computer without the need to even glance or pick up your phone.
As someone who is almost constantly in front of a computer while working, I could see huge benefits to this.
See the trend? Motorola seems to be going for a device that you don’t have to have in your hand to be able to use it. With touchless controls, as well as Motorola Connect, I could see me reducing my need of picking up the device, thus saving time. Little amount of time, but it adds up, and I’m all for efficiency.
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Motorola Assist:
I am a huge fan of Motorola’s previous Smart Actions on their Android devices. It’s kinda like an automator, when certain elements are fulfilled, it triggers a predetermined set of tasks. Really cool stuff, and Assist is like a simplified version of that. You can basically set up triggers, like when the phone detects you’re going faster than 55mph, it will read out messages you received to you. Like when you’re sleeping, you can turn off the active display, notifications, etc. All done automatically. And because there is a separate core for contextual computing, it doesn’t need to activate the main CPU, which means less power required.
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Trusted Bluetooth Devices, Motorola Skip:
Something interesting that was brought to my attention on Android Central Podcast, and that was the “Trusted Bluetooth Devices”. This allow your phone to bypass security lockscreen when connected to a trusted bluetooth device, like a headset, a smartwatch, your computer, or anything at all. BRILLIANT FUCKING IDEA. I’ll be honest here, I almost never have a security lock on any of my phones. With the amount of times I check my phone a day, the process of entering even a simple 4 digit password can be irritating, and the time it takes adds up over the duration of a day. If let’s say I have a bluetooth smartwatch like the pebble with me, as long as it is in range and paired, I can bypass the lock screen. Only when disconnected it requires a password again.
This gives me the convenience of having a lock screen and making use of active display, as well as some sort of security to prevent someone from accessing my data that easily. Is it foolproof? No. But does it at least help a little? YES.
Just yesterday Motorola announced this little device, presumably NFC enabled, to allow you to unlock your phone by just tapping on it. But really, that’s not what interest me. They have this “Skip Dots” accessory as well which Motorola says will create a “Trusted Zone” for your Moto X, allowing it to stay unlocked while it’s within range. Place these in your house, and you never have to waste time unlocking your device while you’re at home.
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The points mentioned above, are why I am excited both about the phone and the company. The phone runs nearly Vanilla Android with software enhancement from Motorola that I actually found useful. (Unlike other Android manufacturers) They are willing to take the heat from people complaining about specs, in order to achieve a good battery life from a form factor that isn’t humongous.
They went with a 4.7” display in a smaller body which is still usable comfortably with one hand, compared to other manufacturer like LG and their G2.
This feels like a company that focuses on user experience, and I really like that.
I normally would prefer Vanilla Android over TouchWiz, Sense 5, etc. Thus I have always taken a liking to Nexus devices. But now, I would definitely take the enhancements that Motorola did to Android over any Nexus device. Touchless controls for one enhances the Google Now experience dramatically, and I won’t be surprised if the next Nexus device has that too.
So am I looking forward to future products of Motorola? Hell yeah. Hopefully they’ll bring out a Moto X like devices for the rest of us not in the U.S? Soon I hope.
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