And now, the Moto X has been announced. The guts are very similar to the Verizon-exclusive Droid phones, including the full-time voice scanning for "Okay Google Now". The promise of all-day battery life under mixed use is promising. It's got a variety of colored skins and your choice of 16 or 32GB of Flash storage.

Notable other features or missing bits: AMOLED screen of some sort (like the Galaxy Nexus and unlike the Nexus 4), 802.11ac and all the new Bluetooth stuff, LTE (unspecified which bands), nano-SIM card (just like the iPhone), no support for Micro SD.

The only price they've announced so far is $199 on contract with AT&T. We don't know the unlocked price yet. They're saying there will be a Google Play Edition, which is clearly the one you'd want.

At this point, I'm most curious to know about the rest of the pricing as well as the detailed radio specs (e.g., whether it's as broadly useful as the new Nexus 7, with its support for so many different radio bands).

What I don't care about are the issues that many of the online hoi polloi are tooting. I don't care that the screen isn't 1080p. My current 720p screen is already insanely high res. I similarly don't care that it's not a quad-core CPU vs. dual-core. What matters is that they're offloading lots of stuff to the secondary cores, so the primary cores take fewer interrupts. And I *really* don't care that the screen is a bit smaller than the Samsung GS4. To me, the Galaxy Nexus is already a bit on the large side. It appears that they've done a ton of engineering to shrink the bezel around the screen. I'm impressed.

(Broke this off into it's own thread, to avoid crowding the other one with many tangents and bad threading)

(spoilsport! what's a bbs without lots of tangential threading?)

I think I echo your sentiments, Dan. I'm concerned about that price, though. I'm very curious what that unlocked Play edition price will be. I have no interest in another contract phone, and given the specs I'm a little surprised that it's $200 on-contract. While I also don't mind the specs of the X, they don't match the One and the S4, so I don't know where that price comes from.

Do we have any release dates so far? I seem to have missed them. I didn't get to pay as close attention to this launch as I'd wanted.

Frankly, given my current finances, I'm back to considering the Nexus 4. For a non-contract phone, it's quite appealing. Plus it has wireless charging, will get 4.3 (with TRIM, thank god), and will more likely work with the SIM that TMobile would send for that $30 plan. I doubt they have a SIM that will fit the X...

I'm hoping that before the summer is over, I'll have a new phone, the new Nexus 7, and a Chromecast

Well, a writer on the Verge makes a good point about the contract price. He pointed out that the Nexus 4 was $199 on contract at T-Mobile, where they also sold it off-contract for $499, and it was $349 in the Play store initially. That gives me a little more hope that the Play store price of the X will be a little lower.

I haven't followed this release at all, but I have to agree about the price. With these specs, the phone should be $150 on-contract tops. There's no way it's worth $600 unlocked.

Is this the (latest) phone that was supposed to save Motorola? They're just still too far behind if this is their halo device. Sony has the same problem, it seems.

I'm baffled at people's complaints about the specs. Really I am. There are eight computing cores in this thing. Two main CPU core, two specialized cores, and four graphics cores. (I seem to recall.) That counts as high-end in my book. Pretty much the only spec that isn't screaming high end to me is the Flash (32GB max and no SD expansion).

What's notable is that they didn't say anything about the radio section. One of the most remarkable features of the new Nexus 7 is that there's a single North American model with support for every LTE and HSPA+ band you could ever want. If they use the very same radio section here, you'd end up with a truly fantastic off-contract phone, easy to move around from one carrier to another without worrying about compatibility.

Or maybe I should let everybody complain about the cores and the screen, driving down the price of this phone by the time my Verizon contract is up and I'm ready to buy one. Yes, please keep complaining.

I'm not too wrapped up in the CPU specs, but the screen res is a sore point. The competition has much higher resolution screens.

As for single NA model with all the LTE and HSPA+ you could want, I already have that with my Sony Xperia ZL C6506. The ZL has a 1080p 5" screen that looks great. The bezel is incredibly thin, it has expandable storage, the camera is fantastic, dedicated 2-stage shutter button, NFC, BT 4.0, JB 4.2.2, and it's "only" $500 unlocked from Newegg.

I think it's one of the best phones out there now for the build quality, style, radio bands, and price. Unfortunately, it's not running stock Android. But, the Sony skin is so unobtrusive that I haven't bothered to replace the launcher, let alone flash a third-party ROM.

It's less that people are disappointed about the specs than they are about how the phone is priced relative to those specs. Everything you said about the phone's capabilities is true, but even Motorola admits that they designed the phone to be ratcheted one step back from the top in order to save battery life, and that ratcheting back should be reflected in the price, but instead it's the same price as the actual flagship phones out there.

My hope was that this phone would have very good, reasonable specs, but be priced at a killer level. If this thing were $99 on-contract and sold on the Play store for $299, that would be amazing...

That's how it should be priced if they want to get some attention. Get a mid-range Motorola for the cost of an entry-level Pantech.

I guess we all got spoiled with the price of the Nexus 7 (2nd-gen, top-end LTE model), which will sell unsubsidized/unlocked for $350. A phone has a smaller screen and a smaller battery, which you could argue makes the prices lower (battery mass = battery cost) and you could also argue the other way (more exotic packaging is required when space is at a premium).

If they could sell the Moto X for $350 unlocked, that would correspond to being roughly free with the carrier subsidy. I guess that's what has everybody disappointed. Maybe the problem is that Moto's trying to make money off of this, versus the Nexus 7 which is (hypothetically) being sold at cost.

I'm seeing cost overhead in two places, compared to the other Android devices out there.

1. Manufacturing the device in the US
2. The 504 potential variants (due to color and storage choices), along with the ability to return and pick something else

I'm also a bit disappointed so many people are getting upset about the specs. The spec war in the PC space did some real damage to proper progress, and appears to be doing the same now in the Android Mobile arena. Samsung "optimizing" for benchmarks mirrors ATI, NVidia and others.

Screen spec wise, can't really say. Motorola claims the 720p choice was very intentional, due to 1080p screens being more power hungry for little benefit at 5 inches. I'd want to see a 720p and 1080p screen in person at the same size before deciding myself if the power tradeoff is worth it. But I can see Motorola's position here.

Anyone have thoughts on their modifications to Android? Seems they didn't go with a heavy skin, but instead focused on stuff specific to the device. Positive progress there. Android 4.2.2 though is a little weird. I guess it shows the still pretty solid wall between Google and Motorola post takeover.

Just to pick a nit: technically it's "assembled in the US." I'm guessing they're doing the minimal amount of work here, but I really don't know. I just got the impression that the only part of the phone manufacturing done in America were the parts affected by the end-user color choices.


I think there's a key difference this time around, though: most people don't care. It's only us and the tech media that care. The only number comparison that matters to the consumer is "S3 vs S4." It's nothing like the old days where even Joe Schmoe knew exactly how many megahertz/gigahertz his computer's CPU was capable of.


I agree, but the difference is pretty subjective. I've heard some reviewers say the difference is huge, then others say it's not noticeable.


I'm definitely happy with the minimal stuff they've done. From what I can tell, the only software changes they made are:

-launching the camera by flicking the phone (kind of dumb - there are faster ways to do this - and I've heard it's not very reliable)
-press anywhere on the screen in camera mode to take a photo (which could be great or annoying, depending on the situation, and I'd imagine that other camera apps do this fine already)
-everything related to the always-listening stuff

Let me know if I forgot something...


Yeah, that's a little funny, especially since the One and the S4 just got 4.3 last week. You'd think that by the time the X is released, they could get 4.3 on there. Maybe they will.

At this point I'm pretty conflicted on which Google Play edition phone to buy. Here are the choices I'm still mulling over, focusing on the pros and cons unique to each device:

1) the HTC One

Pros: The hardware is, IMO, the best on the market. I think it's fantastic. The speakers are incredible, and with the amount of podcasting I listen to while working around my house, being able to just use those speakers is huge.

Cons: It's freaking expensive! Undoubtedly this will still be the most expensive of my options. I'm also worried about HTC long-term.

2) The Moto X

Pros: I'm actually really interested in that always-listening mode. I'd love to just be able to have the phone on the coffee table and be able to ask it a question about an actor in the show I'm watching. That's incredible. I also like the design a great deal, and the specs suit me - I don't need a super fast phone.

Cons: I don't know what the price is going to be, it seems like even less "Nexus" than the HTC One, I'll have to wait a long time for it to come out on the Play store, and even then I wouldn't be able to customize it until that stupid exclusive ran out with AT&T.

3) Nexus 4

Pros: I'm not sure if I've made this clear enough in the last several years: I love the nexus phones! I love knowing that my phone is going to get the latest version of the OS. That is, unless Samsung and/or Verizon are involved (hate...). I also love the wireless charging idea, and just being able to place the phone on a dock every night. It's also probably going to be the cheapest off-contract option of the three, though there are rumors the X could start at $299...

Cons: Clearly, it's not the latest handset, and has the fewest flashy hardware perks (aside from wireless charging). It also has the least storage space of the three. The 4.3 update seems to be causing serious problems for some users, too.



In conclusion, I'm very confused. I'm not sure where I'm leaning. That wireless charging is extremely attractive to me, the One has fantastic hardware, and the X has the always-listening feature. I think I'll have to wait to hear more about pricing for the Moto X on the Play store...

Random thought du jour: I'm writing from Seoul where I'm on a business trip. Look around and what do you see? Huge honkin' Galaxy Note phones, damn near everywhere. I'm a bit baffled by the "bigger than a phone, smaller than a tablet" market, but it's got this whole place completely sewn up.

If you're completely insensitive to the weight issue, then maybe the HTC One or Samsung Galaxy S4 (play edition) is a reasonable way to go.

Strange times.

The screens on "phones" are too small for use as a primary web device. Tablets, notebooks, and desktop computers don't fit in pockets. Phablets do. Ergo..

Asia very much likes "bigger is better" and there is quite an obsession with mobile phones there as a fashion item.

They're pretty darn popular over in the states, too!


They mostly weigh the same but that's not an issue at all to me. What isn't an option is the S4. I will not be buying a Samsung device again.

Don't let a $100 or $200 price difference be the deal breaker if it's really the phone you want. A year from now you'll never miss it. I bet there are lots of things you spend a couple hundred bucks on that aren't as important to you as that phone!

[Listen to me, the great expert whose most expensive cell phone I ever bought cost me $21 without contract, and it wasn't even the most expensive choice. I really went high-end with that one. I still have it, too, but Tracfone doesn't operate in Mexico.]

tanstaafl.

Very well said, Doug. Unfortunately it's about $300 difference, and right now I just don't have the funds for a phone that's twice the price...

The question I have in my head right now is: if the Moto X is rumored to come to the Play store for $299, what will the Nexus 4 be then? Cheaper? De-listed? If it's the same price, that will seem a little odd...

When the Galaxy Nexus came out, I recall that there was no real discount to be had if you wanted the earlier Nexus S. Same deal when the Nexus 4 came out. When you're looking at buying unlocked phones, off contract, the prices are relatively stable. It's a completely different universe in the subsidized world, of course, but I don't really know why.

That was different. The Nexus line always has successors, and each phone pretty much pushes the last one out of the limelight. I'm pretty sure they weren't selling the Nexus S in the Play store for long after the Galaxy Nexus came out.

The Moto X is more of a competitor than a successor, so I don't think it's very clear what Google will do with it when the X is in the Play store.

Frankly, I'm a little frustrated by the lack of information we have about the release plan for the X. We don't know when it's available anywhere, do we?

The Play Store didn't exist when the Galaxy Nexus launched. Prior to Google selling phones directly, all the Nexuses were priced like any other unlocked smartphone.

I paid $600 for my Nexus S and $800 for my Galaxy Nexus. Both were acquired from Negri Electronics at launch.

True.* Good point. But that just shows that there's no precedent to be set here, which Dan was arguing. Now Google will have those two devices potentially competing with one another, and I can't imagine they'll sell many Nexus 4 units if it's the same price as the Moto X.

But again, that's assuming the X actually comes to the Play Store for the rumored price. My guess is that it'll be more like $399 or at least $349. I can't imagine Google can go much lower on the Nexus 4, so I'm not sure what's going to happen there...


*technically, the Play Store existed, but the devices section didn't exist until a little later when the first Nexus 7 was announced. Also, the Nexus One was sold through Google too, but not as part of the Play Store...

There's a rumor about a Verizon Moto X variant coming out in late August. More broadly, it's annoying that they haven't been more explicit about the pricing, which leads to all this gnashing of teeth. Sigh.