Moto X May Have Off-Contract $299 Starting Price Tag
Google and Motorola seemingly want everyone to have a custom Moto X smartphone.
The latest rumor surrounding the Motorola Moto X smartphone is that it will have a starting price of $299 off-contract. This super-low price tag is for the 16 GB model, whereas the 32 GB Moto X will supposedly start at $349, unlocked and contract-free. That's around the same price range as the Nexus 4, which costs $299 for the 8 GB version and $349 for the 16 GB version.
Motorola is scheduled to fully reveal its Moto X plans on August 1 during an event in New York City. This will be the first major new device launched by Motorola since it was acquired by Google back in May 2012 for $12.5 billion USD. The launch will follow Sundar Pinchai's expected reveal of Android 4.3 on Wednesday which will reportedly power the Moto X phone.
Based on rumors, the specs surrounding the phone have been mixed. As reported earlier this month, the phone may sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core 28 nm SoC clocked at 1.7 GHz (MSM8960 Pro), 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, a 2 MP camera on the front, and a 10 MP camera on the back. There will be multi-color options, a palette of 25 in all, allowing the customer to choose different colors for both the front frame and the back panel. The company will also offer custom engraving for the back panel which customers can submit online.
This custom design option will be made possible thanks to Motorola's new 500,000-square-foot factory in Texas. The company said this facility will be able to deliver personalized devices within days of placing an order. Motorola will supposedly provide a dedicated website for the Moto X – which probably will not reside on Google Play to keep other device makers happy – so that customers can place their customized orders, and even upload photos that can be used as out-of-the-box wallpaper.
In addition to the customizations, the Moto X will supposedly be packed with sensors. It will reportedly know when the user takes it out of a pocket, will act differently when the user's car is traveling 60 miles per hour (for safer use), and allow users to flick the phone to launch the camera. A video leaked onto Google Plus even showed that voice commands can be used even when the phone is in stand-by mode. The phone supposedly awakens when the user says "Google Now." Naturally, the video has been yanked offline.
There's a good chance Google will still sell the Moto X phone on Google Play alongside the Nexus 4, but only in Black and White colors and with no customizable options. We'll get the full scoop on August 1.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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d_kuhn Once I get rid of this Razr Maxx HD piece of junk I'll never EVER get suckered into another Motorola smartphone, returned the first one for replacement but the second isn't much better. It doesn't abruptly reboot quite as often, or go unresponsive for 5 minutes for no apparent reason, and I've only had to reinstall apps (what few I've got) and data once instead of several times (it likes to reset itself after firmware updates), but it has a lot of issues that friends of mine with other Android phones just don't have (and in 3 prior years of owning iPhones I never had once).Reply -
chesterman Will Motorola launch any new high end phone with physical keyboard? I'm happy with my galaxy s4, but if there was any phone like the droid/milestone with a hardware that matters today, i would gladly change =)Reply -
rounder47 My upgrade eligibility on my Motorola Photon 4G coincides with the release of the Moto X, which will get serious consideration. While I've been satisfied with the performance of the Photon, its been discontinued, only to be followed by a version with a slide out keyboard. The Photon's camera is marginal and from what I've seen thus far on the rumor mill, the Moto X will feature a much better camera. Assuming that the other specs are decent and the price is reasonable, it may be time to support Motorola again with its new Made in the USA device.Reply -
mt2e I'm still seeing ZERO reason to upgrade to any newer phone from my Galaxy Nexus I bought almost 2 years ago.....same phones have been released for the past 2 years, wtf...only tangible benefit to a newer phone is battery life, nothing else...and weight, my gnext with extended battery is like a mini brick :-PReply -
whiteodian With the removable shells, I wonder if they have a micro SD slot and replaceable battery. I'm glad to see more nice phones for very reasonable off-contract prices. $45 a month on Straight Talk beats the $90 I was paying AT$T any day and every day.Reply -
BranFlake5 Hard to choose this over a Nexus 4 for the same price point, I was hoping for a 200-250 dollar device.Reply -
dalethepcman Reply11217617 said:Once I get rid of this Razr Maxx HD piece of junk I'll never EVER get suckered into another Motorola smartphone... (it likes to reset itself after firmware updates), but it has a lot of issues that friends of mine with other Android phones just don't have (and in 3 prior years of owning iPhones I never had once
First off when you perform a firmware update, you always have to reset your phone. All of your issues sound like an error between touchscreen and chair.... According to Amazon, one of the biggest complaints is that it doesn't play iTunes. This also coming from a previous apple user. Surprise surprise...
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-RAZR-MAXX-HD-Wireless/product-reviews/B009P5WWPC