Motorola has introduced a slew of innovative features with its upcoming Moto X. The smartphone is made from exotic materials, has a custom CPU, is resistant to water, has a ring flash and offers the benefits of a fast charge battery.
Bold choices have been made when it comes to the styling. The large smartphone’s chassis is made from rigid aluminium, although it conforms to the shape of your palm. It curves savagely from left to right, and more subtly from top to bottom.
Dressing the back of the Moto X is either rich leather or polished wood. Spotting a Moto X resting on a coffee table will be more of an occasion than crossing paths with another smartphone clad in metal, plastic or glass.
Using natural materials offers another benefit in that it makes the Moto X, a stack of silicon circuitry, feel less technical and more organic. Other examples drive this point home, too.
Hold the Moto X and your forefinger naturally slips into a dimple lined with the company’s logo. The sense of touch can be a powerful agent when it comes to crafting an experience. Artist Michelangelo, in his painting the Creation of Adam, depicted God giving life to man with a single touch. This comes to mind every time my finger and the dimple meet.
Rest the Motorola Moto X alongside Apple’s iPhone 6 and it stands only 2mm taller. This is to Motorola's credit as its smartphone has a much larger 5.2-inch display. The display, which has a resolution of 1920x1080, packs a commendable 423 pixels into every inch.
Differentiating the Moto X from most rivals is its AMOLED display. The AMOLED panel only uses the power it needs by illuminating select sections, and Motorola makes use of this functionality by presenting notifications directly on the standby screen.
Saying ‘OK Google’ readies voice search without having to touch the Moto X. Google’s Voice Search is a capable personal assistant, particularly when it comes to conducting hands-free web searches. This feature was introduced on the first generation Moto X, but now it is possible to change the awake prompt from OK Google to one of your choosing.
Few smartphones can conduct a voice search without being handled. Motorola has made the Moto X series an exception by including two speech processors: one dedicated to natural language and another dedicated to context.
These processors are in addition to a 2.5GHz quad-core CPU, 2GB of RAM and storage options of 16GB and 32GB.
Not having a removable back cover means the 2300 milliamp-hour battery cannot be swapped. However, the Moto X will come with a ‘turbo charger’, which the company claims can deliver 8 hours of battery life from just 15 minutes of charge.
Additional unique features include a resistance to water and a flash wrapped around its 13 megapixel, UHD-capable camera.
Motorola plans on releasing the Moto X as in November, although it will only be available as an outright purchase. Good Gear Guide will publish a review on the smartphone ahead of its release.
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