Moto X: Top 5 Features Of The Motorola Phone From Google (GOOG)

Moto X: Top 5 Features Of The Motorola Phone From Google (GOOG)

However, Motorola has joined other manufactures to argue that the hardware specifications of a device -- from processor benchmarks to camera megapixel numbers -- are not the most important features of a good user experience. Motorola will offer the Moto X phone as a highly customizable device and are marketing it as having an easy to use “Google experience.”

Motorola will allow users of the Motomaker to choose a white or black front to the Moto X, with several more options for the phone's back panel and side buttons.  Courtesy / Motorola

The Moto X, while not having the hottest hardware specifications on the market, does have a few new features makes it stand out against competing devices on the market, including the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S4. Here are the top five features of the Moto X, which Motorola will release at an unspecified date in late August or September.

1) Personalization

ATT subscribers will be able to order the Moto X from Motorola’s Moto Maker website at launch. An unlocked or Google Play version of the Moto X has not yet been announced, but is expected to be in the works, and Motorola has announced that the "Motomaker" design studio will be coming soon to Best Buy. Subscribers to Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular will have fewer color options at launch, but Motorola said that the Moto X will be offered in custom options from other carriers by the end of 2013.

Moto X designers can choose a back from 18 different colors through the Moto Maker, including six colors from the “cool” side of the spectrum (like green and blue), five shades that span from white and grey to black, and seven “warm” hues ranging from red to yellow.

Motomaker allows users to pick a Moto X front in white or black, as well as one of seven metallic “accent” colors to accentuate the phone’s bumper buttons and a ring around its camera. Users will also be able to add a “signature,” sort of like the engraving done on Apple products, but more of a darkly-printed paint job in the case of the Moto X.

After the outside of the Moto X is finished, Motorola will offer two different cases for the phone from Incase -- a simpler, snap-on case in clear or “black frost” and a Pro Shell Case with seven different colored bumpers, including black, gray, green, blue, orange and pink.

The Moto X will also be offered in 16GB and 32GB iterations, with customizable text for the Moto X’s boot animation, as well as a choice of wallpaper and whether or not the phone should ship synced to a user’s Google account. According to Motorola’s Motomaker Youtube video, the Moto X will offer a choice of wall charger, and 13 different earbud color options from SOL. The earbuds will come at an extra cost, which the company has not yet announced.

2) ‘Always on’ voice control

The Moto X has a relatively new feature also present in the new family of devices for Verizon Wireless -- including the Motorola Droid Ultra, Mini and Maxx -- voice control that is turned on whenever the phone is, always listening for the specific command: “OK, Google Now.”

The “Google Now” voice feature is always on, but according to Motorola’s Guy Kawasaki, is “silent until you ask it to do something.” Several hands-on demonstrations with the Moto X have shown that the voice features available with Google Now require a training session -- the phone has to learn a user’s voice before it will respond.

Training the Moto X to understand a specific user’s voice and ignoring others will give it additional security. For the “Google Now” voice features to work properly, lock screens and other barriers to hands-free usage need to be broken. The Moto X could be the phone to do it, but only time will tell if the voice gestures in Motorola’s latest offering will sink or swim.

The International Business TImes has created a detailed breakdown of the Motorola’s X8 Mobile Computing System, which powers the Moto X. In it, the X8‘s low-power natural language processing core is highlighted as the backbone of “Google Now” and voice search in the Moto X. 

Voice control could change the way that people interact with technology. Motorola and Google’s decision to incorporate always-on voice gestures to the Moto X and new Droid devices is a major first step. Forcing users to touch or pick up a smartphone to turn on a listening app eliminates the convenience of the technology. However, there are two main hurdles for always-on voice control: battery life and hands-free usage.

Even though it is always listening, it is not yet clear if the Moto X is able to bypass lock screens with its voice control features. Since the Moto X will be trained to detect its owner’s voice, the lock screen might not be a necessary component of the phone’s security, but it remains to be seen if lock screens are going to be a major hindrance. The video embedded above details the Moto X's ability to create alarms and save notes without having to be touched. However, it does not highlight phone calls being made or text messages being read aloud -- which could mean the functionality is disabled or not included. If this is true, the Moto X's voice functions will be disappointingly limited.

If the low-power natural language processor is able to power “Google Now” without quickly draining battery life, and allows smartphone users to actually complete tasks rather than just checking the weather, then voice search might actually start working like the computer on “Star Trek” as opposed to some cheap parlor trick.

3) Situational awareness

Motorola has said that the “responsiveness” of the Moto X will set it apart from other smartphones. Place it with the screen facing down on a table, and it turns off the AMOLED screen. The same goes for placing the phone in a pocket. Pick it up, and the Moto X lights up, ready for action. 

The Moto X also offers a low-power contextual awareness processor to determine how to function in situations like the speeding motion of a moving car, or the bouncing jog of a runner. This will allow the Moto X to react accordingly, with less input from a user. When combined with voice controls, the awareness of the Moto X will allow the phone to be easier to use and more responsive to its users, Motorola says.

4) A gesture-based camera

Quickly twist the Moto X two times with your wrist, and the screen is turned on, camera app ready to go. We at IBTimes are not able to report whether the gesture is worthwhile or simply induces carpal tunnel until we can review the Moto X hands on. However, the Moto X camera (10-megapixel main on the back, 2-megapixels up front) has a nice new addition in the form of an updated user interface.

Taking a picture only requires a touch, rather than pressing a single button. Videos require the touch of the video-camera icon, and still photos can be taken during video capture with a press of the screen as well. Smartphone cameras have become the main  instrument of photography for many consumers, and having one that is easier to use and functions better would be a major caveat for Motorola.

5) Assembled in the U.S.

While the feature will be exclusive to ATT subscribers for the first few weeks (or months) that follow the launch of the Moto X, Motorola promises customized versions of the phone will ship to consumers in “four days or less” after they place their order. The quick turnaround is because the Moto X will be the first smartphone assembled in the U.S. Many components will come from suppliers around the world, but the final production of the Moto X will happen in the U.S., with custom devices shipping straight from the Fort Worth, Tex. Motorola factory.

Most Americans are willing to pay more for a product built in the U.S. according to a recent Gallup poll. Most Chinese consumers are also willing to pay more for a device made in the U.S., according to a study from the Boston Consulting Group. That means a larger, more interested market for Motorola and Google with the Moto X, and potentially a more positive perception of Motorola (and Google) in the U.S.

More than the sum of parts

Google acquired Motorola to protect the Android ecosystem and its hardware partners from lawsuits over software patents from Microsoft and other parties. Motorola had acquired a number of patents, and Google paid dearly for it -- over $12 billion. However, Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside (formerly from Google) was quick to point out at D11 that Motorola developed the StarTAC, one of the first popular cell phones to gain traction with consumers, as well as the popular RAZR line.

If Motorola is able to become a success again, Google’s investment will not only protect its Android operating system -- the company will finally start to see a profit from hardware, like Apple does with the iPhone.

The Moto X will be mostly assembled in the U.S. The Moto X will be highly customizable with several color options and a voice search that can learn its owner’s voice. The Moto X’s voice control will always be listening when the phone is powered up, and a series of sensors might allow the phone to function more intuitively than its competitors. While marketing is certainly a factor at play in the pre-release hype of the Moto X, if the promised features function properly, then the phone will have good reason to sell well.

If the Moto X is a hit, then Google’s acquisition of Motorola was not only a smart move, it will have been a grand slam.

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