Seeking your opinions of choosing a wood back for new Moto X

[Apple2Droid]

I've lurked here at Android Central for the last 2 months as I contemplated coming back into the Android fold (former HTC EVO owner)–from my brief foray into the Apple orchard. But I just joined so that I can ask your advice on whether to choose a wooden back, given all the issues that many of you have had.

I know some of you who first ordered X's with wooden backs, who've had problems with them, and have returned them and opted for plastic instead. And I'm hoping that there are many of you who've had no problems at all.

I wasn't even interested in wood until I read through the thread where you all posted pics of your phones. Um, yeah, they look pretty awesome.

I'm a personal trainer and I am on my phone periodically at the gym, checking for messages from clients. So I tend to wipe down my phone with alcohol––you know, wiping away sweaty gym germs, but also as a way to not pass colds or other things from client to client. Because of that I'm always Purelling as well.

So this makes a wooden back seem impractical since I can't be wiping down the wood with alcohol. But if I go with a case like the Case Mate Tough Naked case or the Supcase Unicorn Beetle, the all clear one. But given all of the issues that I've read about here I'm wondering if I should just go for the plastic and forego the beautiful wood.

Can you guys give me your feedback on this? And for those of you that bought wood but had issues with it and had it replaced, would you do it again, knowing what you know now?

Many thanks!

The newbie . . .

P.S. What's a "sticky thread"?

 

[gothand]

Cant speak to the longevity or wiping down with alcohol, but I got the walnut back and I think it looks really sharp. I think its worth a shot. Moro's warranty service see!s to be pretty good, so why not give it a shot?

 

[Citizen Coyote]

I love my bamboo back. It's held up very well with no signs of damage, but I'm honestly not sure how it would respond to constant wiping with alcohol or some other disinfectant. I will also note that the bottom two corners started popping up about a week or so into owning the phone, but the rise is extremely minimal (we're talking like an eighth of a millimeter) so it doesn't bother me. I figure if it does get worse at some point I'll just do a warranty exchange.

Personally I don't like cases anymore, especially if the phone looks as awesome as the Moto X. I do understand the need for them in some instances (like yours), so I'd recommend a clear case if possible so you can still enjoy the look of the wood without worrying about potential long-term damage from wiping it down.

 

[Apple2Droid]

Thank you both for your replies.

I think I'm there with you got hand and am just going to go for it. –I'm buying tomorrow when it's available for Republic Wireless. I'm planning on adding the Motorola extended warranty anyway and if I have problems I'm confident that Motorola will exchange the device.

Once I hit the purchase button and have a confirmation, I'm going to buy the Supcase Unicorn Beetle (completely clear one) at NewEgg. It's really frustrating right now that some of the main cases that people seem to want, i.e. clear ones, are out of stock everywhere. But even though the Naked Tough case is completely clear, I don't think I'll mind the "frost" on the Supcase as it also provides a matte finish. That's one thing I don't like about the Naked Tough case–the very shiny clear coat look of it.

Did both of you consider other wood choices? Or were your walnut and bamboo versions your first choice?

I'm leaning teak or walnut at the moment but I'm looking through the forums to find the YouTube link for a review showing two different bamboo colors, i.e. light for white front and dark for black front. If I knew for sure I would get a dark bamboo with the black front I might choose that.

CC - How doe your naked phone feel in the hand in terms of grip?

I'm hoping that the longer the phone is out that other bumper options might become available. I'd love to find one, to use when I'm not at work, that isn't an in your face color like the Hula bumpers. The beautiful wood backs, and some of the other backs also, are so nice and "organic" looking. To put a bright blue or other colored bumper on it just detracts from the beauty of the phone, IMHO. Even the gray Hula bumper could work with a black-front if it didn't also have white, because that would mimic the color of the dark gray trim.

That's just my personal wish list though. Oh, and a completely clear case with a matte feel, rather than a shiny reflective one would be nice as well. Guess I'll just have to ask Santa for that.

 

[gothand]

Had a tough time deciding between the walnut and ebony back. Ultimately, I asked the opinion of my 12 and 10 year-old girls and they both said walnut. I'm real happy with the choice, though I think I probably would be happy with any of the wood backs. They all look pretty slick to me. If I got the white face I probably would have gone with the bamboo.

 

[Apple2Droid]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to go with wood, but still haven't decided which one yet. I think I'll just make a gut decision when it's available tomorrow. I'm going to get a Hint as well. I'm thinking that if I choose walnut I could get a matching Hint.

Then again, I think it might look a little strange to walk around with a walnut in my ear . . .

 

[freakyhair]

Sounds like you already decided, but I remember getting the 2013 Moto X, and thinking that the wood wouldn't last, or would look tacky, and I regretted it. I just got my bamboo backed 2nd gen X, and I love it. Especially with the metal trim. looks really sharp. I ponied up for the moto care as well as I have a 2-yo and also have the tendency to drop it a lot. I can imagine in a gym setting the damage risk might be greater.

 

[Apple2Droid]

Yes, I'm going to go for it but am still trying to decide which one. I can't buy for an other hour and a half yet but I have a feeling that once I can, I'll be just making a gut impulse decision. I have mostly been interested in the teak and walnut, primarily because I want black glass on the front and I think those stains would look better with black. But I saw the Android Authority YouTube video showing lighter bamboo for a white faced X and darker bamboo for a black one. So I think that's what I'm leaning towards–the exact combination that he's showing in the video: black face, bamboo, olive green trim.

It's funny that I didn't really like the colored trim in most combinations and would have gone with dark gray or maybe bronze. I do like the green with the bamboo and if I was buying plastic I'd pick slate with orange trim just because of seeing the one ClinchDroid posted his pictures of.

Did you get black or white front? What trim did you pick?

Sounds like you already decided, but I remember getting the 2013 Moto X, and thinking that the wood wouldn't last, or would look tacky, and I regretted it. I just got my bamboo backed 2nd gen X, and I love it. Especially with the metal trim. looks really sharp. I ponied up for the moto care as well as I have a 2-yo and also have the tendency to drop it a lot. I can imagine in a gym setting the damage risk might be greater.

 

[cgardnervt]

My Ebony wood back had peeled up. From what i can tell its not been fixed yet. Since I have reordered I got the plastic backing instead. The phone does NOT feel cheap in the hand at all. I have a Diztronic case and love it so far. However if you do get wood report your experience as well. The wood looked great! However the build quality left a lot to be lacking IMO.

 

[Citizen Coyote]

Did both of you consider other wood choices? Or were your walnut and bamboo versions your first choice?

I'm leaning teak or walnut at the moment but I'm looking through the forums to find the YouTube link for a review showing two different bamboo colors, i.e. light for white front and dark for black front. If I knew for sure I would get a dark bamboo with the black front I might choose that.

CC - How doe your naked phone feel in the hand in terms of grip?

It was bamboo only for me as far as the wood backs go. I would say overall it's probably less grippy than a soft touch back might be, but it's not necessarily slippery. It has a definite pattern and grain to it. It's certainly more grippy than my old Nexus 4 with its glass back.

By the way, I have a black front with my bamboo back and it looks great. Check the design sticky, I know there are a couple examples of black/bamboo in there.

 

[freakyhair]

Did you get black or white front? What trim did you pick?

I got the bamboo with the black front. I just wasn't so sure on the other trims. It looks great with the black. I thought the bamboo with the white was a little too "Apple" for me.

Side note, I did just notice the wood is lifting slightly on the edge. Sounds like Moto is having no problems replacing them though. It's barely noticeable, but I'm going to get it fixed now.

 

[Apple2Droid]

OMG, I just had absolutely the worst shopping experience of my life. And I'm sorry but I need to vent for just a moment. –Please forgive me.

It has taken me 1 hour and 10 minutes to order a phone. I had to redesign the phone 15 times. I went through the entire check out process and the system looked like it processed my order. Only it didn't. I repeatedly got a credit card error message, though it wouldn't clarify what it thought was wrong with me credit card. I placed 5 different calls to Motorola. The first few people assured me that Motorola had not phones for the Republic Wireless Carrier and that there was no special first day $50 promo discount for this carrier. When I called back, one person started talking to me and then just hung up. And now I'm sitting on hold with, supposedly, a MotoMaker escalation supervisor, who first assured me that she would have someone call me back within 24 hours. When I assured her that that was unacceptable that that she would have someone fix this issue now, she put me on an indefinite hold.

Ahhhh, ok. I'm regrouping now . . .

I ordered a 32GB Moto X for Republic Wireless with a black front, bamboo back, and olive trim. I bought the best Power Support Shock Absorbing film, and MotoSupport Insurance.

I was never even considering bamboo until someone in the forums mentioned the Android Authority video showing a darker bamboo panel for phones with black front. I like it so that's what I ordered–I'm just really hoping that I get the darker bamboo. I was also not considering any trim options other than the dark gray metallic (the match the metal rim) or possibly bronze. But I got the olive green, which is what was in the video.

cgardnervt - Your comments about your ebony wood backing was one of the main reasons that I almost talked myself out of this. But I figure that with MotoCare, plus the standard 12 month warranty ought to have me covered if something goes wrong.

Thanks Citizen Coyote - I know I've seen your phone because I read through the "show me yours" thread several times. I wouldn't have thought the combination would work until being yours, and others' photos.

It now looks like the order was processed and I have a delivery date of December 18. I can only wonder if it would have been sooner had I the website not prevented my order submission for an hour and a half. Oh well, c'est la vie'.

Thanks for all the feedback. I will report back on how it goes with the bamboo.

I'm off to buy a Supbase Unicorn Beetle all clear case now.