Thinking of switching to Android and a Moto X, have questions and need some help.

[cgr1971]

I am a long time BlackBerry guy who is currently running an iPhone 5 on Verizon. I have had the iPhone for almost 8 months and am really disappointed in the call quality and reception. The last flip phone I had was a Motorola V710. The reception on the phone was amazing, I swear I could get reception in a cave. Next came the BlackBerries, I had a Storm 1, Storm 2, Bold 9650, four different Bold 9930's, and two Z10's. The reason for having four 9930's was that after a while they became buggy and I had to have them replaced. Two different Z10's because one was company issued on AT&T, the other was my personal phone on Verizon. I changed jobs and the company took their Z10 back and my Verizon Z10 was running on the initial release of BB10. The battery life was horrible and it was so buggy I had to get rid of it.

I now have a iPhone 5 running iOS 7 and after my last 9930, and before my Z10, I had a different iPhone 5 running iOS 6.

The BlackBerries ALL had great call quality and reception. I never even thought about call quality and reception until I got the first iPhone and am surprised at the poor in call sound and so so reception that both the iPhones have displayed. My girlfriend also had four different 9930's for the same reason as I had so many and she also ran a Z10 for a while. She has now had two different iPhone 5's and her experience is exactly the same as mine, the call quality is sub par on the iPhones. The battery life has also been really poor on the iPhones. We are not power users and they struggle to make it through the day.

We both have Plantronics Voyager headsets and have had issues with bluetooth on all the iPhones, the iPhones randomly disconnect from the headset and we have to power down he headset and power it back on to get it to reconnect and work. I have used the same headset on all eight BlackBerries without an issue.

I ran a HTC Droid DNA for a week before I got the current iPhone and the call quality was sub par to my BlackBerries and really bad when paired with my bluetooth headset. I also didn't like the overall size of it. I am 6'1" and wear an extra large glove, but I just don't care for the 5" screen phones. I find my iPhone 5 to be a little on the small side and thought the Z10 was perfect. The Moto X is the same height and width as the Z10 just with a bigger screen and a more ergonomically contoured design. I have played with it in the store and really like the overall size and feel of the X. After 8 months, I still haven't adapted and hate typing on the iPhone keyboard. I loved Swiftkey on the DNA.

I have done a lot of homework and playing with the different Android phones. I don't really like Sense or Touch Whiz and prefer the look and feel of stock Android. When factoring in my preference for stock Android and one handed use, the X seems to be the most logical choice for me.

I always carry my phones in a holster and they are never in my pocket. I am currently using my OEM Z10 holster with my iPhone and have tried a Moto X in it at the store and the X fits perfectly.

I don't play games on my phone, actually I have never played a single game on a phone and never plan to. I don't have a Facebook or Twitter account and probably never will. The apps I have on my iPhone are, my bank, Chase credit card app, ebay, Paypal, Redbox, Zen planner for my gym, Fandango, Whatsapp, and BBM. I will probably drop Whatsapp now that Facebok has taken over it, I only use it for one contact.

I talk, text, BBM, Whatsapp, check email, and surf the web on my phone. Using it as a telephone (communication) is my number one priority. The active notifications is really appealing to me on the X. I absolutely hate the fact that there is no way to know that I missed a call, text, or BBM on my iPhone. If I don't have the phone next to me to hear or see a call, text, or BBM come in, I'm out of luck. I don't want to have to be obsessively checking my phone to see if I missed something.

On my BlackBerries I used BeBuzz and had it set to sound an alert every two minutes to notify my of a missed call/text/BBM. Besides active notifications, is there an Android app to have an audible missed call/text/BBM alert?

The call quality and reception are the single most important thing to me on a phone. How is the call quality and reception on the Moto X? For those of you who have used BlackBerries and iPhones, how does it compare? I was planning on getting a Q10 now that 10.2.1 has been released and it can run the apps I need, but the Moto X is really appealing to me and I'm not sure I want to go back to the small screen.

So heres my list of needs wants.

1. Call quality and reception
2. Battery life
3. Audible and Visual missed call/text/BBM alerts.

Thank you in advance for any help and input.

 

[mhans311]

Well call quality is the best on any smartphone I've owned and I have owned many.
Battery life has been surprisingly good. I'll attach a screen shot of my battery life from yesterday.
Active notifications are the best. I didn't think I would like it that much but it is so much better than a blinking notification light. It will be hard to use anything that doesn't have active notifications.

 

[natehoy]

1. Call quality and reception

My wife and I have used several phones on AT&T over the last few years. We live in Maine where cell coverage can tend to be spotty in a lot of places, so we spend some time in marginal signal areas. Of the five Android phones we've used between the two of us, the MotoX and Galaxy S4 are clear winners and pretty much a dead heat in terms of ability to get a signal in very marginal areas, with the MotoX having a very slight edge in being able to maintain, well, EDGE in the worst of spots (the S4 seems better able to maintain LTE, the MotoX tends to fall back to HSPA and EDGE more often, but when you're doing the signal dance 10 miles from the highway the MotoX is usually first to pull in something useful).

2. Battery life

Almost always get a full day out of it, even on those days when I use it a lot. My current record is 7 hours of screen-on time indoors, with 12+ hours runtime on WiFi. With 2-3 hours of screen time (*), I can usually get 24+ hours. Obviously, if I'm in a marginal signal area, battery life gets quite a bit shorter. The cost of a powerful radio is that it draws power.

(*) "screen on" does not include Active Notifications. Those pull a very small amount of power. I'm talking about the screen entirely on.

Rated: Epic. But I'm comparing it primarily to an HTC Thunderbolt and a 5.5" LG Optimus G Pro. Still, there are precious few days when I'm worried about a charger, and that's liberating.

3. Audible and Visual missed call/text/BBM alerts.

I don't know about the audible notifications. My goal is to get my phone to be as silent as possible until and unless something honestly needs my immediate attention. No boops, no bleeps, no squeeps. I've seen this one recommended but have no experience with it.

https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...SwxLDEsImNvbS5sZWQubm90aWZ5Il0&token=JjZ3owgb.

 

[shaytoon21]

So heres my list of needs wants.

1. Call quality and reception.
Absolutely amazing on moto x. This is by far the best phone ive ever had with zero call issues/reception
2. Battery life
Surprisingly good for what you mentioned and the things you do, the phone will last you all day with no charge.
3. Audible and Visual missed call/text/BBM alerts.
active display/notifications. an absolute amazing feature on moto x. you will NEVER miss anything as long as you have it set up properly.

 

[Pollster]

1. Call quality and reception
I've never owned a phone with this good of call sound quality since I had a land line. Reception is also outstanding.
2. Battery life
I never turn anything off or hold back and I never plug my phone in during the day. I haven't seen a low battery indicator yet. 6am to 11:59 pm daily, no problem.
3. Audible and Visual missed call/text/BBM alerts.
Active notification is awesome and having Motorola Connect allow me to see incoming calls and texts as well as reply to texts from my desktop is a godsend.

Your mileage may vary, but it sounds like you value what I value and I couldn't be happier.

 

[ericizzy1]

this /\ /\ /\

 

[Evilnut]

In addition to the things people have said about great call quality, how useful be active notifications are and the excellent battery life, one of the other things that I really like on the moto x is when I pull it from my pocket, pick it up off the table, take it out of the holster, or just tap it when sitting on the table the active notifications on the screen come on and the phone is ready to unlock without having to press a power button and you can see your current notifications. You really don't understand how awesome that is until you have it. The Moto X is an excellent all-around phone that I feel will be relevant for at least another year or longer.

Posted via Android Central App on my Ebony backed Moto X

 

[Golfdriver97]

Love my X. Simply the best phone I have ever had. Period. Battery lasts all day easily with a poor signal. Active Notifications are a wonderful idea, and the always listening isn't a battery drain.

Included are today's battery stats.

From a Sprint Moto X using AC Forums app

 

[TechTinker]

In addition to the things people have said about great call quality, how useful be active notifications are and the excellent battery life, one of the other things that I really like on the moto x is when I pull it from my pocket, pick it up off the table, take it out of the holster, or just tap it when sitting on the table the active notifications on the screen come on and the phone is ready to unlock without having to press a power button and you can see your current notifications. You really don't understand how awesome that is until you have it. The Moto X is an excellent all-around phone that I feel will be relevant for at least another year or longer.

Posted via Android Central App on my Ebony backed Moto X

True words. I was a little unsure about the moto x, but it is flat out amazing. I've always had Moto so I'm used to the stellar reception and call quality. but with the moto X it has 3 microphones and a street with cars can sound like your in a hotel room alone. My first full day with the phone, it lasted forever, 7am-1am while using it to stream, youtube, text, pictures. Blew me away!

 

[cgr1971]

In addition to the things people have said about great call quality, how useful be active notifications are and the excellent battery life, one of the other things that I really like on the moto x is when I pull it from my pocket, pick it up off the table, take it out of the holster, or just tap it when sitting on the table the active notifications on the screen come on and the phone is ready to unlock without having to press a power button and you can see your current notifications. You really don't understand how awesome that is until you have it. The Moto X is an excellent all-around phone that I feel will be relevant for at least another year or longer.

Posted via Android Central App on my Ebony backed Moto X

This really catches my attention. Like I said in my first post, my phone is always in a leather holster, I never put it in my pocket. One of the things I love about the BlackBerries is that they turn on when taken out of the holster. I like that when I pull the phone out to check the time, the screen lights up and I don't have to unlock it to see the time. Does the clock show up also when it lights up to show active notifications?

I also really want a audible missed call/text/BBM notification. The phone is typically in the holster when I'm not using it so a audible notifier is great for my usage pattern. I can easily get in the habit of keeping it out of the holster on my desk or nightstand so I can see the active notifications, but having both would be ideal.

My Motorola v710 had stellar call quality so I'm not surprised to hear what you guys are saying about the reception/call quality, but it is great to hear it.

The always listening feature sounds like it would be great for driving. The only time I use Siri is making phone calls while driving. Being able to make a call without having to touch the phone at all would be awesome.

I am considering picking up a tablet later in the spring for better mobile web surfing. Since I am on Verizon and they block the mobile hotspot, can I run one of the wifi apps on the X or should I look for a developers edition. I will be buying off contract and will hunt down a clean used one. Thank you again to everyone that has responded so far.

 

[ScottMGS]

You can set up notifications to beep and/or buzz when they come in but you say you want sound on missed notifications which implies to me that you want the beep to keep coming until you clear them. I don't think it'll do that. Active Notifications, though, will keep bringing up the most recent notification as well as the time and some icons indicating that there are more than one notification that you haven't cleared yet. As far as the holster thing, I don't think the Moto X will do that exactly but uncleared notifications "breathe" (fade into view then back off) at a relatively short interval until you view or clear them.

 

[ETPhoneHomeT]

Nothing really to add that hasn't already been said for your original three questions. The Moto X performs admirably in all of these 3 areas.

Moto Assist, Touchless Control, Motorola Connect, Trusted Bluetooth Device, Active Notifications, Motorola Migrate are all unique to the Moto X (and Verizon Droids) and are all useful add-ons to the stock Android OS. Some of these features can be somewhat replicated by 3rd party apps, but aren't as good as baked in. Motorola has already demonstrated that they intend to provide Android OS updates quickly as they have less coding to do thanks to the near stock Android OS. Size and form factor is excellent. 4.7" I think is a sweet spot and there is very little bezel on the face of the phone. Also, Motorola is starting to put some of their applications on the Play Store which is great because they can release updates to these features without having to wait for a new OS release.

As for your tablet question, there is no charge for mobile hotspot if you're under a shared plan on VZW. However, if you're still on an unlimited data plan, I believe the only way to get free mobile hotspot involves rooting your phone. I previously used FoxFi, but wifi mobile hotspot is now blocked since the rollout of KitKat and I'm not aware of any other 3rd party apps that will work. I've got both a Nexus 7 and a Nexus 10 tablet and enjoy using both of them.

 

[Evilnut]

This really catches my attention. Like I said in my first post, my phone is always in a leather holster, I never put it in my pocket. One of the things I love about the BlackBerries is that they turn on when taken out of the holster. I like that when I pull the phone out to check the time, the screen lights up and I don't have to unlock it to see the time. Does the clock show up also when it lights up to show active notifications?

I also really want a audible missed call/text/BBM notification. The phone is typically in the holster when I'm not using it so a audible notifier is great for my usage pattern. I can easily get in the habit of keeping it out of the holster on my desk or nightstand so I can see the active notifications, but having both would be ideal.

My Motorola v710 had stellar call quality so I'm not surprised to hear what you guys are saying about the reception/call quality, but it is great to hear it.

The always listening feature sounds like it would be great for driving. The only time I use Siri is making phone calls while driving. Being able to make a call without having to touch the phone at all would be awesome.

I am considering picking up a tablet later in the spring for better mobile web surfing. Since I am on Verizon and they block the mobile hotspot, can I run one of the wifi apps on the X or should I look for a developers edition. I will be buying off contract and will hunt down a clean used one. Thank you again to everyone that has responded so far.

The Moto X does not have the magnet sensor like BB's did for the holster (I had BB's for years for my old job) but it has sensors that "wake up" the screen when removing it from a pocket/holster or moving it after a period of inactivity. Its a very similar function but different execution. There are apps you can download that will give persistent sound or vibration notifications. But you can set up each individual app to notify you with a unique sound and/or vibration as part of stock android. You can set up Gmail, hotmail, twitter, FB, G+, Text, IM etc for unique sound and or vibrate notifications as well as active notifications.

I use touchless controls while driving. They are great. Along with trusted BT the Moto X is the perfect "drivers phone".

If you buy a phone from Verizon they have a 14 day return policy. So I say just go for it!

Posted via Android Central App on my Ebony backed Moto X

 

[cgr1971]

I'm not on ulimited data, but am on an old plan. I have 2gb of data and if I switch to a share everything plan, I will only have 1gb of data for the same money. Since I'm pretty new to android, I've never rooted, but not afraid of it as long as it doesn't hurt the other functionality of the phone. I would assume there is a stock (OEM) rom that would allow me to use Foxfi or some other wifi app?

I will have to see if I can get my hands on a live demo to test how the X reacts to being taken out of the holster. I am really curious if it will act like the BlackBerry and wake up.

 

[chase1963]

Love the Moto X. Between the active notifications, great call quality and amazing battery life. It's been the best phone I've had. Been with VZW for the better part of 15 years.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[mhans311]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but there's no good root method for kitkat on the moto x. I don't have the dev edition so maybe that one has root.

 

[zedorda]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but there's no good root method for kitkat on the moto x. I don't have the dev edition so maybe that one has root.

There will be sooner or later but no one is rushing to it bc root just isn't all that needed unlike other phones there isn't much useless bloatware and its already fast as all heck. Just hang in there it will happen.

 

[Golfdriver97]

There will be sooner or later but no one is rushing to it bc root just isn't all that needed unlike other phones there isn't much useless bloatware and its already fast as all heck. Just hang in there it will happen.

This is probably very close to the truth, along with the fact that there is not much for custom ROMs as this is already close to vanilla anyway.

From a Sprint Moto X using AC Forums app