Picked one up today (Canada)!

[Paisley]

Not via a setting. But some apps (Camera) have transparent backgrounds, while others show dark backgrounds.

oh. thanks. i'll have to watch mqdbl or whatever his channel is called, i think he was talking about that, if so, he said that's a bug. Okay, big thanks. : )

 

[SteelGator]

how do button phones deal with that?

The button phones deal with it by getting rid of the bar all together. Initially there was a black bar across the bottom of them to display the menu bar when needed, but this has been fixed.

As for them being on screen and taking up spcae -- I barely noticed it on my GN. For the gaming apps or videos that I wanted full screen, the apps remove the buttons, so that is the flexibility that you get from them. At this point I prefer them to be on-screen. The button bar adapts based on what features are needed.

What I had hoped was that the bottom bezel would be smaller now that you don't need the space for the capacitive buttons, but I don't think we have seen that play out yet. It will be an adjustment going to the Maxx, but the battery life is worth the trade off for me.

 

[rajeshr68]

For those looking for some camera comparisons:

Here's a quick comparison shot between the MotoX & Samsung Galaxy S4. These shots were taken about 30 seconds apart and have no post processing done other than resizing each to a width of 640 pixels. The first is from the Moto X and the second (the taller one) is from the Galaxy S4.

I haven't tested the Moto X in low light or any challenging conditions.

Initial thoughts:
- The one from the GS4 os a much more accurate colour rendition of the actual scene.
- The one from the Moto X has a purplish cast to the picture (see the colour of the sky).
- There is a lot more detail in the picture taken by the GS4.

 

[Paisley]

For those looking for some camera comparisons:

Here's a quick comparison shot between the MotoX & Samsung Galaxy S4. These shots were taken about 30 seconds apart and have no post processing done other than resizing each to a width of 640 pixels. The first is from the Moto X and the second (the taller one) is from the Galaxy S4.

I haven't tested the Moto X in low light or any challenging conditions.

Initial thoughts:
- The one from the GS4 os a much more accurate colour rendition of the actual scene.
- The one from the Moto X has a purplish cast to the picture (see the colour of the sky).
- There is a lot more detail in the picture taken by the GS4.

ouch.

i wonder what the droid ones are like. if they were better and i had verizon, i would get a droid just for that.

 

[rajeshr68]

ouch.

i wonder what the droid ones are like. if they were better and i had verizon, i would get a droid just for that.

I'd assume the Droid ones are the same - don't they have the same sensor and software?

Additionally, I'm not sure whether they are a result of the sensor or image processing? If sensor, then there's not much hope for better images. If processing, then theoretically a software update could alleviate some of the issues.

 

[Paisley]

I'd assume the Droid ones are the same - don't they have the same sensor and software?

Additionally, I'm not sure whether they are a result of the sensor or image processing? If sensor, then there's not much hope for better images. If processing, then theoretically a software update could alleviate some of the issues.

haha, jinx. i just wondered that in a thread above. yeah, off to look at reviews for the droids.

 

[Astrotrain00]

I'd assume the Droid ones are the same - don't they have the same sensor and software?

Additionally, I'm not sure whether they are a result of the sensor or image processing? If sensor, then there's not much hope for better images. If processing, then theoretically a software update could alleviate some of the issues.

..or perhaps a camera app to replace the stock software? Not sure if you'd be willing or interested to try, but I know it would answer a question I've seen from a lot of folks re: camera.

 

[SteelGator]

For those looking for some camera comparisons:

Here's a quick comparison shot between the MotoX & Samsung Galaxy S4. These shots were taken about 30 seconds apart and have no post processing done other than resizing each to a width of 640 pixels. The first is from the Moto X and the second (the taller one) is from the Galaxy S4.

I haven't tested the Moto X in low light or any challenging conditions.

Initial thoughts:
- The one from the GS4 os a much more accurate colour rendition of the actual scene.
- The one from the Moto X has a purplish cast to the picture (see the colour of the sky).
- There is a lot more detail in the picture taken by the GS4.

Could you download a couple 3rd party camera apps (camera zoom) and see what type of results they produce?

 

[rajeshr68]

Ask and ye shall receive! :-D

Same shot (around the same time) - in order from top to botton: Stock Moto X Camera App, Camera Zoom FX & Pecan. For some reason, Camera Zoom FX only shot with a 5MP resolution (no other option was available) and the app produced some quirky usability issues (the on screen buttons disappeared and only were available when I went to the Gallery).

I still notice a purple tinge in all the shots, but to my eye the Pecan one is much sharper (at full size) than the stock one.

 

[JungleLarry]

You're a gentleman and a scholar.

 

[betsuni]

I just thought of a question that I wanted to know (which will help me decide if I wanted to try this phone out). How is the GPS lock on both maps and camera after three or more days of using it? The reason I ask is that I am always using my phone to GPS tag photos every day and my current phone requires me to reboot it every 3-5 days or so because the GPS lock breaks eventually.

I do remember that the camera app on the Atrix HD I briefly had didn't notify you if the GPS locked when you were using it. Does the stock camera app on the Moto X have the same?

Ok so that's two questions, sorry!

Thanks! You've done a ton of great stuff for this thread and I'm curious about your helium experience as well.

 

[Astrotrain00]

Ask and ye shall receive! :-D

Same shot (around the same time) - in order from top to botton: Stock Moto X Camera App, Camera Zoom FX & Pecan. For some reason, Camera Zoom FX only shot with a 5MP resolution (no other option was available) and the app produced some quirky usability issues (the on screen buttons disappeared and only were available when I went to the Gallery).

I still notice a purple tinge in all the shots, but to my eye the Pecan one is much sharper (at full size) than the stock one.

Pecan looks a hint better, but still kind of washed out to me unfortunately. Luckily, I don't need a top-o-the-line camera with spot on reproduction. I take most of my shots indoors for work.

 

[truenoob]

As another asked, please comment on the GPS locking of this device. I'm hoping it's like my Razr which is as quick as can be to lock on vs my Samsung GS3, which takes a while and sometimes loses the signal here and there.

 

[rajeshr68]

I just thought of a question that I wanted to know (which will help me decide if I wanted to try this phone out). How is the GPS lock on both maps and camera after three or more days of using it? The reason I ask is that I am always using my phone to GPS tag photos every day and my current phone requires me to reboot it every 3-5 days or so because the GPS lock breaks eventually.

I do remember that the camera app on the Atrix HD I briefly had didn't notify you if the GPS locked when you were using it. Does the stock camera app on the Moto X have the same?

Ok so that's two questions, sorry!

Thanks! You've done a ton of great stuff for this thread and I'm curious about your helium experience as well.

I've had GPS turned off since yesterday. However, when I turned it on today it was fast and accurate for both Maps as well as Camera. I'll keep it going and report back over the next few days.

As for Helium, I'll try it tonight if I get in home in time!

 

[SteelGator]

Ask and ye shall receive! :-D

Same shot (around the same time) - in order from top to botton: Stock Moto X Camera App, Camera Zoom FX & Pecan. For some reason, Camera Zoom FX only shot with a 5MP resolution (no other option was available) and the app produced some quirky usability issues (the on screen buttons disappeared and only were available when I went to the Gallery).

I still notice a purple tinge in all the shots, but to my eye the Pecan one is much sharper (at full size) than the stock one.

Thanks for this. I was hoping for more improvement, and I agree with the assessment of the shots.

This camera is better than what I have now on my GN, so it will work for me. If I needed, I can fix what I have seen with Snapseed. I still have not gotten to the point that I like to use my phone for anything more than a snapshot anyway.

 

[Strawdawg]

I don't think the average user will notice a difference in the pictures unless he has two phones side by side for comparison and even then, the pictures are not even close to terrible.

You want camera, then try the Nokia 1020 or maybe the forthcoming Sony

 

[rajeshr68]

I don't think the average user will notice a difference in the pictures unless he has two phones side by side for comparison and even then, the pictures are not even close to terrible.

You want camera, then try the Nokia 1020 or maybe the forthcoming Sony

I think the camera will suffer even more in low light conditions and those will be noticed by most users. And to my eye, I noticed the Moto X pictures were not good prior to comparing with the GS4. I've owned a Nokia 920 and the pictures that it produced were excellent even to an untrained eye. I'm not saying the Moto X has to beat the 920/1020, but it would be nice to be in the middle of the pack. These ones from the X aren't good at all.

For me, the camera is not as important as some other features - so I don't really mind the pictures.

 

[Paisley]

I don't think the average user will notice a difference in the pictures unless he has two phones side by side for comparison and even then, the pictures are not even close to terrible.

i saw guy kawasaki's pics before he said he used the moto for it and i thought they were oddly washed out then wondered if he actually took them with a moto. turns out he did. And i am def. an avg. camera user.

You want camera, then try the Nokia 1020 or maybe the forthcoming Sony

there's a wide range btwn awful/barely decent and best cameras on a phone. to acknowledge or say the camera being bad is an issue doesn't mean that person needs the top of the line camera on their phone.

 

[Strawdawg]

Again, this phone does not seem to be aimed at a target group that hang out on forums. I would like to hope that future software updates may improve some of the autofocus issues and processing. I suspect 80% of the potential buyers use their cameras to post to FB or such and will never notice that it is not as good as a SG4 because they never owned a phone like that anyway.

 

[rajeshr68]

BTW, discovered a cool feature on the phone. It allows me to authenticate my identity by using Bluetooth devices (Settings-Security-?Trusted Devices?). If I'm in range of any of these trusted BT devices, it disables the screen lock security.