My Short Review Of The Moto X after owning the HTC One, GS4 & Razr Maxx HD

Joe the Insider

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So, I've noticed a lot of people on here asking the same question i had.."Htc One, GS4 or Moto X?", Well, I have owned those phones and now i own the Moto X and i want to help others and give everyone my thoughts of the Moto X and how it compares to the Big 2 Phones.


Build Quality:

I know you are all going to expect me to say the the HTC One has the best build quality out of the 3, But i must say that i was extremely surprised about how solid the X is. The buttons are very easy to push unlike the HTC One. The HTC Ones button is on the top left (Worst placement ever) and was almost flush with the phone, So cases that had cut outs and even naked, it was hard to push the button. The X buttons are on the right side toward the corner and they stick out enough to hit and have a nice click to them. Also, The materials they use seem like some kind of space age material and the effect on the back is gorgeous. I even like it better than the Nexus 4's glass back. If you have noticed, I haven't really mentioned the GS4 in this and that's, Because its just plastic with no thought of durability or distinct design. As for the One, The aluminum is nice, But it does scratch easily and for those who like to go naked with their devices, its very slippery.


Sound Quality/Call Quality:

HTC one wins when it comes to music through the ear buds and phone speaker.
The Moto X wins for superb call quality.
Galaxy S4 wins for excellent software when it comes to sound (Equalizer)


Software Features:

I'm going to say this now and i will probably get bashed for this, But i just feel that even though the GS4 has all kinds of "amazing" features like smart scroll, air gestures and all those other smart features,To me they're Gimmicks, They're unrealistic and they work 30% of the time. I just don't think for most people they are real world use. I can't tell you how many times ive tried the wave your hand over the screen and answer phone only to look like an *****, because it didn't work the first 2 times. Smart scroll just doesn't work and i despise that i HAVE to use the stock browser and not chrome.

HTC One has Blink feed and Sense 5. Blink feed is alright, But half the feeds i follow weren't available and their really isn't any organization either. It's a neat idea, But i would rather not waste my whole screen for it when i can use apps like feedly, greader or press for all my rss feeds. Sense 5 is fluid, beautiful looking and who does't love HTC's widgets? My problem with Sense though is there is way too much extra's that are just wasted space. Ex: A weather widget in the app drawer..??? Really? Htc Zoe is a neat function and works well.

Moto X here is where i think blows the competition away, Because then features work, they are realistic and overall make you feel like your phone is truly a smartphone.

Touchless Controls - works flawlessly especially when you are driving. When you get into your vehicle and start driving, The phone recognizes this and goes into "driving mode". Driving mode will automatically read out your texts messages after it's asks you " Would you like me to read message from so and so" you can then say yes or she let you say reply with a auto message that tells the contact that you are driving and will get back to them soon. It will call tell you when someone is calling and once again have an option to answer or ignore. This makes sense and this is something that other manufacturers need to make note of. This feature is actually called Moto Assist, But works in conjunction with touch less control's.

Active Notifications : - Another great feature that just makes sense, Any notifications like messages, emails, calls or app updates pop up on a nice minimal black screen with little amount of pixels lit and shows me those notifications without killing battery and constantly waking up my phone. Veru useful at meetings, dinner time :) and during the night.

Motorola Connect - This is a feature that a lot of reviewers did not mention and im surprised, Because it is one of my favorite features of the Moto X. This allows you to get your messages and recent calls on your pc sent from your phone. I am sitting in front of my pc now typing this review and i got a message from my wife and a pop up came up and i was able to reply on my pc. It shows all your conversations, Even the ones that weren't done on the pc. Same goes for recent calls. It shows me what calls i have including missed calls.


Camera:

The Moto X is probably the least of of the 3 when it comes to the camera, BUT HEAR ME OUT... The camera is actually capable of taking great pictures especially in low light and so fatr i am very happy with the pictures that i have taken. I just think it that HTC and Samsung have the edge in camera. I will say that i prefer the camera UI on the X over the Onre and GS4 though. It's simple, clean and i love the wheel. It makes me want to use the other features more, because they aren't a pain to get to and use. Don't let this turn you away, The Camera is very good and low light pictures are a huge plus.

Display:

I am going to say something i never thought i would say. 1080P Screens are overrated and just, because the X has a 720p display doesn't mean it's bad. Actually it's very very good and there is no pixels to be seen. I'd take better battery over display and i always love when people have their brightness at 20%, because that's just insane and i love that i can keep it at 80% and it not affect the battery to much. Speaking of Brightness, The X is the brightest than the others and can easily be seen outside. I own a Nexus 7 2013 edition and ive used 3 different 1080p displays and im not disappointed at the least by the X's display. No worries here!

Performance

I'm not going to go into much detail here, but i will say this...The Moto X may not have top specs, BUT it is as smooth as the best out there and even smoother than the GS4. There is NO LAG, NO SLOW DOWNS and simply is a ultra fast phone. Remember people, The X has the same Adreno GPU as the GS4, So graphics are going to be fluid and lag free. Make no mistake, Motorola proved their point and shows everyone specs isn't everything, It's all about how you use those specs. Obviously there's no much of a UI like touchwiz or Sense 5 and obviously that makes a difference.



If you guys have any questions, Feel free to ask me and i will help as best as i can. This is just a short review, So im sure their is some details left out, but there's one thing i can say for sure...



The Moto X is going to be my phone for a while and even though Verizon doesn't have Moto maker, When they do i will be selling my White Verizon Moto X and making my own. I am extremely happy with this device and i am moving forward with it.
 
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Travisimo

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To me there Gimmicks, Their unrealistic and they work 30% of the time.

I stopped reading after two improper uses of the word "they're". LOL, just kidding man. Nice writeup, and I agree with most of what you wrote. I've used the iPhone 5, GS4, HTC One, and now the Moto X, and I'm definitely loving the Moto X. The combination of hardware customization, superb form factor, nearly-stock Android, and some unique features like Touchless Controls and Active Notifications make this phone a winner!
 

Joe the Insider

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I stopped reading after two improper uses of the word "they're". LOL, just kidding man. Nice writeup, and I agree with most of what you wrote. I've used the iPhone 5, GS4, HTC One, and now the Moto X, and I'm definitely loving the Moto X. The combination of hardware customization, superb form factor, nearly-stock Android, and some unique features like Touchless Controls and Active Notifications make this phone a winner!

Lol yeahhh, I rushed it a bit.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
 

jephanie

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Motorola Connect is definitely another not-so-well known feature that I have definitely enjoyed. It's very cool.

One thing that I quickly discovered a LOVE for on the camera UI is that even though the camera launches in still shot mode, you just tap the video recorder button and it automatically starts recording video. You don't have to switch over to a video mode first, THEN start recording. It just simply starts recording. That is a HUGE convenient time saver!

We played around with the slo-mo trick and it is also a really neat little deal when you find yourself with the appropriate moment for it.

The simplicity of approach and the truly usefulness of the added features are simply awesome. And with the MUCH better radios in the X compared to the Galaxy Nexus, I am totally smitten. The Moto X is what the Galaxy Nexus should have been. The X delivers upon all the broken promises of the turd that Samsung produced. I am a VERY happy Moto X owner.
 

Rocketsaucev2

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And I thought the title said short review! I kid, and I also am in love with this phone! The active display is very underrated when you read about it you think huh ok but it is really useful and straight up fun to use and show off

Sent from my XT1060
 

Ckidwell

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Thanks for the great post! I ordered my VZW Moto X and it won't be here until Wednesday or Thursday. Worst shipping time I've ever had, considering I ordered it Thursday. You answered a ton of questions I had. I can't wait to get my hands on this phone.
 

Joe the Insider

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And I thought the title said short review! I kid, and I also am in love with this phone! The active display is very underrated when you read about it you think huh ok but it is really useful and straight up fun to use and show off

Sent from my XT1060

It was supposed to be shorter, but as I started to type it, I felt I needed to add more detail. Trust me I had a lot more to say lol.



Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
 

Joe the Insider

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What really bothers me is that people want to pick the Galaxy s4 or the HTC One simply based I'm specs, but I want you to think about something for a second. You have to understand that Android is it up to my eyes official use a quad core chips yet. What Motorola did is use the cores efficiently and don't forget that there are two other cores they're putting to good use as well. The X8 isn't a gimmick or a trick, it's actually brilliant and it does everything right.

Remember people it's all about how the phone performs for you just because it has better specs doesn't mean you should buy it. If both phones perform the same then you need to find other reasons why you're going to buy that phone.

In the end form factor, stock and useful features are a big reason why I chose the Moto X over the HTC One.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
 

Aquila

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Thanks for the great post! I ordered my VZW Moto X and it won't be here until Wednesday or Thursday. Worst shipping time I've ever had, considering I ordered it Thursday. You answered a ton of questions I had. I can't wait to get my hands on this phone.

Yeah, that does suck with the holiday weekend 2 business days is quite awhile.
 

jephanie

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Yeah, that does suck with the holiday weekend 2 business days is quite awhile.

The $12.99 next day shipping option was well worth it to me. It gave me the three day weekend to really put the phone through its paces before I had to go back into work-week mode. The only thing I have left to test is the signal strength at the office.
 

kilofoxtrot

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If I had unlimited data I would probably do the X... however, at only 16gb and being a music and photo lover. I cant do the X.

So.... I am doing the MAXX.
 

Rule9

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I'm not surprised the X is better than the S4. I'd put the S4 behind the X and the One. Just wasn't a very well thought out phone that looks like Samsung did what they always do every year. Thoughtlessly load up a plain plastic wrapping full of recent hardware and gimmicks of questionable usefulness and say "hey look, buy me!" Frankly, HTC and Moto deserve to displace Samsung at the top, because they earned it.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
 

Farish

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Touchless Controls - works flawlessly especially when you are driving. When you get into your vehicle and start driving, The phone recognizes this and goes into "driving mode". Driving mode will automatically read out your texts messages after it's asks you " Would you like me to read message from so and so" you can then say yes or she let you say reply with a auto message that tells the contact that you are driving and will get back to them soon. It will call tell you when someone is calling and once again have an option to answer or ignore. This makes sense and this is something that other manufacturers need to make note of. This feature is actually called Moto Assist, But works in conjunction with touch less control's.

This might make me trade my S4 towards a Moto X instead of a Note 3. I hate having to touch my phone while driving and I probably have about 6 hours of driving coming up this shorten work week.
 

qnet

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Great review! I'm really glad I ordered my Moto X now. I've owned the Iphone 5 and both versions (Google edition & skinned) of the HTC One and S4. I can't wait to compare them all.
 

bandityo

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Yes, another great review....havent seen anyone not like the X yet...other than tiny things which can improve with software.....ordered me a custom ATT one for this week and will be replacing my iphone5 which Ive been with iphones since 2007...
 

anon(847090)

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What really bothers me is that people want to pick the Galaxy s4 or the HTC One simply based I'm specs, but I want you to think about something for a second. You have to understand that Android is it up to my eyes official use a quad core chips yet. What Motorola did is use the cores efficiently and don't forget that there are two other cores they're putting to good use as well. The X8 isn't a gimmick or a trick, it's actually brilliant and it does everything right.

Remember people it's all about how the phone performs for you just because it has better specs doesn't mean you should buy it. If both phones perform the same then you need to find other reasons why you're going to buy that phone.

In the end form factor, stock and useful features are a big reason why I chose the Moto X over the HTC One.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

well said!!! what many don't understand is X's X8 chip is an optimized quad core.
while other device like S4 and One has quad core but is not optimized. Android only used dual core while the other two cores are never used unless some high end games uses it.
Moto X uses all four cores(2 cores and 2 DSP chips) at all time. making it much more efficient and power saving
 

snookiesnoo

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well said!!! what many don't understand is X's X8 chip is an optimized quad core.
while other device like S4 and One has quad core but is not optimized. Android only used dual core while the other two cores are never used unless some high end games uses it.
Moto X uses all four cores(2 cores and 2 DSP chips) at all time. making it much more efficient and power saving

Android OS and apps generally never use four CPU cores. They just generate heat and use battery so are constantly throttling. Moto is also purposely playing fast and loose with the definition of cores in the simplistic more is better marketing message. If they would put a little effort into explaining what type of cores the are talking about and what they do I think it would be better.
I don't know what you mean by optimized and unoptimized though. It's a dual core CPU, quad core gpu, and one proc for natural language and another proc for sensors.


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