Jerry's insistence that the Moto X is 'perfect'

[Wildo6882]

I'm tempted by the lumia simply for the camera. If only we could have that on android

That's no kidding. I definitely won't be going to Windows, either. But man that camera is nice.

 

[Premium1]

That's no kidding. I definitely won't be going to Windows, either. But man that camera is nice.

Same. WP just doesn't really appeal to me, other than those cameras

 

[worknman]

I'm assuming that this is one of your dislikes of the Moto X. But why is it being difficult to root a downfall? The great thing about the Moto X is the fact that it's a really, really good device out of the box and rooting is almost unnecessary.

First, I disagree that it's a really good device out of the box. I think it is mediocre at best, for all the reasons I listed. In fact, I dislike it so much, I actually went back to the iPhone 5s (provided by my employer) that I was previously using. But I don't think rooting would fix very much of that, so that's why I said I was overlooking it. But as long as phones (esp carrier-locked ones) don't come with ad-blocking and wireless tether out of the box, there will ALWAYS be a reasonn to root, MO.

Jerry has been praising the Moto X for almost a year now (since it has been out). His opinion is his opinion, of course. But I haven't been surprised at all of his satisfaction with the phone. I like that he gives all the flagships their fair shake and withholds overall opinion of devices until he's actually used them day-to-day. Out of all the Android phones that are out there, it says a lot about the Moto X from what someone who makes a living off of studying and reviewing tech to say it is the best one.

He actually went as far as to say (paraphrasing): 'I can't think of any improvements that need to be made to this phone.' Well, I just listed several. That was the entire point of this thread.

 

[Ry]

DYNAMIC NOTIFICATIONS
The BIGGEST problem I have with dynamic notifications is the clock. I like how it comes on when I take the phone out of my pocket or pick it up, so I can see the time without having to turn it on. But it also comes on every time a mouse farts in my apartment. Well, not really, but if I have it docked on my desk, just the SLIGHTEST nudge of the desk causes it to come on. Even sometimes taking a drink of water and putting the cup back down on the desk causes it to come on. This is an annoyance because I'm constantly catching it out of the corner of my eye, thinking I've missed a notification. Solution: Allow the user to turn the clock off without disabling dynamic notifications completely.

My other major gripe with this feature is that you can't prioritize the order in which dynamic notifications are listed. So, if I get a text message and then a Google+ notification, the Google+ notification appears front and center. I'd like the ability to list the order in which these things should appear.

First.. It's Active Display.

Second.. It's functioning as designed.

DO NOT DISTURB MODE
This was the main reason I originally purchased the phone, as I REALLY wanted this built into the ROM, and didn't know at the time that the Galaxy S4 actually had a better version. Some things that could be improved here:

- No way to turn it on manually, like if you wanted to take a nap in the middle of the afternoon. I mean, WTF? Even the iPhone can do this.

- No way to set different times on weekdays and weekends

- No way to white list anyone but favorites. So if you want your boss set as a favorite but don't want him/her to bypass the DND mode, well... that's just too bad.

- No way to auto respond with text. (If the driving mode has this feature, why not the DND mode?)

I'm glad to see Android L getting a do not disturb mode, but sadly, it appears to have some of the same limitations as the Moto X does.

Again. Functioning as designed. Go back and watch the Motorola hangout or Mark Rose's Google+ AMA where they discuss improving their apps. Their philosophy is for the features to be done in a "smarter" way, not giving manual control to the user for every little option. This is why we have Motorola Assist and not Smart Actions.

That said - Motorola can pump out new features whenever they want. And I get them from Google Play not in a ROM update that has to go through carrier certification.

DRIVING MODE
I appear to be in the minority here, but I just didn't have very much luck with this at all. The feature that's supposed to start auto playing music NEVER worked, and I couldn't get turn-by-turn voice navigation to work over bluetooth in my car, even though the same feature works perfectly on my Nexus 4.

In short, I just found this phone to be a huge letdown, and FAR from perfect.

You're probably in the minority.

 

[bujin]

My Moto X is pretty much perfect for me as well. Love the size and ease of one handed use - I don't like the idea of larger. While I've been a Nexus fan, the small Motorola additions are great: can't imagine living without active notifications and Moto Assist (and touchless controls are pretty great, though non-essential)

 

[rxnelson]

Actually I have yet to see a picture taken with any smartphone that makes me go "Oh Wow". That being said the Moto X camera while isn't perfect ,does work good enough for me

sent from my Moto X , Android Central Moderator

http://mobile.theverge.com/2014/6/12/5802800/iphone-photography-awards-2014

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

First, I disagree that it's a really good device out of the box. I think it is mediocre at best, for all the reasons I listed. In fact, I dislike it so much, I actually went back to the iPhone 5s (provided by my employer) that I was previously using. But I don't think rooting would fix very much of that, so that's why I said I was overlooking it. But as long as phones (esp carrier-locked ones) don't come with ad-blocking and wireless tether out of the box, there will ALWAYS be a reasonn to root, MO.



He actually went as far as to say (paraphrasing): 'I can't think of any improvements that need to be made to this phone.' Well, I just listed several. That was the entire point of this thread.

Yes. I have listened to every AC podcast for the past year and a half. I heard what he said and you're still furthering my point. His opinion of the Moto X is that different from yours as far as improvements go. I also was a little taken aback by him saying that but I also think it's because it is what works best for him. Out of so many Android phones out there, he is saying that's what he would recommend.

 

[Rocketsaucev2]

Moto X is nice and everything but spec wise it is way long in the tooth. If you could only have one and only one then the N5 is the logical choice. That is if you had to make the choice as of right now.

I can't think of one time in the past 11 months the specs have made any hindrance on my Moto X

 

[bryanmsi]

I don't know Jerry, but he is right. I have tried the IPhone 5s, the Galaxy S4, the Galaxy S4 Active, the HTC One M8 and I still prefer the Moto X. Its the perfect all-rounder AND the only one that is truly usable hands free while driving.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

Perfect I say. Perfect.

 

[Davehow]

View attachment 130034

Perfect I say. Perfect.

Is that the iPhone 6???!!?

 

[dyastrab]

Have to agree with Jerry. This phone just works. It also has a consistent friendly feel to it. You don't have to think/worry about this phone. The battery WILL last the whole day. It WILL NOT lag. All apps will work with it. You have the latest operating system (most of the time).

Frankly, other flagship phones should take note of the things happy Moto X owners take for granted.

 

[mogelijk]

First, I disagree that it's a really good device out of the box. I think it is mediocre at best, for all the reasons I listed. In fact, I dislike it so much, I actually went back to the iPhone 5s (provided by my employer) that I was previously using. But I don't think rooting would fix very much of that, so that's why I said I was overlooking it. But as long as phones (esp carrier-locked ones) don't come with ad-blocking and wireless tether out of the box, there will ALWAYS be a reasonn to root, MO.



He actually went as far as to say (paraphrasing): 'I can't think of any improvements that need to be made to this phone.' Well, I just listed several. That was the entire point of this thread.

No, you actually listed several that you would want but that don't see to be major issues, at least for most. For example, most of us appear to really like the clock showing up with Active Display and wouldn't want to disable it. That seems like a pretty minor issue, at least to me, to make your "major issue". And it is funny, at least to me, that you "dislike it so much" that you went back to a phone that you can't see the notifications, at all, without picking up the phone and pushing a button. But maybe that's just me? I can agree that that Active Display can sometimes be too sensitive but I'm one it doesn't bother -- I'd rather have it too sensitive than not sensitive enough.

I can agree that it would be nice to be able to turn on DND manually. OTOH, it is fairly easy to turn it on using your calendar; just schedule yourself a nap; and this gives the advantage that you don't have to remember to manually turn DND off. I'm guessing that they don't include auto-respond with text, for your nightly sleep time, because they assume that people will know you are sleeping. Again, it would be easy to work around by making your nightly sleep a scheduled "meeting" on your calendar, and that would give you the ability to send a text. Additionally, you can set it up as a recurring meeting, with different times for weekdays and weekends. To me, Assist is far ahead of anything I've seen on other phones. That isn't to say that it couldn't be improved by something like a manual toggle, but it is quite good now and easy to work around your concerns.

As for Bluetooth in your car, unfortunately it sounds as if your car's Bluetooth and the Moto X have some type of issue. As others have stated, they don't have this issue. Unfortunately, this is a Bluetooth issue that exists when trying to pair certain phones with certain cars and that no manufacturer has been able to fix.

As for rooting the phone; I find it hard to be upset at the difficulty in rooting my phone when I could have bought a Developer Edition, that was made to be rooted. As for tethering, my Moto X came with it, out of the box; though I do have the unlocked version. I'm curious is this is an issue with your model of the Moto X; which likely makes it a carrier issue (your carrier did not want tethering available on their version), and not a fault of Motorola's.

I'm sorry the Moto X wasn't for you. To me, one of the best parts of Android is the choice; you aren't forced into a phone that doesn't work the way you want it to. I hope you find the "perfect" phone for you. For me, I choose the Moto X.

 

[ultravisitor]

I figured I would show you what a few tweaks to the Expos framework would do to the phone regardless.

I find the first screenshot you posted to be very unattractive. Sorry.

 

[jlgraham]

In regards to the active notifications, I agree, I do wish there was a way to prioritize which apps stay at the top of the list, so I can open straight into texts even if I received, say, an Instagram notification after a text message, but that to me is pretty minor. And I just keep my phone face down when I don't want to be bothered with the active notifications.

Also agree with DND mode. I don't mind the way the Favorites whitelist works, but it would be nice to have a quick way to enable it for naps and such, and to be able to set different schedules. Right now I have it set to DND from 11PM to 6AM, but if I stay out late, I often end up forgetting to turn it off, and miss notifications. Also, I never thought about an auto reply feature for DND, that would be a nice addition, but I haven't missed it so far so no biggie.

Driving mode works fine for me, even over bluetooth. Music starts playing pretty soon after I start driving, and turn by turn/voice commands work fine with my aftermarket Bluetooth device (Kinivo brand purchased from Amazon).

I tried a few different phones before settling on the Moto X. Tried the G2, HTC One (M7), even thought about getting a Sony Xperia Z1 Compact (Touch Wiz is a deal breaker so no Samsung), but while the Moto X isn't perfect (camera could be much, much better), overall I found it to be the best compromise between size, performance, looks and usability (mostly stock Android FTW). Normally whenever the latest and greatest comes out, I want it ASAP, but I've had the Moto X for going on 9 months now, and I still don't see any reason to change phones. As most people on this forum know, that's a pretty big testament to how well Moto did with the X.

 

[Ry]

..new features are coming to Motorola Assist.

 

[worknman]

Their philosophy is for the features to be done in a "smarter" way, not giving manual control to the user for every little option.

Right, which means they have joined the rest of the industry in the war on power users.

You're probably in the minority.

Yes, I'm often told that, because I want actual control over the way my devices work. There's a way to have sensible defaults out of the box while hiding he 'advanced' options (like they do the developer options) so that others won't be confused by having any sort of real control over the way things are presented.

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

Yes, I'm often told that, because I want actual control over the way my devices work.

https://source.android.com/source/building.html

MOTO X - Browse Files at SourceForge.net

You can do anything.

 

[clankfu]

Nothing's perfect but out of all the devices I've owned (both Android and iOS), the Moto X has come the closest for me. It's been almost a year and I'm still in love with mine.

 

[Ry]

Right, which means they have joined the rest of the industry in the war on power users.

When regular users make up way more of the market, it makes sense to cater to them rather than power users.

Posted via Android Central App (Moto X)