My Problem with the "hype"

[JungleLarry]

I believe the "over 2000 combinations" estimate also includes the available boot screen customization as well.

 

[Aquila]

Right. I'm thinking the iPhone 5C would just allow engraving.

I've read that the X is available in 504 or 2000-some different combinations. I'm not sure which figure is correct.

Motorola is going with the thousands number. I keep seeing 7 choices for accent colors, 18 back plate colors and 2 front colors... that's 252. Choosing between 16GB and 32GB brings us to 504. Then I *think* the 2000+ is coming from either choices in materials or from choices in splash screen.

 

[jdbii]

Those kind of numbers are pretty cool, but I think of increased pressure on production, assembly, and supply. I can't think of any consumer product that has 2000 plus options unless it is a car and you customize every color, fabric, and trim on top of all the other standard options.

 

[Postoid]

I just got home from day two of Lollapalooza. While I was up front for The Postal Service, I was fiddling with my Galaxy Nexus.

Hope your wait in line (?) was a short one and the "girl next 2 U" made your wait in line even more enjoyable. We try harder now that most of the X phones people order will be delivered by us.

 

[Chiplg]

And there are 36,864 ways to make a Whataburger. In the end it's still a hamburger. I'm not knocking the customization at all. I think it's great. I want ketchup and mayo on my Whataburger with all the standard veggies and cheese. I don't want mustard. I'm grateful that I can ask for that. I am saying it doesn't matter what the final number of ways are to customize it. What matters is there are plenty of ways, and the number is just a number. Considering the custom engraving, you can multiply your number of combinations by the number of character spaces times the number of characters available. Yay! It's a freakishly huge number now. What really matters is how many backs are available. How many trim colors are available, etc. Some people may only care about the back color. In that case the total number of customizations doesn't mean anything, only how many backs are available.

 

[ultravisitor]

Hope your wait in line (?) was a short one and the "girl next 2 U" made your wait in line even more enjoyable. We try harder now that most of the X phones people order will be delivered by us.

She and the rest of the crowd for The Postal Service were pretty great. The crowd for The Cure tonight, though, was phenomenal, as was the band.

 

[TheLibertarian]

Life's too short to have regrets. There will always be a rumored phone just around the corner. Buy the HTC One and don't look back. Do you really want to buy a 720, 16 GB storage, dual core S4 device with a locked boot loader who's only hype is software based ? Buy the HTC One, unlock it in five minutes, and install Android Revolution HD, enjoy it, and go on with life. Besides, I had installed the free Auto Screen On app, the screen would turn on when I unholstered the phone. Now that I am running 4.2.2, I have the volume button mapped to turn it on.

You scoff at software based features when, realistically, that's what devices are judged by.

I could spin it the exact opposite way: Do you really want another boring phone jam packed with hardware specifications you don't understand, or do you want a phone that changes the way you use your phone throughout the day?

Benchmarks are just benchmarks and are altogether worthless. What matters is how the device performs in real life situations. Being that the Moto X doesn't run some bogged down version of Android (Hi there, TouchWiz) I expect terrific performance on par with the fluidity I experience with my Nexus 4.

So if the human eye can't discern pixels between 720p and 1080p resolutions, and if that software performs properly, what else is there to knock on the Moto X? I've just eradicated the two largest complaints.

It's the only device on the market that you can customize the appearance of, and the only device that is operable entirely by ones voice. Why buy any other flagship device for $200 when they all do the same thing, when you could buy the Moto X for $200 and buy into a software experience unavailable elsewhere?

Just my thoughts. Will I buy it? Likely not. I'm quite content with my Nexus 4. But man, I cannot wait to see what Google and Motorola continue to cook up.

 

[jdbii]

Won't the 720 screen have some benefits over over 1080 anyways, like using less bandwidth or improved battery life? If so then I'd consider the screen a plus.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Farish]

Won't the 720 screen have some benefits over over 1080 anyways, like using less bandwidth or improved battery life? If so then I'd consider the screen a plus.

Posted via Android Central App

Battery life yes, bandwidth is yet to be seen. If you mean Netflix, remember they don't stream in 1080p unless you have Android 4.3.

 

[JHBThree]

I've always been a Moto guy and I hope they have a hit too. And from reading more and more reviews from people who have had the phone for a few days I'm quite a bit less upset about what the phone is capable of then when it was first announced. But I still think that strongly marketing a feature that isn't available to most people will backfire. I think they should have marketed all of the features that you can get on any carrier and let AT&T handle marketing the fact that it is customizable for them.

Go take a look at the commercials. Although the ones we've seen so far have the designed by you tag in them, none deal specifically with the customization. They are not marketing that heavily.

 

[Paisley]

I agree with much that's been said here. On AndroidCentral.com, this device is a *hyooj* flop. At your local AT&T store, it's a miracle phone in the eyes of your average consumer.

Joe Schmoe:
"You mean, I can just...talk to my phone? Say whaaaaaaaaaaat?"
"You mean, I can make it any color I want? Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?"
"YOU MEAN IT KNOWS WHEN I TAKE IT OUT OF MY POCKET AND WANT TO TAKE A PICTURE? GET OUTTA TOWN."

Tech Geek:
"This spec sheet is atrocious. I'm not paying $200 for anything less than 1080p and octacore processing!"

People forget that value is, quite literally, the perceived benefits of a product divided by its cost. If you believe you'll receive the most benefit from higher spec sheet numbers, then perhaps this phone represents poor value. If you believe things like a fairly stock Android experience, intuitive UI features, attractive design, active voice control, SmartActions, and so on come at a premium, then $200 is a steal.

Moral of the story: it's all subjective, and lucky for everyone there are lots of great options available right now for Android -- which is more than can be said for its competitors!

Yeah, i just told some guy about it and his words were "what?" just like you said, "really?" and then "sounds to good to be true". lol. He has an iPhone 4S and doesn't necessarily love apple stuff.

 

[tdizzel]

Go take a look at the commercials. Although the ones we've seen so far have the designed by you tag in them, none deal specifically with the customization. They are not marketing that heavily.

I've only seen two commercials. They each go through a specific feature and then spend the last few seconds cycling through different colors with the "designed by you" tag up on the screen. That's pretty heavy marketing. They draw you in with a feature but then want the final, lasting impression that seals the deal to be "designed by you"

Posted via Android Central App

 

[JHBThree]

I've only seen two commercials. They each go through a specific feature and then spend the last few seconds cycling through different colors with the "designed by you" tag up on the screen. That's pretty heavy marketing. They draw you in with a feature but then want the final, lasting impression that seals the deal to be "designed by you"

Posted via Android Central App

Sorry, no. Those commercials are advertising those specific features. The last bit directs them to the website and is not the focus of those commercials.

 

[tdizzel]

Sorry, no. Those commercials are advertising those specific features. The last bit directs them to the website and is not the focus of those commercials.

Ok, gotcha. I'm a little thick sometimes. What i don't understand then is on the commercial for the always on feature, why not just have the phone in an empty room with some offscreen voice giving commands? And why do they bother showing the different colors? Why not just put the website in black letters against a white backing?

Posted via Android Central App

 

[JungleLarry]

Let's look at their website to see if we can gain a little insight into how they're prioritizing these features from a marketable standpoint.

Motorola Mobility LLC. USA

#1: Custom design, assembled in the USA
#2: Active Display
#3: Touchless Controls
#4: Camera gesture
#5: Tech specs

Based on that, I would tend to agree that Motorola is not only most proud and excited by their ability to allow you, the consumer, to customize your phone's appearance, but they're hoping you will be too.

Bonus points for curious omission: nothing about battery life. Seems strange considering how positive early reports have been.

 

[JHBThree]

Ok, gotcha. I'm a little thick sometimes. What i don't understand then is on the commercial for the always on feature, why not just have the phone in an empty room with some offscreen voice giving commands? And why do they bother showing the different colors? Why not just put the website in black letters against a white backing?

Posted via Android Central App

Well, to be fair, the ones we've seen so far are just generic commercials. Once the carrier specific ones start we'll probably see more differentiation and focus for the non-att ones.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[turb0wned]

Droid-life review is up... Battery life pretty much sucks just like almost every Android phone. I knew 2200mah wasn't going to cut it. Should have just bumped up the specs and the battery some, would have gave you the same amount of battery life.

This phone should have had a huge battery. Its not exactly the thinest of the bunch.

 

[JungleLarry]

Droid-life review is up... Battery life pretty much sucks just like almost every Android phone. I knew 2200mah wasn't going to cut it. Should have just bumped up the specs and the battery some, would have gave you the same amount of battery life.

This phone should have had a huge battery. Its not exactly the thinest of the bunch.

Did you even read the review? I've got a shiny nickel I'm willing to bet that you didn't.

 

[JHBThree]

Droid-life review is up... Battery life pretty much sucks just like almost every Android phone. I knew 2200mah wasn't going to cut it. Should have just bumped up the specs and the battery some, would have gave you the same amount of battery life.

This phone should have had a huge battery. Its not exactly the thinest of the bunch.

I don't think you were reading the same review. With 3.5 hours of screen on time he got 10 hours. With heavy gaming and 3.5 hours screen time, he got 5 hours with 24% left. Even on a heavier than normal day he got 11 hours with 26% left.

In normal usage, he went 9 hours and had 57% of his battery life.

ALL of those numbers destroy the One or S4.

Also, while the phone may not be the thinnest it IS smaller than pretty much everything else. Its got the biggest battery you could pack into it without making the whole thing bigger.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ultravisitor]

Droid-life review is up... Battery life pretty much sucks just like almost every Android phone. I knew 2200mah wasn't going to cut it. Should have just bumped up the specs and the battery some, would have gave you the same amount of battery life.

This phone should have had a huge battery. Its not exactly the thinest of the bunch.

Gizmodo also has their review up. About the battery:

While we wish the Moto X had a giganto battery like the new Droid MAXX for Verizon, we are happy to report that battery life here is rock solid. Even with very heavy usage (tons of web browsing, navigation, phone calls, and playing HD games every chance we got) we'd generally make it to 1am with 15 percent battery to spare. We'd expect a normal, lighter user to get the 24 hours Motorola claims, no problem. That's particularly impressive given that, again the Moto X is listening for your trigger command and often lighting up part of the screen to display icons. It milks that 2200 mAh battery for all it's worth, and handily outlasts the Galaxy S4, HTC One, and iPhone 5.