Tag Archives: Moto X

Motorola Moto X – audio and other quirks

So if you scroll back to the 3 posts from the weekend you will have got some idea of the camera. Whilst it’s not the best out there, it is still surprisingly punching above its price tag. I took many shots of my dogs and cats and the majority were in focus despite being indoors or in overcast conditions. The scenic and macro shots also were not too bad. Sometimes, the colours were off key, but if you were really fussy just use a photo editor.

I was looking at my home screen and this critter creature appeared and started moving around the screen. I did not know what to think. This is what it looks like .

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Very small, but don’t forget it’s running across and all over the screen. This is part of the “spotlight” app. It’s the craziest thing I’ve seen ever on any phone. I will discuss this more on Sunday episode of “Gav & Dave’s Podcast”.

So what about the audio. Loudspeaker. It’s good. But not HTC One M8 Boomsound. You have some EQ options which don’t do too much other than reduce the treble.

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Listening via headphones is a different experience all together. In fact, I’m typing this whilst using the Moto X to listen to my music via headphones. The Moto X can power most headphones with a lot of guts and clarity. A decent sound in my book. Again there are a number of EQ options and they do make a difference. But even with the EQ off I loved the sound via my neutral fussy Sony MDR-1R headphones. My Sennheisers loved the Moto X too as did any other can. So it’s a thumbs up in this department from me.

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Battery life. Excellent. In 4 days I’ve only charged it twice. In fact at the moment I’m using it in to the third day and the battery is at 34%.

I was asked on Saturday would I choose this over the Moto G. I would. But is it worth the extra cash over the Moto G cost. That depends on what is more important to you. Do you want a better camera and audio experience a nicer feel in the hand?

Anyway, if you have any more questions, please let me know, and I will cover these off in the next episode of “Gav & Dave’s Tech Podcast ” along with my final conclusion.

Once again a big thanks to Clove Technology who are a super cool company to buy your smartphones and accessories from.

Moto X – Quick Impressions

Firstly,  thanks to Clove Technology for sending the Moto X for reviewing.

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It’s quite a good sized phone which feels wonderful in the hand.  It is has always on Google Now voice activation even when the screen is off.

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The basic specifications of the Moto X are –

Processor – Motorola X8 Mobile Computing System which includes a software optimised Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro (1.7GHz Dual-Core Krait CPU, quad-core Adreno 320 GPU), a natural language processor and a contextual computing processor

Memory – 2 GB RAM, 16 GB standard. 2 years 50 GB storage free on Google Drive. Offer must be redeemed within 30 days of activation.

-Bluetooth® technology – 4.0 LE + EDR

-Wi-Fi – 802.11a/g/b/n/ac (dual band capable), mobile hotspot

-Cellular – 2G/2.5G GSM/GPRS/EDGE bands 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE -UMTS/HSPA + up to 42 Mbps – 4G LTE
3G UMTS bands 850/900/1800/1900/2100 , 4G LTE bands 800/1800/2600MHz (B20/B3/B7)

-Display – 4.7″ AMOLED (RGB) / HD 720p

– Android™ 4.4, KitKat®

– Size (H x W x D) Width 65.3mm; Height 129.4mm
– Weight – 130G

– Battery – 2200 mAh. Mixed usage up to 24 hours

– Camera -Front Camera 2MP 1080p HD video, Rear Camera 10MP CLEAR PIXEL (RGBC) – Quick Capture – LED flash – 1080p HD video (30 fps) – 4X digital zoom – Slow motion video – Burst mode – Auto HDR – Panorama – Control focus/exposure

So what does all the above specs mean. So far a rather smooth, really easy to hold in one hand phone, that due to the always on voice activation means less actual picking up the phone to carry out actions. Other touches included with the Moto X are Motorola Connect that links the phone to Chrome so that you can see who has texted or called you and reply via the Chrome web browser. Motorola Assist is rather neat and sets actions up when you for example sleeping or driving. So when asleep the phone does not disturb you. On the off chance you had a previous Motorola if offers a wireless migration service of all your data. Similar to the Nokia Lumia Glance screen, the Moto X provides this information too.

But another funky feature is twist and shake from standby to turn the camera on. You feel a little vibration as you do this, and voila the camera is ready to capture that first shot.

So what else? It is a pure Google android experience otherwise, running the latest version of android too. No bloatware, no lag and so far a really super quick experience. And for once a phone that is not oversized and is very comfortable to hold and use.

And the voice activation is excellent. So first up you train the phone to recognise you saying “Ok Google Now” three times. Thereafter, you can control it as you wish, using the normal Google Voice commands. My wife also tried to see if she could trick the system, but clearly as her voice was different it would not respond when she said “Ok Google Now”.

I tried the camera out quickly, but despite its claim of a super 10mp camera it takes as far as I can tell just average shots in low light. Tomorrow if it isn’t raining I will try some more shots to see how the turn out.

Clove Technology currently have the Moto X price at £225.00 plus VAT and for that price it does seem like a good deal.

More updates soon as I get to spend more time with this phone.

Motorola Moto X – UK release update

For those reading the tech news, you would have heard that Google’s hardware arm Motorola released the Moto X smartphone. It can be customised with 16 coloured backs, black or white front bezel, different coloured volume, power and camera insets, and a lot more options.

So what’s the latest on the UK launch. Sorry everyone, its not coming to the UK. But fret not.

A few weeks prior to the Moto X launch, Verizon announced their new Droid range updates. And if you looked carefully, these were actually based heavily on the new Moto X. In the new Droid line up was the 48 hour battery life model. Now I would rather that came to the UK, than some fancy coloured option.

What’s your views?

Verizon announced the new Droid Mini, Ultra and Maxx and killed the Moto X excitement too

The other day Verizon launched updated versions of their Droid phones. However, what was really clear from the announcements was the fact these were versions of the yet to be revealed Google Moto X smartphone.

Even the software features Verizon highlighted were just renamed features of those likely to be announced soon when Google finally releases the Moto X to the world.

The Droid line up was really impressive, from the Mini offering identical performance and specs as the larger screen models except in a smaller 4.3 inch variety. The larger 5 inch versions are identical practically except for 16gb and a normal battery life or the Maxx that comes in 32gb memory and 2 days battery life. All 3 have 10mp cameras and feature heavily in the use of voice and gesture control, the same as the Moto X is rumoured to include.

Whilst the specifications are extensive what I noted was the Droid Maxx. This is what all phones should have. That is a true 48 hour batttery life.

Google’s Motorola Moto X Smartphone – photos, details and all before 1st August launch in New York

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Twitter leaker evleaks has revealed full press renders for the new Moto X smartphone. It features a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU clocked at 1.7GHz, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage with no micro-SD card slot, a 4.7-inch screen with 720p resolution, 10.5-megapixel main camera, 2.1-megapixel webcam, and a 2,200mAh non-removable battery and an always on listening.

This phone will be made in the US and will come with loads of customisation for the back. The phone’s side profile will be slightly curved and priced keenly. The camera will be setup to take quality shots and work in conjunction with Google+ photo upload and editing service.

What this phone will show that it is now possible to create a decent phone with average specs, but still be road worthy. Expect lots of voice and Google Now touches too.

Just one last thing, why can’t there be a phone launch where everything is kept secret prior to the actual launch date.
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Moto X Sign Up page goes live

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Motorola launched a sign-up page for its Moto X smartphone. The Moto X will be the first smartphone designed, engineered and assembled in the USA” Rumors suggest that the smartphone would be equipped with a 720p display, a 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, a 10-megapixel camera and a nearly stock version of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The Moto X is expected to launch in August across multiple carriers. When ordering you will also be offered a choice of rear back colours – upto 24 different colours.

But will it come to the UK or be a US exclusive for a while?