Review of the Moto X

I got my first Android phone several months ago, a Galaxy Note 2. Unfortunately, it was plagued with the same problem I would say about 70 percent of Android phones have . . . so much junk ware. Be it carrier or OEM. The reason I switched to Android in the first place was customization. So at first this was no problem, however, the more things I had to do to make the experience usable for me the less usable the phone became. I got tired of this and decided to use my upgrade and get a Moto X. The only expectations I had were a close to stock Google experience. The hardware/software unique features like camera gesture and touchless control. So after roughly a week of usage here is what I have found.

The Moto X is easily the fastest phone I have used to date. The smaller screen was easy to get use to. The audio is fantastic. A pure Google phone is amazing, my Moto X is a Verizon model and has some carrier apps but they don't negatively affect it. Motorola really hit a home run with their software hardware optimization. I have read some other reviews saying the Moto X is akin to a Nexus 4S using Apple's naming conventions making this the predecessor. I can't directly speak to this as I never had a Nexus 4. However, from what I have heard I would say this statement is not misplaced. This phone is one of few that Motorola/Google has as a standard for Android handsets. It is about as pure as you can get without being a Nexus and I have to say their optimizations largely should be put into pure Android. I expect this to happen as Android evolves to not do so would be crazy. Personally I think things like wrist gestures or more technically using the accelerometer to perform gestures should be put into Google Play Services for developers to utilize. There is no reason why you couldn't program multiple gestures. Speaking of the camera lets dive into that.

The wrist gesture to open the camera makes photos a joy to take. This combined with auto uploading to Google+ which organizes and auto enhances if you tell it to makes for a wonderful experience. I am still not honestly sure how I fell about the UI of the Moto X camera. Part of me likes the clearly defined swipe left for options swipe right for gallery. Another part of me likes the overlay controls the stock camera has more. I can't honestly say there is a winner in either case it is simple a matter of two great camera apps. I would like to see them combined, however, we must be careful what we wish for. Motorola got the tap to focus pretty good on this though in low light you might get bad results but that is true for a large amount of smartphones. Having the ability to swipe between the gallery and the live camera gets getting use to. I still have to make a conscious decision of wether to open gallery or the camera to get to my photos. I don't have the gallery on the home screen currently as I am trying to train myself to go through the camera only. One thing that is easy to overlook yet very cool is how they made the video control. To take a video you press the camcorder icon in the bottom left corner, you still however, have the ability to tap to take a picture essentially you have instant access to both if you set it that way. The last thing I will go over on the camera is the rapid shot, tap and hold to take a picture and it starts taking them about one a second and has a visual counter. Very nice if you want to take vacation pics and would prefer to not have to guess or look at the gallery to see if the shot is bad or not. Google+ also helps here for two reasons you can make an auto awesome GIF really easy and the best photos are automatically surfaced for you.

Touchless control is like combining Siri and Google Now in one service. Results may vary depending on how loud or soft your recordings are when you teach it as well as noisy environments. It works 97% of the time for me and is great for fast searches and weather information. Looking up map info is very nice this way as well. Interesting commands you can try is something like NCIS IMDB to get to it quicker when watching TV. As I said having lock screen enabled makes this feature all but useless.

Hardware customization is a good idea and someone needed to do it. It will sell Moto X's to consumers and it sets the phone apart in looks. Honestly I got mine plane black for two reasons. One I got it on Verizon which currently does not have Moto Maker nor does anyone else besides AT&T. Two I put a case (holster) on all my phones and the only reason I would do custom colors is if it were at no additional cost. I think the fact that these phones are designed and assembled in the US is a far more important thing. Kudos to Motorola and Google by extension for proving it can be done and done well.

All in all the Moto X is the best phone I have had to date. I believe it to be among three of the best possible Android phones all great for different reasons. If you are on Verizon's network and want a pure experience this is it without question. If you are on any network and want a pure experience with some finer touches this is the phone for you no question.