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GSM Moto X dev edition brings unlocked bootloader on AT&T, T-Mobile for $650
A couple of days ago Motorola introduced the Developer Edition of its new Moto X for Verizon and as promised, it's followed up with one for GSM networks. If you're into running custom software, this is the one to buy if you want a Moto X on AT&T (it's also compatible with T-Mobile's LTE) thanks to its unlocked bootloader. Otherwise it's the same as the earlier model, with "Developer Edition" branding on the back and 32GB of storage inside. You'll have to live without Moto Maker customizations, but picking this one out of the sudden rush of Developer Edition models available may be the toughest part.
Republic Wireless to offer Moto X for $299 off-contract, plans starting at $5
Republic Wireless' low-cost, WiFi-driven phone service has proven tempting. The rapidly aging smartphones attached to that service, however? Not so much. The carrier will soon improve that device selection, as it has just revealed plans to sell the Moto X for $299 off-contract -- roughly half of what it costs at other providers. Service is also expanding beyond the original $19 plan (now limited to the Defy XT), with steep discounts if you don't depend on cellular service. Rely solely on WiFi, and you'll pay just $5 per month for unlimited access; a $10 plan will be available if you need cellular voice and text messaging. There will also be more traditional plans with unlimited 3G and 4G data that respectively cost $25 and $40 per month. Republic Wireless hasn't said when its extra-cheap Moto X will be available, but the new rates should take effect in November.
Daily Roundup: iPhone 5s and 5c reviews, Cyber-shot QX10 review, iOS 7 now available, and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Moto X Developer Edition for Verizon now available for $650 (update: GSM and Droid Maxx details)
If you've been pining for the freedom of the Moto X Developer Edition, you can now pick one up. Motorola has started selling the Verizon model for $650; the company also lists a GSM version, although it's currently out of stock. Regardless of which version you buy, you'll get the same ROM-friendly unlocked bootloader, 32GB of storage and that unmistakable Developer Edition imprint on the back. That's a lot to pay for a Moto X that you can't even customize, but it may be worthwhile if you simply have to tinker with a smartphone made in the USA. Update: Motorola has since mentioned that the GSM version will be available on Friday; a Droid Maxx Developer Edition is launching today. And if you're a Sprint customer, you don't have to worry -- your version already has an unlocked bootloader.
Weekly Roundup: Apple iPhone 5s and 5c hands-on, LG G2 review, Moto X's Texas factory, and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Daily Roundup: Moto X factory tour, which new iPhone to buy, Intel's Haswell Chromebooks, and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
See how the Moto X is made (video)
Not everyone gets to walk behind the tech industry's velvet ropes. So when Motorola opened the gates to its Fort Worth, Texas facility -- the place where custom Moto X's are made -- we were there to bring you an inside look. And in the interest of getting you even more intimately acquainted with the Google company's assembled in the USA smartphone production hub, we have something almost as good as being there: a behind-the-scenes video tour. So, what are you waiting for... an invite? Head past the break to glimpse phase one of this whole new Motorola and see Governor Rick Perry spike an iPhone 5.
Motorola's working on a new tablet and it could be made-to-order through Moto Maker
Motorola's not just pinning its hopes on the success of its new smartphone, the Moto X, it's also going after tablets. As CEO Dennis Woodside told Engadget at the company's Fort Worth facility, "That's something we are working on, but [there's] nothing specific to talk about right now." While we're sure this new Moto tablet X will be a far cry from the company's past Xoom and Xyboard efforts, it's not clear if the device will be available to consumers through Moto Maker, the company's made-to-order site. But with Woodside and other Motorola's execs insistence that customization is the way forward, chances are you're likely to see the in-the-works slate arrive with various configuration options. There's also a likelihood Motorola could release a phablet-sized Moto X. Woodside said the company also plans to explore other form factors that incorporate "some of the design cues, as well as technologies, from the Moto X[.]"
Motorola's American Dream: unbridled customization, two-day shipping and a Texas factory
It wasn't supposed to happen this way: Motorola had picked the date for its Fort Worth, Texas facility's dedication ceremony first. But then Apple went ahead to claim the date and stole the day's spotlight with its new iPhone reveals. No matter, as the gathering of press, factory workers and bold-faced names -- Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and Texas Gov. Rick Perry -- seemed minorly preoccupied with the major news of the day. We were in the midst of Nokia's old manufacturing plant, after all, now the birthplace of all custom-made Moto X's and there was the spirit of American manufacturing to celebrate. To drive that point home, some very Springsteen-ish tunes were pumped over the loudspeakers as we all patiently awaited the end of Cupertino's product showcase and the start of Motorola's "we can too make it in the USA" toldja moment. I even half-expected Miley Cyrus to jump onstage with an assortment of teddy bears brandishing raver-hued Moto X's. She didn't and an Americana Twitter-trending hashtag moment was missed. Still there was one exceptional and unscripted highlight waiting in the wings. It wasn't CEO Dennis Woodside nose-thumbing at those unnamed rivals that said US-based production could and would never happen. Nor was it Schmidt's patriotic pledge to the Texas facility: "This is a bet we're taking on America ... on Texas [and] on this incredible workforce that's assembled here. We think this is a very, very safe bet." No. It was the moment Woodside presented Gov. Perry with a Moto X -- designed with Texan colors -- and Perry, in response, unceremoniously spiked his iPhone to the floor below. Yes, the moment is caught on tape.
Google Street View gives you a tour of where Moto X's are born
Ever wonder how Motorola's stateside assembly of the Moto X compares to giants such as Foxconn? Well, now you can go on a digital tour of the facility via Google Street View -- that is if our extensive gallery of up-close-and-personal photos doesn't do it for you. Google and Motorola have introduced the new virtual destination to celebrate the Fort Worth factory's official launch, so anyone with internet connection can check out where the company assembles the 100,000 phones it ships each week. And if you're tired of looking at sterile white factory walls, you can always use Street View to coo at animals, climb lofty buildings and conquer mountains instead.
Motorola's US factory now shipping 100,000 Moto X phones a week
If you're anything like us, you're wondering just how well Motorola's Fort Worth factory is coping with demand for Moto X smartphones. The answer? Well enough, thank you: CEO Dennis Woodside just told Reuters in an interview that the US-based plant is shipping about 100,000 Moto X units each week. While that's nowhere near the millions of units that Apple or Samsung would ship in a similar space of time, Woodside notes that the factory is still ramping up. Current numbers also don't reflect sales, since only some devices already have buyers. We'd add that Motorola is targeting just a handful of countries versus the global scale of its rivals. It's doubtful that the company's Fort Worth production will ever come close to that of manufacturing hubs like Shenzhen, but there's early signs that the American factory is here to stay.
Daily Roundup: Apple's iPhone 5s and 5c hands-on, Touch ID fingerprint scanner, Moto X factory, and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Visualized: Inside the Moto X factory
This is where the Moto X magic happens: a 455,000 square-foot factory in Fort Worth, Texas that formerly manufactured devices for Nokia. From start to finish, these human-manned assembly banks are where your Moto X Moto Maker creations are born, assembled, tested for quality and then shipped off. We'll have more to come from our big Texas excursion, but for now feast your eyes on this bit of mobile Americana.
Moto X now available to T-Mobile customers, but only from Motorola
Want the Moto X experience combined with T-Mobile's inexpensive plans? Today's your lucky day -- sort of. Motorola is now selling the promised T-Mobile version of its flagship, but only through its website at an unsubsidized $600 price. And like the Model T, you're limited to black; the company lists the white version as "coming soon." If you're not deterred by the limited purchasing options, however, you can pick up a magenta-friendly Moto X at the source link.
Refresh Roundup: week of September 2nd, 2013
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Mobile Miscellany: week of September 2nd, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought a peek of GDR 3 for Windows Phone 8, confirmation that US Cellular's Belief Project is no more and the arrival of the Moto X on two more US carriers. These stories and more await. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that's happening in the mobile world for this week of September 2nd, 2013.
MAKEwithX offers Moto X owners the tools to 3D print accessories for even more customization
If all of the possible combos afforded by MotoMaker just aren't enough to properly outfit that Moto X handset, MAKEwithMOTO has a tool that's ready to lend a hand. During the course of some recent make-a-thons, the crew has wrangled software and 3D printing tech to further customize those shiny new phones. MAKEwithX allows those that have splurged for that Android smartphone to design and 3D print unique accessories and cases with the help of generators like Radiolaria -- furthering the user-designed motives behind the entire Moto X line. These add-ons include NFC-enabled topographic dog tags and tessellation bracelets as well as backplates and clear cases that keep that custom color visible. Output colors are said to match up with MotoMaker's accent hues. Code for many of these generators are open source and built on the Cubify platform from 3D Systems. Tagging tweets with #makewithx if you're in the northeast US (mostly between Boston and NYC) will put you in the running for a chance to construct your own creations with the MAKEwithMOTO crew. For a bit more info about the whole project, venture on to the coverage link that follows.
Customize a Moto X the lazy way with Moto Match for Facebook
If you start to see a lot more of the Moto X on Facebook in the coming days, there's a good chance that it's a result of Moto Match. The app is new to the social networking site, which presents users with a smartphone that's color coordinated with their photos -- think of it as Moto Maker for the uninspired. The service is hardly a first of its kind, and is reminiscent of a design tool called Nike PHOTOiD that taps into one's Instagram gallery. Still, to get the full experience, you'll have to try out Moto Match for yourself. Just as a head's up... if you pick an outdoor scene with green in it, don't be surprised if you get an Olive Silver model.
Moto X coming to Sprint tomorrow for $199.99 on a two-year contract
We've already seen Google and Motorola's creation, the Moto X, land on AT&T and Verizon, and now it's time for Sprint to add the handset to its lineup. The Now Network announced today that the Moto X will be available for $199.99 with a two-year contract, though there is a limited time promotion which allows new subscribers to get the device for $100 less by way of instant credit. Sprint's going to only be offering the Moto X in woven black and white to kick things off, but the carrier did say that the Moto Maker feature is expected to be supported "in the coming months."
Moto X could have price slashed to $100 by Christmas, $50 for wooden covers
When Motorola announced it's first flagship since becoming part of Google's empire, it was to mixed response. But, if evleaks is right, as is often the case, then a forthcoming $100 price-drop could suddenly change a few minds. Currently, the customizable phone, that listens to your every word, will set you back $199 on your network of choice, so a drop to $100 on contract -- reportedly just in time for Christmas -- could see this rise up the gift lists. Oh, and those wooden covers? Our leaker claims will come with a $50 price tag, for those that want the natural look this winter.
