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Photo hints that lower-cost Moto X could use swappable back panels
Motorola promised that it was making a cheaper variant of the Moto X for developing markets, and we may have received our first glimpse of it today. A Sina Weibo user claims to have a photo of interchangeable back panels for the budget smartphone, suggesting that its buyers wouldn't have to use tools like Moto Maker to get lively colors. There's nothing shown of the device itself, but the poster does mention dual SIM support. If the parts are real, though, it could just be a matter of time before leaks reveal the rest of Motorola's lower-cost handset.
Moto X for Verizon officially available online August 29th, at stores in the coming weeks
If you've been eyeing a Motorola device on Verizon without the Droid branding, the Moto X is ultimately your best (and only) choice -- but when exactly will it be available to the masses? According to Verizon's official Twitter account, this Thursday, August 29th will be the day you can grab it online for $200 on-contract. As for stores, the company isn't willing to give a specific date just yet, so all we've been told is that we can expect it in the coming weeks. Still, this will come as good news for Big Red fans who have been patiently awaiting their turn, even if it means early adopters have to settle for a black or white option.
Moto X 32GB Developer Edition teased, 'coming soon' with unlockable bootloader
Motorola is getting in on the Developer Edition trend too. The Moto X's "ways to buy" page has been updated to include a version of the flagship handset with an unlockable bootloader and 32GB of storage, as noticed by Droid Life. What's more, the dev edition will sport a custom look with a gloss black face, white crosshatch battery cover and "DEVELOPER EDITION" engraved on the lower back portion. You might be able to achieve similar results yourself with the Moto Maker, though. It's also worth noting that the Moto X was available with the aforementioned unlocked bootloader on Sprint, U.S. Cellular and T-Mobile, but perhaps this could open up the unlocked love for Verizon and AT&T. We've reached out to Motorola for pricing and availability info and were advised that an update will be coming "soon."
iFixit teardown of Moto X finds it plenty repairable
Mere hours after the Moto X made it to stores, the iFixit guys have already torn it apart, revealing its innards to all. The guts of the American-assembled handset aren't entirely a surprise: under the hood we've got a motherboard, 16GB of eMMC NAND storage, the usual rear and front camera modules, inductive charging coils and a 3.8-volt 2200mAH lithium-ion battery. The disassemblers praised the replaceability of various modular components, as the tablet uses only one type of screw throughout. Its taped-in battery, display-fused digitizer and sticky adhesives took the Moto X down a few pegs, but its final score of 7 out of 10 still makes this one of the more easily repairable smartphones on iFixit's list. To have a look at just how Google and Motorola's lovechild was put together, hit the source link below.
Daily Roundup: Camera buyer's guide, Droid Ultra review, Steve Ballmer stepping down, 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.
Unlocking Moto X with the Motorola Skip (hands-on video)
Motorola's new Skip NFC smartphone key is quite possibly the simplest gadget we've covered at Engadget. But simple as it may be, Skip is a time saver for Moto X users. The tiny device, comprised of an NFC tag, a small piece of fabric and a pair of magnets for securing to an article of clothing, such as a pants pocket or shirt sleeve, ships for free with all Moto Maker orders, and is available as a $20 add-on if you've purchased your Moto X directly from a carrier. It's also bundled with three NFC-enabled stickers that you can affix to your car, a piece of furniture or a personal accessory, like a purse or wallet. Setting up Skip takes only a few seconds. Assuming you have NFC enabled, tap the Moto X to the Skip or one of the bundled Skip Dots, and a configuration screen will pop up prompting you to pair your device with the tag. You'll enter your password to complete the process, then any time you need to unlock your phone in the future, all you need to do is tap the two together. Skip might not be the best fit if you keep confidential corporate data on your handset, but assuming your password serves mostly to keep prying eyes away from personal email or text messages, it should do the trick. Catch Skip in action in our hands-on video after the break.
This week on gdgt: Moto X, Sony's X900A and a gold iPhone
Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their most recent picks. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.
Moto Maker 'signature' engraving to arrive after Moto X launch
If engraving a personalized Moto X with Moto Maker's "signature" feature was at the top of your to-do list, you'll have to put your plans on ice. Motorola's just told us that the custom inscribing will be available at some point in the future, though it's not sure when that might be. At any rate, fashionistas will still be able to give their hardware custom paint jobs right on time.
Moto X to launch early at Rogers stores, but only in 'limited quantities'
Canadians frequently wait longer for new technology than their American counterparts, but they're catching a break today. Following a MobileSyrup leak, Rogers has confirmed to Engadget that some of its stores will be selling the Moto X in "limited quantities" this weekend -- a full week ahead of the AT&T release. We wouldn't count on finding the Android flagship after dealing with spotty availability during previous early launches, but the news is still a pleasant surprise for Motorola-minded Canucks.
Daily Roundup: Laptop buyer's guide, Apple's gold-colored iPhone, Withings Pulse review, 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.
AT&T to stock Moto X on August 23rd, offer in-store look at Moto Maker possibilities
Hankering for a new Moto X, are you? If you're an AT&T loyalist (or just can't figure out a way to slip out of your contract), the carrier has just published its launch details surrounding the most monumental Motorola handset in a decade. The vanilla black and white models will be available for sale starting August 23rd, with the 16GB version going for $199.99 on a two-year agreement and the 32GB variant for $249.99. (With AT&T Next, the 16GB model is available for $27 per month and the 32GB model is $32 per month.) Moto Maker shipments will begin on 8/23 as well, with a "lucky few" who registered for early access able to get their orders started on the 19th. Moreover, AT&T will be stocking Skip, and all Moto Maker orders will include a Skip gratis for a limited time. If you're curious to see what kind of crazy coloring options are at your disposal, we're told that major (but not all) AT&T retail outlets will boast a table like the one shown above -- decisions, decisions.
Building a Moto X with Moto Maker (hands-on video)
We had a walkthrough with Motorola's dedicated Moto X assembly site during the company's launch event earlier this month, but we've since had a chance to log on and build our own device, selecting front, back and accent colors with a live preview updating along the way. Not much has changed since August 1st, but considering you'll be walking out of an AT&T store with a $200 scratch-off card and a two-year contract, it's worth taking another look at what you'll find when you get home. Click past the break for our hands-on video to see what we managed to make. Update: Motorola has opted to delay the "signature" engraving, with quality issues to blame. Orders placed at launch will not include this feature.
Moto X Skip NFC smartphone key official, ships free with Moto Maker orders
Skip for Moto X surfaced on Motorola's site briefly yesterday, giving us some insight into the company's new PIN-free unlocking tool before the $20 product was pulled. Today, though, Google's smartphone arm has returned to detail the new gadget, which is set to ship for free when you order a device through Moto Maker. According to this morning's blog post, the typical phone user unlocks their handset 39 times each day -- in theory, a device like Skip, which clips to your belt, shirt sleeve or anywhere else you want, will help you reclaim several minutes daily. After pairing the compact NFC accessory with your phone, simply tap your device to unlock it. Each kit also includes three Skip dots, which you can stick onto any surface and use in the same way. Initially, Skip will ship in gray with a black accent, but Motorola plans to make colored versions available as well, beginning this fall.
Motorola to release $20 Skip, an NFC accessory that unlocks Moto X with a tap
With the release of a flagship phone comes a barrage of accessories, and every once in a while, it's something new you're not quite sure you need. Take, for example, the Moto Skip -- an NFC-based tag designed to unlock the soon-to-be-available Moto X with one tap. Just pair it up via NFC once; after that, you won't ever need to input your passcode to access the phone's homepage again. We'll reserve our opinion on the Skip until we get a chance to take it for a spin, but we foresee it being useful if you're extremely busy -- or forgetful -- so long as it doesn't get stolen with a Moto X. The company's website listed Skip for $20 prior to publication, but it's been pulled down since without notice of when the clip will become available.
Verizon Moto X pegged for August 29th release in leaked Best Buy inventory
The Moto X: a phone that is truly greater than the sum of its parts (at least according to us). The missing ingredient so far? A release date. Well, according to the most recent leak, the day of days will be August 29th... at least for Verizon customers. A Best Buy inventory screen sent in to Android Central indicates that Motorola's customizable flagship will hit stock rooms on the 15th and officially go on sale the 29th. That's a slight change from last week, when a screenshot from the same big box retailer pegged the release date as August 23rd. That's a little over a week after the new slate of Droid devices land, giving them a slight head start on capturing the hearts and minds of moto fans. Of course, if you're really keen designing your own Moto X, you'll have to wait a bit longer. There's still no word on when Big Red's version will be available through Moto Maker. Update: Seems like the Droid Ultra, Maxx and Mini may not be shipping until August 27th now. What's not clear just yet is if the change in shipping date is because of a delay or a sell out of initial inventory. We've reached out to Verizon for clarification. Update 2: We heard back from a Verizon rep, who had this to say about the rumored delays: "The 20th is still happening, you'll still find the Ultra and Maxx in stores on that day. Those who pre-ordered prior the date changing, will have their device shipped by the original date. And, for customers pre-ordering now, the date on the website is when the phones will ship."
Weekly Roundup: Moto X review, LG G2 hands-on, Apple's next iPhone event, 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: Obama's response to NSA scandal, Distro Issue 102, NVIDIA's second generation Surface, 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.
The Engadget Mobile Podcast, live at 4PM ET!
We're back this week, and again there's no shortage of mobile news to keep our mouths talking -- not that this has ever been a problem for us in the past, right? This time our thoughts are primarily focused on the LG G2 and the Moto X, two flagships that we're going to be seeing a lot more of this fall. Join us at 4pm ET and we'll give you the scoop on the latest! August 7, 2013 4:00:00 PM EDT
LG G2 vs. the competition: flagship Android smartphones square off
Now that the LG G2 is official, the battle between mid-2013 Android flagships is fully underway. But which wins the war? We've pitted the new smartphone against its biggest competitors in the US -- Samsung's Galaxy S 4, the HTC One and the Motorola Moto X -- to understand which device most deserves a place in your pocket. Based purely on the spec sheet, the G2 is the frontrunner. Its larger 5.2-inch screen, quicker 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 and image-stabilized 13-megapixel rear camera will please those who want a media powerhouse. Its extra-large battery and 24-bit / 192KHz audio are also unique in a category where longevity and sound quality tend to play second fiddle. If all you want is the most technically capable device, look no further. Yet each of the G2's competitors has an advantage that's harder to quantify. The GS4 has a full set of hardware nav keys (for those who prefer them), air gestures and a slightly tougher plastic build. The One claims superior low-light photography and dual speakers. And the Moto X partly makes up for its lackluster speed through design customization and helpful tricks like Touchless Control. To us, that puts LG in an awkward middle. While the G2's performance is almost beyond compare, many of its software features aren't all that unique -- those who aren't sold on its performance could easily be lured away.
Daily Roundup: Moto X review, Laptop buyer's guide, Samsung's Galaxy event, 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.
