Motorola's Moto X: first smart phone under Google’s umbrella

After much teasing, Motorola finally unveiled the Moto X phone on Thursday, the first to have been designed from scratch since Google's takeover of Motorola last year. The Phone might not be a most impressive piece of hardware, but it has some creative software features that help set it apart. The phone's X8 chip comes with discrete cores for voice commands and gesture controls, as executives at the launch event in New York demonstrated how a spoken "OK Google Now" request allowed hands-free navigation and search.. The Moto X uses sensors to constantly be aware of ambient light conditions and the orientation of the device. But voice commands and some snazzy sensor work isn't the only trick up Motorola's sleeve; it is touting the phone's 2,000 personalization options from Motorola's Moto Maker factory in Fort Worth, Texas, which gives the phone its "assembled in America" tag. The front of the device comes in black or white, and there are 18 colors to pick for the back of the phone; an inscription can be added as well. The phone's earpieces can be picked in the same color range, as can the trim around the camera and display. Customized phones can be assembled and delivered in four days or less, Motorola promised. Finally, Motorola is promising one major benefit in return for that older processor: Real-world all-day battery life. By this they mean 24 hours of actual smartphone use. If the X delivers on its battery-life promise, a class of power users will gravitate to it even though it lacks some power-user specifications. Moto X is sold for 199 dollars for the 16GB version and 249 for the 32GB model, which is the standard entry point for high-end smartphones.