Moto X 1.0, an year later

This has been a long time in the making. In fact if you follow technology news, more specifically the smartphone market, you'd know that this Moto X review is one version too late. Motorola Mobility just announced the release of the next avatar of its flagship smartphone Moto X. I waited too long for getting camera ready to post a YouTube review, but figured it's going to be a while before that happens.

I bought the 1st Generation Moto X a couple of months after its release, once I was reasonably sure that it was a good Android phone. I was intrigued from the very first day its ads started appearing. The range of customization offered for the look and feel, and then the standard specs that the phone came with were reason enough for me to get hooked.

It wasn't without pitfalls that I settled on the current Moto X device that I have with me. The first one that I ordered was with the Royal Blue back panel, a Black front and Lemon Lime trim.

My First Moto X - the Royal Blue

The Royal Blue back panel had a soft matte, non slip finish; made of scratch resistant material. I like my phones without any sort of protective casing; they diminish the visual appeal of the phone for me. So, as it turns out, after a few weeks of regular usage, it started darkening on the edges of the back panel. There was no way to get the back panel cleaned. Post a few discussions on online forums and chatting with the customer care folks, I decided to return the phone, for a full refund. I still wanted the phone, but being a visual person, the aesthetics were important to me. So, I waited until Motorola made the wood back panels available some weeks after I mailed this one back. And that is what I am currently using, for almost an year now.

The Motomaker website has got to be one of the best things about the Moto X devices. It is a simple, intuitive, visually appealing way to get your Moto X customized to your liking and then complete the purchase.

My Moto X on Motomaker

I designed mine with the Ebony Finish wood back panel, the Black front and the Metallic Cherry trim (on the buttons and the camera). Then topped it off with the custom engraving on the back panel. I went for the 32 GB storage and the screen film protector from Power Support.

So, I have been using Moto X for about an year now. Besides the fact  that it is an Android device, there are more reasons for which it has been the favourite Android device I have owned till date.

Here are my top 3 reasons to love the Moto X -

1. The aesthetics bit has been the most favourite aspect for me on the Moto X. Android, you'd know, is all about customizability, about the user being in control. Motorola took this a step further with Motomaker, providing the user an ability to customize the phone's appearance - the back panel, the front, the accents, the custom engraving. The phone has got a sturdy build (survived a few drops!) and the form factor is just perfect for what I look for in a phone.

2. The stock Camera app is my next favourite - actually the usability aspect of it. The camera app can be launched with just two flicks of the wrist holding the phone. I am no expert in photography and do not dwell much on the technical specifics of the camera. But having this feature around means that you can get ready to make a quick capture in less than 3 seconds, whenever you are in a click-worthy moment! 

My Moto X, an year later

This is one feature which I end up using almost on a daily basis, at home, or during my commute to work. For what it's worth, this Moto X has a 10 MP camera with 4x digital zoom.

3. The Active Display is one unique addition to the Moto X. It takes care of the need of having to activate your screen and/or unlock your phone to look at new notifications - an email, a text, a calendar reminder, a social media notification. Any type of notification of your choosing gets displayed on the screen, without actually activating the screen, saving battery life. The AMOLED display of the phone makes this possible. The phone knows when it is inside my pocket, face down or lying face up - knows when to deliver the notifications. The active display also shows the current time, again quite handy for those who use the phone to look up time.

These are but just 3 of my most favourite reasons for liking the Moto X. There are several other handy features which are built into the Moto X without the resource-hogging, latency-inducing bells and whistles that some other Android phone manufacturers introduce over the vanilla Android. The Motorola version of Android being used in Moto X is lightweight even with the added features, and that is another reason it has clicked with me. MKBHD has a review out there you may want to look, if this phone interests you.

I am keenly following the 2nd Generation Moto X reviews and talks, and by the end of this year if I have some money left after my vacation, I will probably end up gifting myself one! But my Moto X still has quite some life left in it.

Cheers, MT.