As more and more Moto X rumors and reports keep on pouring in right alongside official mentions of the phone, we look at the big picture – here's what you need to know about the future Motorola flagship device according to the information available before its official (second) announcement.
Update (July 15): Since this rumors collection has been published, we've seen a plethora of new Moto X reports, so we'll update this post accordingly with the new information available including official images of the handset. (You’ll see the updates in italics below, under the initial information.)
Eric Schmidt using Moto X | Image Credit: Corriere.it
Corriere.it
The phone has been confirmed back in May at the D11 event, where CEO Dennis Woodside talked about the device, revealing its official name and mentioning some of its features. But we didn't get to see the handset, nor were we offered a complete list of specs for the smartphone.
Since then, we've seen plenty of rumors hitting the web, with more details being apparently revealed around July 4, a day Motorola chose to start its Moto X advertising campaign. After all, one of the company's marketing pillars is the fact that the phone will be assembled in the USA, unlike its competitors, which are made overseas.
Is that just a cheap marketing campaign or is it actually important for Motorola?
Design and customization
Motorola is going to let users customize their Moto X handsets to a certain degree – this particular detail appeared in various rumors and was widely known by anyone following Android-related news well ahead being official – but buyers won't actually be able to customize the hardware.
That's maybe something we'll see in the future (something like what that Sony XTRUD concept phone proposes maybe?) but for now users will be limited to personalizing their device when it comes to case colors and materials, as well as wallpapers and preinstalled apps, if recent rumors are to be believed.
Taylor Wimberly from Android and Me, one of the first publications to publish Moto X details, said recently that users will be able to choose case material (rumored materials include plastic, metal, wood and carbon fiber) and colors. On that note, a leaked that followed Wimberly's Google+ answers post on the Moto X, has shown purported case colors for the Moto X including red, purple and teal. A distant rumor did say that the handset will be available in 20 colors, although that’s yet to be made official.
Update (July 15): The same Wimberly, talking about customizations options for the handset, said on Google+ at a later date that plastic and wood will be among the backplate materials available at launch for the device. Later on, materials including metal, ceramics and fabrics could arrive.
As for the wallpaper and preloaded apps, users will reportedly be able to set up their handsets on a website, most likely in a similar manner HTC One and HTC One X+ buyers can personalize their device.
Additional details about customization options for the handset arrived via ABC News, which has learned from sources close to the matter that buyers would be able to "select from a palette of different colors" through a website – most likely Motorola's – and choose a different color for the trim of the phone and the back case. Moreover, Moto X buyers will apparently be allowed to engrave a name of message on the back plate.
So while the fact that the phone will be assembled in the USA may be considered a marketing trick, it'll also help Motorola ship customized Moto X handsets in a timely fashion. The same ABC News report revealed that the company will have orders shippped in a matter of days, which wouldn't be exactly possible with a device made over in Asia.
The publication also mentioned that carriers will get "standard" versions, which sounds like carriers will have a certain model in stores, with users interested in customizing the handset having to order the handset directly from Motorola.
Update (July 15): In a leaked Rogers video, the carrier said it will have the handset available in white and black, suggesting that these colors may be among the "standard" versions carriers will get.
An image of the Moto X is still not available yet, although various rumors and purported leaked photos seem to indicate that the phone could be similar to the handset that starred in a hands-on report for a Vietnamese publication a day before the Galaxy S4 was unveiled.
Rogers Moto X shown in leaked video promo
Update (July 15): In addition to even more leaks for the handset – the kind of leaks that can't be confirmed just yet – we've seen the device in the hands of at least two Google officials, with one of them being the company's chairman Eric Schmidt.
During an event, he actually used a white version of the device for a phone call, while various photographers from different publications took photographs of the former Google CEO talking on the unannounced device.
Furthermore, the aforementioned Rogers video also showed the handset from various angles.
From the looks of it, the device is indeed similar to the handset spotted in Vietnam in mid-March.
(Check out the second part of the article.)
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