MOTO X

One of the key features of the Moto X is its in-hand feel. It is quite hard to describe how relatively small it feels compared to most of today's large-screened flagship devices not to mention the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Note, which seems gargantuan in comparison.

Motorola has managed to squeeze a nice 4.7-inch 720p AMOLED screen into the Moto X despite it being only marginally larger than an iPhone 5S.

There were some thoughts that the first Motorola phone produced in conjunction with Google would go on to become a Nexus device. While it is not a Nexus in name, in many ways it is like a Nexus device.

Motorola has done a fantastic job optimizing the software on the Moto X to make it lag free, fast and a complete pleasure to use. Apps open immediately and multi-tasking is a pleasure, no doubt helped by the 2GB of RAM on board.

BATTERY

The Moto X has a lot of active features, so battery life becomes a major concern.Motorola has done well to fit a 2200mAh battery in a body the size of the Moto X, but the downside of that is a slow charging time.

Even with a strong signal the Moto X can eat through its juice very easily. Under some stress, browsing the web, listening to music etc. it was found that the battery was slightly below average, but it is the standby time that was most disappointing. Frankly, the battery life is fairly poor.

NECESSITIES

Motorola has a long history of making mobile phones, and that shows when making and receiving calls with the Moto X. It puts in a flawless performance. Noise cancellation from the secondary mic worked perfectly and all callers said they could hear me clearly.The single speaker on the back of the Moto X is very loud and clear. Truly excellent.Google's stock Android keyboard is a strange omission from the Moto X, but it does come with its own version, which is still the Android keyboard but an old version. Text messages and Hangouts messages are stored in separate threads which always seems odd and makes it harder than it should be to know what type of message is being sent.

CAMERA

Motorola made a big deal about the Moto X camera at launch, especially its use of RGBC. The C in RGBC stands for Clear Pixel, which in essence is part of the colour filter sitting on top of the sensor.This unusual filter sits atop a 10MP sensor which has 1.4µm sized pixels – relatively large, especially compared to the 13MP sensors found in many high-end cameras today.There is a relatively fast F/2.4 lens sitting on top of the sensor with a 4.5mm focal length – equivalent to 30mm on a full-frame camera.

On the front of the Moto X is a perfectly serviceable and simple 2MP camera, which will take as good a selfie as you might expect. This front-facing unit is actually pretty decent, and shows that a simpler approach can bring bigger benefits.

Motorola has given us a unique way of accessing the camera on the Moto X. Even with the screen switched off, a double flick of the wrist will cause the phone to vibrate and the screen to come on straight to the camera app.

VERDICT

The Moto X brings some unique software enhancements to stock Android wrapped up in a superbly designed body with a surprisingly large screen. It is a very easy phone to handle and is extremely fast. If only the battery life and camera quality were a bit better.

For

·         Great design and feel

·         Excellent performance

·         Near stock Android

·         Useful software enhancements

Against

·         Poor battery life

·         Weak camera

·         No expandable storage

·         Slow charging

-Vandhiyadevan