Well, the $100 discount code offer on an unlocked device was too good to pass up. \u00a0A week from Friday, maybe sooner, I\u2019ll take possession of an unlocked Moto X.<\/p>\n
Black on black on black, 16 GB, $300 plus tax for an unlocked American-assembled smartphone. I have yet to see a negative review of this thing, a device that is probably the most intriguing Android gadget I\u2019ve ever encountered – this is the one, unlike the Nexus One or Nexus 7, finally induced me to put down cash.<\/p>\n
So why this and not the Moto G? \u00a0Why spend the extra $100, and conversely, why not splash out to go up to 32 GB? \u00a0Well, to answer the second bit first\u00a0– because I\u2019m not going to be using it as my primary music device and carrying 12 GB of iTunes content on it. \u00a0If I could get by with 16 GB on the Moto G, I can get by with 16 on the Moto X. \u00a0And in return for the extra $100, I get an AMOLED screen and larger battery (so better usable life on a charge) and a slightly larger display in a slightly smaller package (which is nice), plus LTE (which is frankly non-negotiable when it supports both AT&T and T-Mobile bands). \u00a0Were I to get the Moto G, I\u2019d have to choose between either international \u201c4G\u201d non-LTE coverage or having full use of both AT&T and T-Mobile \u201c4G\u201d in this country. \u00a0The Moto X handles both – so LTE everywhere in the US and<\/em> \u201c4G\u201d abroad.<\/p>\n More to the point, though, the Moto X includes the stuff beyond stock Android that intrigued me – like the co-processor based listening feature for voice commands, or the ability to detect driving and automatically flip to a voice-controlled mode (reading out your texts and the like). \u00a0And unlike almost any Android phone I\u2019d ever heard of that wasn\u2019t a Nexus, the Moto X got an update to Android 4.4 shortly after it shipped, so there is the prospect of actual future-proofing.<\/p>\n But why Android? Why now? \u00a0Why throw in with the Beast of Mountain View?<\/p>\n Two reasons. \u00a0One: I need to be able to work the other side of the street. \u00a0Despite being hired on as a Mac tech, I went most of 1998 and well into 1999 without a Mac on my desk at work, because it was the only way to learn and get comfortable with Windows NT. \u00a0I know iOS inside and out, but unless I force the issue, I\u2019m never going to get familiar with Android. \u00a0Certainly not by playing with phones at Best Buy or the like.<\/p>\n And two: this is an experiment to see how far you actually CAN go with Android without giving in to Google. \u00a0I\u2019m going to try to get my apps via Amazon instead, where possible, and I don\u2019t intend to use my Gmail account for anything. \u00a0In fact, I don\u2019t rely on a single Google service for anything right now, so the only Google functionality I\u2019m going to be employing on the phone is what it forces me to use, and that alone should be useful and informative.<\/p>\n And to be perfectly honest: this may be my last chance to ever buy a phone from an American company that was assembled in the USA. \u00a0I remember the days when Motorola had 50% of the worldwide market for cellphones and churned them out domestically – in the early 90s they were cited by Time magazine as proof that the US could still innovate and manufacture the best things in the world. \u00a0I don\u2019t exactly trust Lenovo not to pack the whole thing off to Shenzen or something.<\/p>\n Plus, let\u2019s face it: I have an iPad mini with 200MB free LTE data per month which substitutes for keeping personal data on my work laptop. It\u2019s not like I have to abandon the iOS world altogether if this doesn\u2019t quite work out.<\/p>\n So that\u2019s it. \u00a0We\u2019re going to spike the Android glee once and for all, and I\u2019m going to put my own money on a phone for the first time in three and a half years. \u00a0And to be honest, if it works out, Apple\u2019s going to have to really pull a rabbit out of the hat with iOS 8 and any notional iPhone 6, because what\u2019s winging its way to my hand is legitimately the most innovative new smartphone since the original iPhone. \u00a0And innovation ought to be rewarded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Well, the $100 discount code offer on an unlocked device was too good to pass up. \u00a0A week from Friday, maybe sooner, I\u2019ll take possession of an unlocked Moto X. Black on black on black, 16 GB, $300 plus tax for an unlocked American-assembled smartphone. I have yet to see a negative review of this … <\/p>\n