The Moto X is the Best Android Phone Available Today

As I mentioned in quite some detail a little while back, I am fed up with my current Android phone, a nearly three-year old (by design, 1.5 years by physical age) Samsung Infuse 4G, and I am shopping for a new one.  The phone regularly froze, restarted, and crashed pretty much right out of the box, and only rooting the phone has made it remotely usable.  Well, I should really say I was fed up with my phone, because last week, my wife and I finally pulled the trigger and ordered two new phones.  For her, she wanted the ability to take handwritten notes and something she could use easily to make shopping lists, plan trips, and take pictures of our son.  Holding the phone up to her head was not much of a consideration since she usually uses speakerphone at home, so she opted for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the brand new behemoth of a phone (don't call it a phablet, my wife hates that term and actually considered not getting it because that is the category the Note 3 falls into) that just blows everything out of the water in terms of raw specs.  That phone is really amazing, but I will cover that in more detail in a future post.

For myself, I wanted something that acted as my companion at home and at work.  I wanted something that easily fits in my pocket, can be pulled out at a moment's notice, respond to a message, share a video, or add something to my calendar, and be put back, all in a matter of seconds.  It should act as an extension of my mind, linking me to the internet, reminding me of things I need to know, connecting me with friends and the world, and not getting in the way.  It shouldn't take thirty seconds from the time I turn it on to when I am actually able to respond to a text.  That is completely counterproductive and that is exactly how my Infuse behaved.  I felt like my mind was trying to run a sprint, but it kept getting slowed down by molasses, forcing me to slow down everything I was doing just to accommodate this poorly-designed phone.  This is a problem for me no more.

The Moto X Gets Everything Right

After weighing my needs versus what was available on the market today, there was really no question that the Motorola Moto X is the best phone for me, and in my opinion, the best smartphone on the market today.  It takes the best parts of Android and Google, and blends them with the best parts of the iPhone and Apple.  Android fanboys are probably shouting at their computer screen right about now, but it is true.  While I am an ardent supporter of Google and the Android operating system, the iPhone definitely has its appeal too.  It is a polished, finished product, that works as intentioned, and always performs as advertised.  It might not have nearly as many features as Android phones, but for someone who just wants a smartphone with good functionality and can always be counted on to work, the iPhone is the king of the hill.

I, however, do not just want that.  I want a phone that will behave how I want it to, instead of the iPhone, where I felt like it behaved how it wanted to, and I had to adjust my behavior to match it.  I love having a phone that looks good and is reliable, but the limitations of the iPhone and iOS along with the proprietary nature of Apple products keeps me from ever getting another iPhone.  There is something about Apple's insistence that your friends also need iPhones to use the full functionality of iOS that drives me up a wall.  If I want to get a phone from another company and use Apple's software and features, I should be able to do so.  The whole thing reeks of the Microsoft anti-trust case from the late 1990s in my opinion, and because of this, I now shy away from getting any Apple products.

In the Moto X, I think I have found the perfect phone for me.  It looks great, is blazing fast, and provides just the right number of useful features that actually work as expected, rather than Samsung's shotgun approach of throwing a bunch of features that often are not very helpful, and cause the phone to lag.  If you are a current iPhone user and are looking to switch to Android, GET THIS PHONE.  It provides the power of Android to do so much more with your phone than you could ever do with an iPhone, but in a package that doesn't look like the PDA of an ageing businessman.  Unlike Samsung, and to a lesser extent LG and HTC, this phone isn't layered with a cumbersome interface, instead opting for the stock Android launcher, with only a handful of very useful, very well thought out features.  It feels like a Nexus device (pure, vanilla Android for those who don't know), but with just a pinch of extra brilliance that makes this phone more functional than any other Android or iOS device on the market.

Coming from a much older version of Android (2.3, Gingerbread), there are many features on this phone that I love that are simply part of the operating system itself, rather than something that is specific to the Moto X.  Even though many of these features are immeasurably useful and blow iOS out of the water, I am not going to focus on them, but rather focus on what makes the Moto X the best smartphone on the market.  It is these features and design choices that make the Moto X far more functional and useful than the other competitors such as the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One, LG G2, or even the Google Nexus 5.  Those phone are all nice, and on paper beat the Moto X in the specs on many levels, but in the real world, they falter.  Each has its own set of special features that make it stand out from the crowd, but the vast majority of people do not need these features, nor do they provide any useful function outside of the neat factor.  Everyone has their own personal preferences, however, so I am not going to say all of these phones are worthless, but the Moto X really takes the cake when it comes to the entire package.

Design and Feel

The design of the phone is not always the first thing people look for in an Android phone, but it is so much more important than people give it credit.  This is something that you will be carrying with you every day for at least a year more than likely.  For those on a carrier plan, it is more like two years.  You will be interacting with this phone on a very personal level, holding it, looking at it, and using it several times a day.  Maybe you are the type of person that always gets a phone case and hides the look and feel of the phone itself, but there is a lot of time and effort put into how a phone looks and feels in your hand.  Some, like the iPhone, more than others, but this is still an important factor.

What I love about the Moto X is that they seem to have put a great deal of work into making a phone that is aesthetically attractive, because this thing is amazing.  The phone has a great weight, feeling substantial yet light.  The curve to the back feels really nice in your hand, and the soft touch plastic on the back provides a nice grip.  The size is perfect for my hand, being exactly as large as I can imagine a phone could be and still be fully functional with only one hand.  I realize I sound like a paid advertisement right now, but Motorola really did a perfect job with making this phone feel great in your hand.  I have yet to find something about the design I don't like.

My Moto X design.

The last part of the design is the color, which thanks to Moto Maker can be customized to your liking.  This feature is now finally available to all major carriers in the US, something that was only available on AT&T until very recently.  Moto Maker allows you to choose the back color (eighteen options), front color (black or white), and accent color (seven options for the volume buttons, power buttons, and camera bezel).  This is a really nice feature, and unless you come up with some crazy color combinations, creates a very attractive, custom phone.  For mine I went with the navy back, black front, and silver buttons.  I almost went with a white front, but decided against it because I live in Penn State country and didn't want to deal with the teasing (being a Buckeye), and also find that the black screen appears smaller with a white frame (also a reason my wife got a white Note 3) than a black one.  Plus with the AMOLED screen, the images really pop against the all black front.

Active Display

Active Display is by far my favorite feature on the Moto X.  If you have an Android phone from the past couple years, you are more than likely familiar with the LED notification light that blinks in various colors to tell you a notification is waiting.  With the Moto X, the LED is gone, but in its place is Active Display, a notification system that uses the screen to display unread messages and other notifications.  Becasue the Moto X uses an AMOLED screen, the notifications only light up a small portion of the screen, and only when you look at it.  In your pocket, Active Notification doesn't run, but the moment you pull it out of your pocket, the screen pulses with either the time and unlock icon, or if there is a notification, an icon that lets you preview the message.  A lot has been written on this, so I won't go into too much more detail, but if you still are a little confused, check out the video below.

Without going into more detail on how it actually works, I'll just say that Active Display is by far the best feature of this phone.  I almost never have to press the power button because the phone knows when I pick it up and displays my notifications or unlock icon.  And if the phone is sitting on the desk and I want to know the time, I can just tap the phone, or tap the desk and get the time to briefly pulse onto the screen.  It seems like a small addition, but for everyday use, this is the best feature of the phone, hands down.  If I have any complaint about it, it is that when I have multiple notifications, I can only get a preview for the most recent notification.  The others are shown as icons, but I cannot get to them without unlocking the phone and clicking on them in the notification tray.  If there was a way to quickly swipe through all unread notifications, it would be perfect.

Touchless Control

Touchless Control, also known as always-on voice recognition, is Motorola's extension of Google Now's voice recognition and information cards, allowing you to always interact with your phone by just saying "OK Google Now" followed by a command or question.  It allows you to make a phone call, send a text*, set a reminder, schedule an appointment, or get basic information without ever touching the phone.  The key is Motorola's X8 processor system which combines the normal CPU and GPU with two low-power cores designed for natural language processing and contextual speech recognition.  This gives the phone touchless functionality without draining the battery.  It is pretty cool, and I have been using it for things other than just to show other people how cool it is, though that is mostly in the car, and I am still learning how to integrate Google Now with my life.



It also is somewhat limited in what it can do, though a new update slated to come out next week is supposed to add significant functionality including restaurant reservations, movie information, hotel reservations and directions, and updated flight information.  These are all Google Now functions and not Touchless Control functions, so that will be available on all Android devices running version 4.0 or higher.  The only difference with the Moto X is the ability to talk to the phone and get this information without having to turn on, unlock, and swipe up to Google Now.  It is a minor addition, but makes the voice control useful in my opinion, because once I am using the phone, it is just easier to start typing rather than talk to it.

Overall Experience

I could go into great depth on all the other minor features the Moto X also has, but really what makes the Moto X the best phone on the market is the overall experience.  It blends everything I loved about the iPhone (smoothness, simplicity, style, design) with everything I love about Android (customizability, better app integration, better notifications).  It might not have the largest screen, or the fastest processor, or most features, but everything feels designed to work together, and designed to be used quickly and efficiently.  Unless there is a specific feature you need that is only available on one of the other Android phones available today, the Moto X is the better choice.  And if you are a current iPhone user who is looking at switching to Android, this is the phone to get.  I have only had the phone for a week, so it is possible my feelings on the Moto X will change, but this is one sleek, well-built machine.  If my opinions do change, I will be sure to make them public.