As wonderfully rich and volatile today’s phone / tablet market seems to be ( now I actually find using phone / tablet references a bit out-dated as in today’s market, you can hardly tell the difference between the two as they have already started to intertwine, thus giving birth to the phoneblets ), I may not be alone here in saying that it has become a tad monotonous. I mean, you have the same old series that dominate the Android phone market. There is Galaxy and Xperia and Optimus and so forth. However, there are so very few stand-alones nowadays ( fewer of which are even worth their price or worth bringing in the discussion ). Rare is the case in which you see a manufacturer release a new device that is not some new addition to its series. God knows how frustrating it is to remember their names ( heck, most people will easily remember the first TWO words in the title, but the third one is the one that makes the difference – picture how annoying it is to describe the Xperias around here as they all have alphabet letters in their titles ). However, it may just be that I’m a bit too conservative for my own good and I don’t necessarily embrace change easily. Still, if series are something you enjoy and think will bring nothing but good stuff to the table, then have I got news for you.
As you may have already guessed it from the title, Motorola is also considering branching out into a series of their own ( aside from the RAZR ones, which were a bit of a failure if you ask me ). Now, they claim that their new X series will actually be able to go toe to toe with the Galaxy one. Up until recently, there were rumors around this Motorola X name, and the rumors suggested it would be a single device that the Google-acquired manufacturer was working on. However, online gossip and inside information from Motorola actually confirm it to be a brand, similar to all the other series.
Allegedly, this will be the first official Motorola lineup on which Google is going to have some direct influence ( and judging from the Nexus devices, I’d say it’s going to turn out great ). For that reason, the first device in the Motorola X series will be announced at this year’s Google I/O and will hit the store’s shelves in June. Even more interestingly ( and so was the case with a few Nexus devices as well, but the results weren’t all that awe inspiring ) the handset will also be sold through the Google Play Store, in addition to the usual carriers and retail stores. Motorola is reportedly guaranteeing at least one full Android OS update after the phone has been purchased and will take care of the updating process itself, not let the carrier do it for the user.
There is also another rumor surrounding this mysterious Motorola X device, but it sound highly unlikely. It is said that Motorola will allow the users to customize the X-branded phone before purchasing it ( it is possible – many Laptop manufacturers employ this feature as it gives a certain freedom to the customer allowing them to build something for their needs, yet it may seem quite hard to accomplish for Phones ). Things like being able to modify the RAM quantity and internal storage were mentioned. Motorola was believed to guarantee the delivery of said custom device in a week or so. Also, users can vote to have their bootloader unlocked and SIM configured for use on any carrier ( I believe this is illegal in certain American states and other remote areas on the globe ). Said rumor goes as far as to suggest Motorola will allow you to preload custom wallpapers, ringtones, apps and contacts before the device arrives at your doorstep, similar to the HTC Get Started program.
Still, rumors are rumors and should be treated like that. There may be some who believe that it will work well like that, but I am not so optimistic. I believe that for the mere price of around 300 dollars, nobody is going to go the extra mile and allow you to customize all that much ( I am mentioning that price as the phone is supposed to be highly subsized by Google as the Play Store already has the matching Nexus 4 as well ).
Google I/O will be on May 15, so we’ll see then and there what these rumors consist of ( speaking of which, did you know that the tickets for that Google I/O sold like hot cakes? Seriously, they were sold-out in a matter of hours ). In this case, same as in many, only time will tell.
