The 2014 Motorola Moto X might be approaching eighteen months old, but still has much to offer customers, especially if one does not need the very latest in specifications. The handset is based around a 5.2-inch, AMOLED, 1080p display (that is, 1,920 by 1,080 pixel resolution). There’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 2 GB of RAM and in for the purposes of the article, device comes with 32 GB of internal storage. There’s a 13MP rear facing camera and Motorola’s very close to stock Android interface. When the device was released, it offered a specification that was a little underwhelming – arriving some six months or so after the Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8, which were based around a similar System-on-Chip and screen size. However, the Motorola Moto X line has never been about headline specification and instead, Motorola have given the Moto X a number of special, cleverly thought out features.
These include Motorola’s very carefully optimized antenna arrangement, which replaces Qualcomm’s already sophisticated antenna management system with their own to give great signal. The Moto X also uses a microphone array and a great quality earpiece, so gives customers excellent call clarity. For those of us who use our smartphone for calling, the Moto X is compelling. Motorola’s special sauce also extends to the software, which comes with special features such as Moto Display (something Google borrowed for Android 5.0 Lollipop), whereby waving your hand over the screen as well as picking it up, without unlocking the device, pops up your latest notifications. The Motorola Moto X also pairs up beautifully with the Moto 360 and offers additional features over and above the stock Android Wear experience, such as the ability to natively control your camera from the smartwatch.
The reason why the 2014 Motorola Moto X is in the news today is because Motorola United Kingdom are offering the 32 GB model at almost half price. It’s available from £219.99 on the Motomaker UK site, although there are some caveats. Not all colors are available; at the time of writing, black is not available nor is red leather. However, the other leather and wooden backs are still in stock and better yet, there’s no additional charge for the wooden or leather rear – which further increases the saving if you fancy an alternative to a plastic or metal finish. For customers considering picking up a mid-range late 2015 or early 2016 device, such as the OnePlus X, the 2014 Moto X offers a compelling alternative – especially as the handset can easily be personalized.