I have been all but stuck with my Evo Shift 4G since my Evo 3D broke, and thank my lucky stars, it’s upgrade time for me! I was talking to the guys here at AndroidStory, and they all offered me insight on a good upgrade device. In the midst of that, someone posed the question, “Hey, why not get the Moto X?”
I really hadn’t put much thought into the Moto X, simply because my mind was stuck on the big dogs: HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4. So I Google the Moto X, and I was instantly turned off by some of the specifications. However, further discussion led to me watch videos that showed the Moto X performing well in comparison to the aforementioned devices. I am slowly slipping away from my Sammy desires, and creeping into the Moto neck of the woods.
I begin to actually enjoy the idea of the device. It’s so simple that it’s appealing almost. There’s nothing flashy about it aesthetically, and at some point for Sprint customers, I would actually get to personalize the colors of it, so I could represent my college, and embroider the school name to show additional school spirit. The idea of this phone is all but awesome at this point.
The voice controls are the icing on the cake. I could see myself in my apartment (sophomore year, of course) with a strikingly beautiful lady sitting on my couch in front of the fire emulated on my TV. When I say “Hey Google,” she answers, and I command the phone to play a song, something smooth to set the mood, the rest is history.
I’ve officially fallen in love with the phone, and in my geek mind, Motorola is going to pull the ultimate boss card and give this thing a good price tag. I consider $99 to be feasible when you consider what the phone is built with, who it’s built by (No offense to Moto, they are just not as big as HTC or Samsung in the Android device spectrum in my opinion), and what’s under the hood software wise, which is nothing more than a glorified AOSP build (I expect we will see some of those features like the lock screen notification checker on a CM rom at some point).
Then, I’m hit with the bomb shell, Motorola has the nerve to charge $199 ON CONTRACT for it. I would be fine with that OFF contract, I would even be good with $299 off contract because it’s still significantly cheaper than an off contract Sammy S4 or an HTC One and falls right in the price range of the Nexus 4, but let’s be clear Moto, you shot yourself in the foot with this one.
I don’t care if you let me customize my phone with one backplate and ship me the other 17 for free, this phone isn’t worth that. MKBHD on Youtube said it best: “Geeks look at Specifications vs. Price, Regular Consumers look at Features vs. Price.” Allow me to explain.
As a geek, on paper, The Moto X is worth half of the Samsung Galaxy S4 or HTC One at absolute best, and I’m really spit balling here. Quad/Octa-Core vs. Dual Core, Freaking scrolling with your eyes versus… well, a regular front facing camera, Premium aluminum vs. cheap chinese tablet, glossing looking plastic (in photos and videos), 1080p displays vs. a 720p display, the list goes on and on, and Moto loses in pretty much all of them.
I want to mention that I have seen the videos and articles that talk about how the Moto X can easily compare in terms of performance because of it’s optimizations under the hood, but nothing says nerdgasm-inducing geek talk like saying “Snapdragon 600 Quad Core processor, clocked at 1.9 GHz stock, OC’d to God knows what, and dual booting GE and stock Touchwiz,” how the hell do you even consider the phone at that point.
As a regular consumer, you see the constant voice listening features, more polished lock screen notification system, cool Moto cam and simple interface and think that it is the perfect phone for you, and the hardware customization is a nice little bonus too. However, Samsung lets you scroll with your eyes, has a billion features packed into the camera, making it the phone of choice for you Instagram fanatics; plus, it’s fast, you hear dual (2) versus quad (4) core and your logic tells you four equals more, the screen is nicer because it has the same quality as the 50″ TV in your living room, and it’s all wrapped up in this thing they call Touchwiz and it’s supposed to be based on the latest version of Android. The S4 wins the battle because in your mind, you want what you freaking paid for, and Moto isn’t cutting it at all.
So, moral to the story, I’m not banking on your device at that price tag, Motorola. I can get a Samsung Galaxy S3 off Amazon for free, still better specs, LG Optimus G for free directly from Sprint, comparable if not better specs as well. Or, if I’m in a $200 kind of mood, I can easily go with an S4 or an HTC One, both of which have fluctuating price tags based on specials by the OEM and carriers. If you can ask for $199-$299 off contract, I will buy one cash because the device seems cool enough to own and I’m sure it would be a joy to customize. However, you’ve gotten greedy and you can’t think that what you have handed us is worth that. The geek and regular consumer in me both say that there isn’t any point in paying for that and wasting my upgrade on it.
Get wise, drop the price, and you will get a better response. From what I’ve read everywhere else, I’m not the only person with this gripe.
What do you guys think? Tell me in the comments below.
