Motorola Beats Personal Best: Sells 10 Million Smartphones in Q4 2014

In May 2012, Google’s CEO was proud to announce that the Mountain View-based giant closed the deal to acquire Motorola Mobility. Almost two years later, Google agreed to sell Motorola Mobility to Chinese company Lenovo for $2.91 billion.

Since the Google acquisition, the folks at Motorola have announced some interesting smartphones: the incredibly affordable Moto E, the popular Moto G mid-ranger, and the highly-customizable Moto X. In 2014, Moto G and Moto X reached 2nd generation and it looks that we will also get to see a 2nd gen Moto E soon.

Motorola has recently announced they managed to sell 10 million smartphones in the fourth quarter of the year. The figure is not surprising at all given the huge success their budget-friendly Moto E had, especially on the emerging markets.

With 10 million smartphones sold in Q4 2014, Motorola has registered a growth of about 118% when compared to the same quarter of 2013. The press release also revealed that the two mobile divisions of the Chinese giant combined (Lenovo – Motorola) have registered a loss of $89 million in Q4 2014. Still, the Lenovo officials remain optimistic with their predictions for the next 6 month, a time frame in which they expect the Motorola smartphones to bring a big contribution to the company’s income.

Hurry! Google Nexus 6 Now In Stock On Motorola US Online Store

Google Nexus 6 is one of the most impressive Nexus devices to have ever launched. Except its large physical dimensions, the device is a massive improvement over the Google Nexus 5 and other Nexus devices from the past. Unfortunately though, the device hasn’t been available in stock for long ever since it went on sale, with stocks running out really quick. Finally, Motorola’s online store in US has the Google Nexus 6 back in stock. Both the color options – Midnight Blue and Cloud White are available in 32 and 64GB storage options.

So if you have been waiting to get a new Google Nexus 6 smartphone for yourself for the holiday season, now is the time to place your order. As you can expect, the stocks will most certainly run out pretty quick this time as well, so make sure you are able to get one before Motorola runs out of stock yet again. The prices are the same as earlier – $649.99 for the 32GB model and $699.99 for the 64GB model. No discount deals like the Moto X or Droid Turbo for the Nexus 6 sadly.

The Google Nexus 6 comes with a 5.96-inch 2560 x 1440 Quad-HD Super AMOLED display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipset clocked at 2.7GHz with Adreno 420 GPU, 3GB RAM, 32 or 64GB internal storage, 13MP rear camera with f2.0 lens and dual-LED ring flash, 4K video capture, 2MP front-facing camera with 1080p video recording, 3220mAh battery, Qi Wireless charging support, dual front-facing stereo speakers, water resistance, 4G LTE Cat.6, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac dual-band, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, and runs Android 5.0.1 Lollipop OS. It also supports quick-charge feature that gives you almost 6 hours of usage out of mere 15 minutes of charging. The quick-charger also lets you charge the huge 3220mAh capacity battery rather quickly; the Nexus 6 is one of the quickest charging smartphones in the market.

To order your Google Nexus 6, head to Motorola’s online store here and choose the color and storage size of your preference.

Nexus 6 Pre-Orders Shipping Early for Some

The Nexus 6 release date and pre-order situation has been a bit of a mess with stock being empty from any and all sources, but today we have good news for those who were able to secure an order. Yesterday we confirmed more pre-order options had arrived, and quickly sold out, but now Motorola has reportedly started shipping the Nexus 6 early.

Since being first announced on October 15th the Nexus 6 release date has been a complete mystery. There’s still no solid release date from Google, even though Play Store orders are suggested to ship around the 21st, but today good news finally arrived.

The Nexus 6 is finally headed to the hands on eager customers and will be more widely available this week to prospective buyers. From AT&T taking pre-orders, to Sprint offering the new handset in stores tomorrow, November 14th. Read on for more details regarding Nexus 6 pre-order shipments.

This morning multiple reliable sources on Twitter have confirmed the Nexus 6 has indeed started shipping as of today from Motorola. Meaning that for those who ordered from Motorola.com over the past week, rather than from the Play Store, may get the device as soon as tomorrow or Friday depending on shipping.

Moto Firmware has also confirmed the same details, suggesting that “Your Nexus 6 has shipped” email notifications are now going out to many customers that were able to order the Nexus 6 from Motorola before it sold out last Wednesday. More orders went up for pre-order yesterday, but sold out in under an hour, but this is certainly good news regarding the Nexus 6 release date.

Google’s pre-order system suggested orders would start shipping until November 21st, and Motorola.com was telling buyers the Nexus 6 would ship with an “estimated delivery date of 11/19″ for day-one orders. Of course that’s next Wednesday, and not today. However, it looks like orders are shipping out early, and many buyers will have the Nexus 6 before the end of the week.

It’s worth noting that many who pre-ordered the Nexus 6 from Motorola.com also received expected ship dates of November 21st, and some as late as November 26th.

We’ve reached out to Motorola who still claims orders will ship around Friday and be delivered by the 19th estimate originally mentioned during the pre-order process, but we’ve now heard from more than a few sources suggesting otherwise. A quick call to Motorola’s support number we were told they should ship within the next 24-48 hours, which is good news.

Moto G 2014 Android 5.0 Lollipop Update Rolling Out Now

The Motorola Moto G 2014 Edition is currently being updated to Android 5.0 Lollipop, so you should keep an eye on your device’s Notifications panel. The update is currently rolling out in phases, which means that not all Moto G models are getting the updates at the same time.

The Android 5.0 Lollipop update for Moto G 2014 comes with tons of great new features and improvements that should add a whole new user experience. With this new release you should get the latest Material Design UI features, Notifications improvements, Quick Settings extra toggles, multi-user support, lock screen notifications, battery life saving feature, and more other great features.

The Moto G 2014 (2nd Gen) is one of the first devices that runs the Android 5.0 firmware, this is surprising as we were expecting Google to already release the new OS OTA upgrade for their Nexus 4, Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 before Motorola. The update has been spotted on the Unlock U.S. variant of Moto G 2014 and it should soon be pushed out for all the Unlocked Moto G across the world.

After the roll out of Android 5.0 Lollipop is completed and all Moto G 2014 editions are upgraded, then you should expect Motorola to push the firmware for the first generation Moto G devices, too. In case you own the 2nd Gen Moto G and the update notification hasn’t appeared on your device, then you should go to Settings and use the System Updates menu in order to see if there are any new firmware files available for download.

Moto G 2014 is one of the first devices to receive this new Android 5.0 update because the OS that Motorola uses for their models doesn’t require any major modifications and it is very similar to the stock AOSP Android 5.0 Lollipop that Google pushes for Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7, Nexus 9 and Nexus 10 devices. If you’ve received the new update, then feel free to tell us in comments how’s your Moto G 2014 device working with Android 5.0 and which is your favorite new feature.

Motorola Moto X Football Edition Coming This Black Friday

Its football season and we all know that fans love to show their pride one way or another. Motorola has announced a new variation for their Moto X, which they call “Moto X Football Edition”, and it’s set to hit retailers starting this Thanksgiving. The device is essentially the same as the Moto X, but with a different skin.

Moto X Football Edition confirmed

Thanksgiving always brings with it some deals and interesting releases, because it’s an important holiday in the US, marked notably by huge shopping sprees. Motorola decided to chip in this year by releasing a new variation of the Moto X for football enthusiasts, with what looks like a pigskin casing. The texture is apparently made by Horween Leather, the same company that supplies leather for the NFL pigskins and for leather backsides in the Moto Maker.

The third week of November marks the release date of the Moto X Football Edition, and you shouldn’t expect any other changes besides a nice texture. The Moto X Football Edition is the same as the standard device in terms of hardware, and should sell quite a few units this year. The new handset won’t be a carrier exclusive, and comes just in time for Black Friday, when you’ll be able to get your hands on pretty much any device that you couldn’t previously afford. It’s one of technology’s biggest events of the year due to the fact that it allows everyone to get a new quality product for a very low amount of money.

This release makes us wonder whether Motorola has more variations planned for the Moto X, especially considering the basketball season. The NBA is also involved with Horween Leather, so might bring out a new skin for the device themselves. The Moto X has turned out to be one of the most highly customizable devices released this year, especially taking into consideration the Moto Maker.

Motorola Moto X, Moto G: Lollipop Update Android 5.0 Release Details

Remember at the end of last week when we told you that Motorola had started their soak test of Android 5.0 Lollipop update? We also told you that Motorola had published a few pages detailing this release for both the 2014 Moto X and the 2014 Moto G. Well, it seems like they didn’t pull those pages down fast enough, because Google still has a cache of them up right now.

Details of Moto G / Moto X update to Android Lollipop

The page in particular that I’m talking about is the release notes of the Android 5.0 Lollipop update for the 2014 Moto X. We will link to this at the bottom of this article, but we wanted to talk about a few specific changes. One of the first things Motorola tells us is that we will not be able to downgrade to a previous version of Android once this update has been installed. There might be some hack that lets people who prefer to tinker with their smartphone do this, but as of right now there will not be an official way to downgrade.

This means, if you prefer to root your device, install a custom recovery, or use anything else like Xposed, then you might not want to take this update until those things have been released for Android 5.0 and your device. The other things that Motorola has included in these release notes talk about Material Design, Notifications, Interruption Configuration, Downtime Settings (aka Do Not Disturb Mode), Recent Apps, and the difference between Moto Display and Ambient Display. They even make a note about the inclusion of a flashlight toggle right in the Quick Settings panel.

I wish these release notes went into a little more detail about Android 5.0. Most of the things listed here were things we already knew about. The changelog for Android 5.0 includes over 100,000 commits, so it would be interesting to see a full list somewhere.

Google Nexus 6 Stocks Back on Track as Release Continues

Google’s Nexus release this year was welcomed with massive demand, the sort that not even the biggest companies can keep up with. The Nexus 6 ran out of stock in mere minutes at some retailers, but Google has already started replenishing stocks, as well as releasing the device in more places.

Motorola.com has started selling the Nexus 6 starting at $649.99, and the stocks are holding up really well so far. Motorola also has a very nice presentation set up on the page which gives you a good overview of just how good the phone is. It’s surprising to see the stocks hold up, because the Google Play Store page previously ran out of stock in 2-3 minutes, and pre-orders were also very quick to be depleted. It was reported that, in some cases, the device ran out of stock almost instantly, which was a huge let-down for many people.

Nexus 6 release facing the same problems as the Nexus 5

The Nexus 6 seems to be following the Nexus 5’s example so far, and if we’ll take some time to remember, the Nexus 5 release also had the same sort of problems. Among those problems we can count a very slow release process, as well as a complete lack of stocks. Google mentioned that they are going to replenish the stock on the Google Play Store every Wednesday, and this might help to prevent them selling out again.

An alternative way to purchase the device is from Motorola, and you won’t even have to pre-order it. You can get it in two colors: Midnight Blue and White, with 32/64GB of native storage.  There’s also a special offer coming from Motorola: you can get the Nexus 6 for $54.17 a month for 12 months, and there are other plans for 6 and 18 months. If you are planning on getting a Nexus device, Motorola.com is a good place for you to try.

Moto X and Moto G Android 5.0 Lollipop Update Confirmed by Motorola

Android 5.0 Lollipop is on everyone’s lips now. Lately, Motorola is a company known for bringing fast updates to their devices and the phone maker rushed to announced their plans for the Android 5.0 Lollipop.

According to a recent Motorola blog post, the Android 5.0 Lollipop will be released for Moto X (1st and 2nd gen) and Moto G (1st and 2nd gen). The phone maker also confirmed they will be updating the Moto G LTE to the latest Android version.

As you may know, Motorola’s latest smartphones bring an almost-stock Android experience with very few OEM customizations. Therefore, it shouldn’t take Motorola too long to optimize Android 5.0 Lollipop for their devices. In fact, the same blog post also reveals that all Motorola smartphones launched in 2013 and later will get the new update. Besides the five aforementioned models, the affordable Moto E will also get the Android 5.0 update, along with Droid Ultra, Droid Maxx, and Droid Mini. Unfortunately, Motorola didn’t reveal when the new update will arrive, but promised to return with more information in the near future.

Without a doubt, Android 5.0 Lollipop is the most major update Google’s mobile platform has received since its debut in 2008. The new update brings a whole new design philosophy – Material Design – based on a colorful UI, more animations, and more realistic shadows, Lock Screen notifications, a redesigned Notifications Panel, a new Quick Settings area with new toggles, battery saver mode that promises 90 more minutes of battery life, dynamic status, document-centric multitasking, support for 64-bit processors, ART runtime instead of Dalvik, and more.

As you may know, once your device becomes eligible to get updated to Android 5.0 L, you should be able to see a system update message in the notifications panel. You know the drill: tap on it, choose “Download now,” wait until the download is completed, and select “Install now.” Your smartphone should reboot and install the new firmware. In case the system update notification fails to show up, you would also want to check for software updates under Settings > About phone > Software updates > Check now.

Nexus 6: Price, Pre-Order Date, Rumored Release Date & Specs Revealed

This has been a big week for Google and we have just about all the information on the latest Nexus smartphone for you. Today, we’re going to talk about the official price, the official specs and when we can expect to pre-order and purchase the Google Nexus 6.

Nexus 6 Price

The night before Google announced the Nexus 6, we saw an AT&T product page showing the name, ‘Google Nexus 6. This made a lot of us happy to know that AT&T would be selling the smartphone directly. However, the big reveal here seemed to be about the price. AT&T was using the LG Vista image and price as a placeholder, so when readers saw the $49 on-contract price, it made a lot of them happy. However, some of us were skeptical about the price. Turns out we were right to be because the official price has now been released and it is very unlikely the on-contract price will be $49.

Google and Motorola have announced the Google Nexus 6 will cost $649 without a two-year contract. The 64GB model looks to be priced at $699. It seems the days of moderately-priced Nexus devices could be a thing of the past. At a $649 price tag, I’m thinking the two-year contract price will be more like $199. We haven’t seen any details to confirm or deny this, though – we just know the off-contract price so far. When we learn more details about the price, we will be sure to let you know.

Nexus 6 Specs

Google’s Nexus 6 will come with a 5.96-inch AMOLED display capable of a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution. Inside, we can see it will house the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 SoC. This chip has a 2.7GHz quad-core processor paired with the Adreno 420 GPU. The Nexus 6 has 3GB of RAM and will be available in 32GB and 64GB of internal storage. The back of the device looks to have the same 13MP camera as the 2014 Moto X and will also have a 2MP front-facing camera. It ships with Android 5.0 Lollipop and will be powered by an embedded 3,220mAh capacity battery.

The device has a little more going for it than just these raw specs. The Nexus 6 is compatible and will ship with Motorola’s Turbo Charger. Motorola and Google claims it will give you 6 hours of use with only a 15-minute charge. The Nexus 6 is IPX7 water-resistant, so you shouldn’t have any issues if you get the device wet or completely submerge it for a short amount of time. We get two color options here: Midnight Blue and Cloud White. It also comes with some of the Motorola features we see in the Moto X. Do you think we’ll see a red Nexus 6 announced in a month or two like we did with the Nexus 5?

Nexus 6 Release

This is where things start to get a little hazy. If we look at the Nexus 6 page on the Google website, it only lists a pre-order date. All it tells us is that pre-orders will begin toward the end of October. Digging around, it seems The Verge is reporting October 29th for the pre-order date. They continue by telling us it will be released in November. After doing some more digging, it appears T-Mobile News is reporting that T-Mobile will start selling the Nexus 6 on November 12th. We should take both dates with a grain of salt, though. Since nothing has been officially confirmed by Google, these dates could change at any moment.

New Moto X (2014) Release Continues in the US

The new Moto X release hasn’t been as smooth as the company probably expected or wanted, with delays and shortages from Verizon and Motorola.com, but we have good news. Verizon started offering the phone late last month, and its now available this week from one more carrier in the United States.

When Motorola took the stage on September 4th and announced the new Moto X, the Moto G for 2014, and the Moto 360 release date, they only had two carriers to talk about. Confirming both Verizon and AT&T would offer the Moto X. When the phone went up for pre-order earlier this month it was only for AT&T.

However, after months of waiting and complete silence since unveiling the phone earlier this month, Verizon recently confirmed the device will launch on September 26th, and now US Cellular is up next. The new smartphone is available from two major carriers, but this is certainly good news for those who don’t use AT&T or Verizon.

For those looking to get the new Moto X 2014 model that was announced the first week of September, you only have a few options. This year the Moto X is not available from Sprint or T-Mobile, and only AT&T and Verizon are offering it in-stores. However, one more joined the party on Friday October 3rd, and that’s US Cellular.

Just like the others, the new Moto X 2014 is available from US Cellular for $99 with a new 2-year contract, or $499 outright. This is for the standard white or black variants, but US Cellular claims they’ll be offering both the customized leather and wood back options from MotoMaker.com for $149 on-contract. Meaning we can expect MotoMaker support in the near future, but not yet.

By now users probably don’t need any more details about the Moto X, as it has been available for roughly a month, even if most shipments were delayed until the end of September.

As a reminder, the Moto X for 2014 comes with a completely redesigned experience. The Moto X offers a large 5.2-inch 1920 x 1080p full HD display, a powerful quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM, 16 or 32GB of storage (no micro SD card) and an improved 13 megapixel camera with optical image stabilization and a new “ringflash” for improved low-light photos.

The screen is 22% bigger than the original while the overall size is barely bigger..

Then of course we have customization. As mentioned above the device is currently only available from US Cellular, but coming later this month you’ll be able to get all the custom options as well. Those being over 18 different custom colors for the back, four genuine leather colors, and four hand-made woods. Motorola also offers accent colors, custom wallpapers, engravings, and more.

The new Moto X 2014 has the latest Android 4.4.4 KitKat, a large 2,600 mAh battery, and should receive quick and timely updates once the Android L release arrives later this fall. The original was the first to Android 4.4 KitKat, and the new Moto X will look to follow that trend.

Motorola Nexus 6/Nexus X Unofficially Confirmed

As we edge closer to the release of the upcoming Nexus 6 (aka Nexus X), we’re starting to see more rumors about the device. Today, we’ll talk about some rumors from a reputable source that believes they can confirm what Google and Motorola are working on at this time.

Nexus 6 alleged specs

Yesterday, we talked about the Nexus 6 as a whole, but today we’re going to single out some of the latest bits of information that are going around. These latest rumors come to us from Android Police and they rank their confidence level at a 9 out of 10. Their sources have told them we will see the same aluminum frame around the Nexus 6 that we saw around the 2014 Moto X. Since it will be modeled after that device, they have also been told it will have a 13MP rear-facing camera and a 2MP front-facing camera. We should see the same size camera sensor on the Nexus 6 as we see on the 2014 Moto X and this means the same LED dual-flash ring around the sensor too.

Their source told them the 5.9-inch display will have a resolution of 2560 x 1440 (Quad HD) and this will put the pixels per inch right at 496. Inside the device, they’ve been told the battery capacity will be at least 3,200mAh and that it’s compatible with Motorola’s Turbo Charger for faster charging. We recently talked about the possibility of Android L being released as version 5.1, but Android Police believes it will be released as 5.0. We’ll have to wait and see what Google decides to go with when we see the device released (possibly less than two weeks away).

They didn’t deny the idea that Google will release a smaller variant of the Nexus 6, but they doubt this will happen. With all the leaks circulating right now, they feel it just seems implausible that Google has been able to keep one device a secret while the other one gets leaked multiple times. Either way, we’ll have to wait and see what Google has in store for us.

Moto X (2014): Motorola and AT&T Shipping Pre-orders

Moto X (2014): Motorola and AT&T Shipping Pre-orders

Google and Motorola’s cohabitation, no matter how short-lived it may have been, produced fantastic consumer devices that were accessible to both power-users and to those who were on a budget. As a send-off, Motorola, in collaboration with Google, released second-generation models of the Moto X and its affordable iteration, the Moto G. Pre-orders for both devices began just last week, and the first batches are reported to have begun shipping. This, however, is for the unadulterated version of the Moto X (2014). Orders done through Motorola’s Moto Maker should also begin shipping in a few days as devices are still in transit from China. Unlike last generation’s Moto X, the device is no longer being made in the United States, so assembly and shipping are taking a bit longer than expected.

Moto X 2014 Pricing

The Moto X (2014) is sold at a retail price of $499 for the 16GB version and $549 for the 32GB version, unlocked and off-contract. It is also available from AT&T for $99 with a 24-month contract. Students should take advantage of Motorola’s education discount, knocking off $50 from orders of the unlocked 16GB Moto X (2014). With the Moto Maker, you can customize your Moto X (2014), giving you the option to choose what color the back and front plates will be, as well as some accent colors. You can also customize the device’s back plate material. A leather-ized version of the Moto X (2014) will cost an extra $100, and a wood-plated iteration will need a top up of $50.

As a refresher, the Moto X (2014) comes with a 5.2-inch screen with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, giving it a pixel density of 424 ppi. There are two storage options, 16 or 32GB (non-expandable), and it comes with 2GB of RAM. Powering the device is a 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801processor coupled with an Adreno 330 GPU. The device’s main camera is rated at 13MP and the front camera at 2MP. The Moto X (2014) runs on Android 4.4.4 KitKat, with an Android L expected soon after its release.

Rumor: 9to5Google Divulges More Alleged Shamu specs, Affirms 5.9” Display For Motorola’s Nexus

Rumor: 9to5Google Divulges More Alleged Shamu specs, Affirms 5.9” Display For Motorola’s Nexus

We've been hearing a lot about Volantis lately, but what about the other supposed Nexus device - Shamu? Since we originally broke the story back in July (with the Information affirming Shamu's existence soon after) things have been relatively quiet, with only a benchmark test here or there popping up with alleged specs that seemed to point to a smaller device.

Today, however, 9to5Google has divulged specs and details about the device in which the outlet seems fairly confident. 9to5 says it can corroborate the 5.9" screen size, and notes that "the device we've learned about" actually carries the following specs, some of which clash with earlier reports:

5.92" QHD display (498PPI)

3200mAh battery

13MP camera and 2MP front shooter

Snapdragon 805 processor

3GB RAM

Worth noting is that 9to5's information aligns almost perfectly with information we received earlier this year, but they also sound very close to a device we've seen under the name Quark, which may in fact be the basis for Shamu.

We can also fill in some of the gaps in 9to5's information. For instance, Shamu (as we noted in our original coverage) is expected to carry a fingerprint sensor on its back, replacing Moto's signature dimple/logo décor. Additionally, 9to5 notes that Shamu doesn't appear to be running a 64 bit version of Android, and indeed the information we saw earlier this year indicated that the device would launch on a 32 bit version of Android L (while Volantis will carry a 64 bit version). Our information at the time also suggested that Shamu would have wireless charging capabilities (and compatibility with Moto's new Turbo Charger), but as with any pre-release information, we can't be totally certain just yet.

9to5 also notes that the form factor has only been slightly modified from the Moto X as far as they can tell - the volume rocker and power button are said to be positioned more toward the center of the device to allow for easier access.

Finally, 9to5 doesn't rule out the possibility of multiple Nexus phones. While we can't corroborate the existence of a smaller Nexus phone, there has certainly been evidence floating around to suggest a 5.2" device. Shamu, according to 9to5's information is still aiming for a November release, with an announcement at some point in October. Hit the link below for the full story, and 9to5's own mockup of the device.

T-Mobile Moto X Android 4.4.4 KitKat OTA Update is Now Live

T-Mobile Moto X Android 4.4.4 KitKat OTA Update is Now Live

The Moto X Android 4.4.4 OTA update is now being pushed to T-Mobile users. For the time being, the carrier didn’t update their support page, but the users who own the T-Mo variant of Motorola’s 2013 flagship are reporting they are receiving the Android 4.4.4 update on their devices.

The Moto X Android 4.4.4 update for Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint users was rolled out a while ago and it’s quite odd to see T-Mobile trailing behind, since their Moto X variant is controlled by Motorola as an unlocked device. Anyway, it’s better late than never. As usual, the Android 4.4.4 OTA update for Moto X will be rolled out in phases, which means that some of you might not be able to download and install it right away.

As you probably know already, once your device becomes eligible to receive the new OTA update you should be able to notice a system update message in the notifications panel. Tap on it, choose Download, and then, after the download is completed, choose Install Now. Your smartphone will reboot and install Android 4.4.4. In case the system update notification failed to appear, it’s also worth performing a manual check under Settings > About phone > System updates.

Even though there’s no official change log from T-Mobile, the Moto X Android 4.4.4 update should be similar to the one rolled out for the Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T variants of the device. Besides security improvements, it also brings a new color scheme and improved usability to phone dialer, better camera picture quality, and the ability to pause video recordings.

It’s also worth noting that the Android 4.4.4 update for T-Mobile Moto X is labeled 213.44.1 and that it could have a size of over 500 MB. It’s recommended to download the update file using a Wi-Fi network in order to avoid unwanted data charges.

Moto X 2014: 7 Best Features of the 2014 Motorola Flagship

Moto X 2014: 7 Best Features of the 2014 Motorola Flagship

With every new smartphone, there are generally some new features that are announced right alongside it. Even if they aren’t particularly new, each Android smartphone has a list of features that users love and brag about. With the release of Motorola’s latest flagship, we wanted to cover some of the more unique and interesting features for the 2014 Moto X.

Moto X Camera Gesture

With a simple twist of your wrist, you can gesture the 2014 Moto X to activate the camera even without turning it on and unlocking the device. Simply twisting/turning the device from left to right a couple of times will activate the display and launch you right into the camera application. From here, you can quickly take a picture and then lock the display making it very quick and very easy to take a picture.

Moto X Burst Mode

Speaking of cameras, LG advertised their G3 camera to be simple - it allows you to take a picture by just tapping on the display (when the camera application is open). The 2013 Moto X already did this but it also has a Burst Mode. So instead of a single tap on the display, all you have to do is tap and hold the display (while the camera application is open) and it will take multiple pictures back-to-back very quickly. It’s these types of quick features that make the Moto X so simple to use since there’s no need to fumble through any menus.

Moto Voice

You might already know of this feature as Touchless Controls from the 2013 Moto X. Motorola has given it a new name to match the other Moto-named features in the 2014 Moto X. The default activation phrase is ‘OK Moto X’, but you can customize this to just about any phrase you would like. This feature also integrates into other Android applications like WhatsApp, Facebook and even YouTube. You can tell your 2014 Moto X to post a status message to Facebook and it will perform the action without you needing to touch the device at all

Moto Assist

Another one of these new Moto-named features is Moto Assist. You can think of this as a programmable version of Google Now or the LG G3′s Smart Notice feature. Moto Assist will take information like what time it is, where you are and how fast you’re going so that it can give you contextual information based on it. As an example, you can program your 2014 Moto X to go into Silent Mode while you’re sleeping or if you’re in the car and on the way to/from work. You might think this is very similar to what Tasker does, and you’re correct to think that. It does some of the things that Tasker does, but it isn’t quite as powerful. This also means it’s much easier to configure too.

Moto Connect

This is a Motorola application that debuted on the 2013 Moto X. This app will let you pair your smartphone to your computer so that you can control your Moto X from the browser with the Moto Connect extension/plugin. You can do various things like send or receive texts, read the caller ID and other minor things right from the browser while the device is being charged or in your pocket.

Moto Display

Moto Display also debuted on the 2013 Moto X but was called Active Display back then. Since the Moto X uses an AMOLED display, the only battery power used to light up the display is for the individual pixels. So, you could keep the entire display black and only use a few dozen pixels to display some vital information about the time and your active notifications, all without eating up so much battery from lighting up the entire display (like an LCD panel has to). This type of interface is activated when you get a notification, but it also uses the sensors to know if you’ve picked up or turned over your smartphone.

Trusted Devices

We’ll end this list with a feature that is being incorporated into Android L. It’s called Trusted devices and it debuted on the 2013 Moto X as well. I haven’t seen anyone talking about this for the 2014 Moto X, but I assume that it’s still there. You’ll need to go into Settings and then tap on Security. From there, you should see the Trusted Devices option where it will let you pick a paired Bluetooth device. You can do this with any Bluetooth device so that when it’s paired with your Moto X, it will allow you to bypass any security protection you have on your device. This is great for when you have the Moto X paired with your car (or a smartwatch) so you aren’t required to focus on the smartphone to unlock it.

Moto X 2014: AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular [US Availability]

Moto X 2014: AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular [US Availability]

Have you been waiting for more detailed information on Moto X’s availability through your carrier? Well your wait is over as two of the biggest U.S. carriers have officially confirmed its availability. AT&T and Verizon have also put up official Moto X 2014 pages on their websites.

Motorola Moto X on AT&T

T&T mentioned it will be offering the Moto X along with the Moto Hint shortly, with further availability and pricing information to be announced later. AT&T was the first carrier to partner with Motorola to bring the Moto Maker customization options with the first-generation Motorola X, and will continue to offer the service for the second-generation Moto X as well. The Moto Hint accessory offered by the carrier is a wireless ear bud with in-ear sensory and voice command technology. It can also be used as a voice-operated remote control for your Moto X.

Verizon Moto X

Verizon has set up a new signup page for interested customers where you can enter your email address and receive more information about the exact launch date and pricing as and when the information becomes available. Verizon Wireless will also be offering the Moto Maker customization option that now lets you choose between hundreds of color, wood and leather finishes for your new Moto X.

US Cellular

A smaller carrier, U.S. Cellular, has also confirmed it will be selling the Moto X starting this month. We expect the other two major carriers – T-Mobile and Sprint – to offer the device as well, and an official statement regarding this could be released later this week. The Moto X will also be available as unlocked in all major markets by the end of this month.

The new Moto X comes with a 5.2-inch 1080p AMOLED display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset, 2GB RAM, 16GB ROM, a 13MP rear camera, and a 2300mAh battery.