AT&T Moto X Release Date Arrives August 23rd

Users looking to pick up the first Motorola smartphone created with customizability in mind won’t have to wait too long, if there on the United States second-largest mobile carrier. Motorola’s Moto X will go on sale at local AT&T stores starting August 23rd.

According to a press release made available by the company just hours ago, users who purchase the device in AT&T’s retail store locations can expect both the “woven black” and “woven white” color options to be available on that day.

Each store will also have color samples available for users who would like to get a feel for each color hue before they use the Moto Maker website to create their own custom colored device. Users won’t be able to pick up a custom colored device in store, but AT&T and Motorola will ship each customized device to the user within four days.

Create a custom smartphone with the Moto Maker.

Whether users choose to customize the color of their Moto X or not, pricing will depend on on-board storage size. The Moto X on AT&T will come with 16GB of on-board storage for $199.99, 32GB of on-board storage for $249.99. That pricing is after the user signs up for a two-year service agreement. Those who wish to purchase the Moto X as part of the AT&T Next monthly payment system will be able to get the 16GB version of the device for $27 per month and the 32GB version of the Moto X for $32 per month.

For those who simply can’t wait, AT&T will allow a small amount of users to create their own custom designed Moto X and get it before the device goes on sale.

AT&T’s availability announcement comes mere hours after GottaBeMobile detailed customization features available to users through the Moto Maker website.

Through that website users can customize nearly everything about their device including button and body color options, accent button coloring and storage capacity. Uses can even specify what wallpaper and Google Account they’d like the device to arrive configured with.

The Moto X features a 4.7-inch HD display, LTE capabilities, 2GB of RAM a 10 megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2 megapixel font-facing camera. Users won’t be able to customize the Motorola-made X8 processor inside the device.

Motorola has yet to detail when users on other networks will be able to pick up the Moto X, though it did say the device would come to users on Verizon and T-Mobile.

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Moto X’s Secret Weapon is Choice

After months of speculation and days of leaks about what features the device would have, Motorola has finally, formally announced the Moto X. Though the software features that leaked might have given you the impression that Motorola would be using its Android customization as a secret weapon, it seems the Moto X is more about Motorola allowing users to create the device they want.

According to Motorola, the Moto X will

allow users to customize their device with different color choices in each zone. Users will be able to login into the Moto Maker design site and customize the color of their device’s buttons, front, rear and camera lens housing, ensuring that their device looks exactly the way they want it to. Motorola will then assemble that device in the United States, and deliver it the user in just four days.

The color customizable Moto X.

Should the user not like their color choices, they’ll have 14 days to ship the device back to Motorola and choose different color options.

A press release made available by Motorola this afternoon boasts that the Moto X will have 2,000 color combinations at launch.

Not content with that, the company is saying that users will be able to order more backs overtime, including one made out of wood. The Moto X can also be ordered with a custom message on the device’s rear.

These customization options extend to things inside the device as well. Although users won’t be able to decide what processor or screen is included in their device, they will be able to choose the amount of on-board storage that their device has. Motorola will even ship the device to users with the wallpaper of their choice.

Of course, the Moto X will also come in black and white for those users who are color adverse.

The Moto X color options combine to offer over 2,000 color options.

Motorola says that the black and white versions of the Motorola X will be available at AT&T, Sprint, US Cellular and Verizon Wireless starting at $199 with a two-year service agreement in late August or early September. T-Mobile and international carriers will follow sometime later.

At launch, only AT&T users will be able to customize their device using the Moto Maker website. Verizon users will gain access to the Moto Maker later this year.

All told, the tactic isn’t all that different what Microsoft attempted with its Zune Originals service for the Zune HD. With that service, users could choose their device’s storage size, color and an engraving. Microsoft has since, discontinued creating Zunes. Color choice has also allowed Apple to differentiate it’s devices from the gray and black slabs of others, as with the iPad Nano and iPod Touch.

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Verizon Moto X Will Be Customizable Later This Year

While the AT&T Moto X will be the first out of the gates with Moto Maker customization, Verizon has also confirmed that it’s Moto X will allow for user customization later on this year.

Motorola finally debuted its Moto X smartphone earlier today, confirming its release for a number of carriers in the United States including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless. The device will be coming in two flavors, one non-customizable and one customizable thanks to something Motorola is calling Moto Maker.

The Verizon Moto X design will become customizable later this year.

Moto Maker will allow users to pick from a total of more than 2,000 casing and color schemes for the device including wood. Fortunately or unfortunately for consumers, AT&T has managed to nab an exclusive on Moto Maker for the time being. However, that doesn’t mean that other Moto X variants won’t be getting customization.

In fact, Verizon has confirmed that the Moto Maker process will be coming to the Moto X sometime later this year though the carrier is mum about any specific timing. This should be music to the ears of Verizon customers as customization is one of the perks of the Moto X, a device that is coming to shelves to compete with the likes of the iPhone 5, Galaxy S4 and HTC One.

Verizon Wireless        ✔ @VZWnews

Moto X. Black & White. Verizon Wireless. Coming Soon. Moto Maker coming later this year #MeetMotoX #4G LTE pic.twitter.com/E0FLSsfec8

10:01 PM - 1 Aug 2013

Verizon’s device will only be one of many as other carriers like Sprint and T-Mobile will be offering their own takes on the Moto X. Google also confirmed that a Moto X Google Edition will be hitting shelves in the future though it remains silent on pricing or a release date.

The Moto X, across the board, features a 4.7-inch 720p display, dual-core processor, LTE data speeds, 10MP Clear Pixel camera, and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Motorola says that it will be rolling out software updates, not carriers, though updates will still need carrier approval.

The companies involved remain mum about specific release dates though Motorola says that it will start landing on shelves starting in late August, early September. Rumors have suggested that the Verizon Moto X will be out on August 23rd though that remains unconfirmed.

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iPhone 5 vs. Moto X vs. Galaxy S4 Size Comparison

Tomorrow, Motorola is set to debut the new Moto X, its new flagship smartphone that it hopes will compete with the likes of the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S4. And those that are debating between these devices will be happy to know that the Moto X has been compared, in size, to the iPhone 5, Galaxy S4 and the Droid RAZR ahead of launch.

Motorola announced the Moto X several weeks ago but since then, it has kept many of the official details to itself. Fortunately, the company will take the stage tomorrow and show off the Moto X, officially, for the first time. At the event, we expect to hear about its specifications, its release date, pricing and of course, we expect to see the device itself.

The Moto X stands next to the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S4 and Droid RAZR.

While the device has shown up in numerous leaks, showcasing its design for the world to see, consumers haven’t been able to size up its design, particularly against some of the bigger name smartphones on the market. Fortunately, Taylor Wimbley has shared a photo that shows consumers just how the Moto X stacks up size-wise with the iPhone 5, Droid RAZR and the Samsung Galaxy S4.

The photo is a combination of press images and it shows the Moto X next to all three of these new devices. The device is larger than Apple’s iPhone 5 which sits at 4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 inches and weighs around 3.95 ounces. Dimensions of the Moto X still aren’t known, but it’s clear that it’s bigger than Apple’s flagship.

The device is a little more on par with the Droid RAZR which stands at 5.15 x 2.71 x 0.28 inches with a weight of 4.48 ounces. The Moto X appears to be a tad shorter than the Droid RAZR.

Finally, the Moto X is smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung’s current flagship Galaxy S smartphone, which stands at 5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 inches and weighs 4.59 ounces.

The Moto X arrives, in the flesh, tomorrow.

It’s clear that Motorola is aiming for a more compact experience with the Moto X though one that is bigger than Apple’s iPhone 5 which employs a 4-inch display. Flagship Android devices in 2013 have been based on massive displays with the Galaxy Note 3 expected to deliver a whopping 5.7-inch 1080p display.

The Moto X will debut tomorrow and rumors suggest that it could have a large 720p display, dual-core processor, high-quality camera, heavy user customization including a laminated aluminum casing, fast LTE speeds, and a price tag that could put it on par with the Nexus 4, Google’s current Nexus smartphone that is priced at $299 unlocked.

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