Motorola Mobility on Thursday launched the Moto X, the first phone to be fully developed by the company since it was taken over last year by Google in a $12 billion deal.
The launch of the phone is widely seen as a pointer for Google’s intentions for the cellphone pioneer, which must compete with the likes of Samsung and a host of other companies that also manufacture phones that run on Google’s Android operating system.
Apple’s iPhone is also a major rival.
The special feature that Google hopes will distinguish Moto X from its competitors is called Touchless Control, an always-listening capability that turns the phone on and is ready to act on voice commands whenever the user says the phrase “OK Google Now.” This is different from Apple’s Siri, and other voice command features in Android, which require a user to physically press phone buttons before it can be activated. As a security safeguard, the voice activation feature is trained to recognise the user’s voice and will respond only to it.
Another useful new feature on the phone is Quick Capture, the ability to activate the phone’s camera with two quick twists of the wrist.
The phone features an active display with actionable information available on the lock screen. It allows Moto X users to see emails, text messages, and call history notifications without fully unlocking their device or even turning on the display.
A further special feature of the Moto X is its customisable design, whereby customers can choose the colours of the front, back and accents of the phone, and even add an inscription.
To enable this feature for US customers, Motorola is manufacturing the phone in a new plant in Fort Worth, Texas.
The phone features standard tech specifications such as a 4.7 inch (12 cm) screen, a 10MP main camera and 2MP front-facing camera, a dual core processor and either 16GB or 32GB of storage.
It goes on sale in the US later this month through all five major carriers for a starting price of 199 dollars with a two-year contract.