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0000757

macrumors 68040
Dec 16, 2011
3,894
850
I recently switched completely from the iPhone 5 to the Moto X and I am enjoying it non-stop. This phone is exactly what every Android phone should be. Get rid of TouchWiz and Sense and whatever the heck Sony and LG have and just give it stock Android with a great design and some innovative features, instead of gimmicks. I absolutely love it!
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
The phone is never FREE. When you buy subsidized, you pay less up front but many times end up paying more in the long run. And you don't actually own the phone while on that 1-3 year contract. I always buy phones outright, because I refuse to ever be chained to a carrier again.

Actually not true here anyway.

Whilst you are entering a contract for service with your carrier, you are NOT entering a Hire Purchase agreement for the phone.

The phone is yours from day 1 - you own it.

If you decide to exit the contract with your carrier you may be liable for remaining time on that contract, but at no point is your ownership of that phone in question.
 

Lloydbm41

Suspended
Oct 17, 2013
4,019
1,456
Central California
I recently switched completely from the iPhone 5 to the Moto X and I am enjoying it non-stop. This phone is exactly what every Android phone should be. Get rid of TouchWiz and Sense and whatever the heck Sony and LG have and just give it stock Android with a great design and some innovative features, instead of gimmicks. I absolutely love it!

Concur. I have owned a lot of phones and the Moto X has been my favorite.
 

Lloydbm41

Suspended
Oct 17, 2013
4,019
1,456
Central California
Actually not true here anyway.

Whilst you are entering a contract for service with your carrier, you are NOT entering a Hire Purchase agreement for the phone.

The phone is yours from day 1 - you own it.

If you decide to exit the contract with your carrier you may be liable for remaining time on that contract, but at no point is your ownership of that phone in question.

Sure, the phone is in your possession, but if you are making payments on the phone, you don't really own it. You are liable for the cost of the phone regardless if you break it, sell it or use it. Semantics I suppose, but I don't consider something 'owned' until I have paid for it.
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
Sure, the phone is in your possession, but if you are making payments on the phone, you don't really own it. You are liable for the cost of the phone regardless if you break it, sell it or use it. Semantics I suppose, but I don't consider something 'owned' until I have paid for it.

To be honest I have a very good relationship with my carrier; I've had early upgrades every 9 - 10 months in the past few years (when it should be 24 between each upgrade) so I don't really worry about my contract length ... I may save this years for the iPhone 6 (5.5") or the Note 4...
 

0000757

macrumors 68040
Dec 16, 2011
3,894
850
Actually not true here anyway.

Whilst you are entering a contract for service with your carrier, you are NOT entering a Hire Purchase agreement for the phone.

The phone is yours from day 1 - you own it.

If you decide to exit the contract with your carrier you may be liable for remaining time on that contract, but at no point is your ownership of that phone in question.

That may be true with a 2 year plan, but if you're on an Edge/Jump/Next/etc. Early Upgrade plan, you don't own the phone until you've paid for it completely.

For example If I want to upgrade before I've paid for the entire phone (24 months), I have to give them my phone back.
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
That may be true with a 2 year plan, but if you're on an Edge/Jump/Next/etc. Early Upgrade plan, you don't own the phone until you've paid for it completely.

For example If I want to upgrade before I've paid for the entire phone (24 months), I have to give them my phone back.

Wow that sounds draconian. It goes to show the difference worldwide how carriers subsidise these handsets.
 

alphabetagaga

macrumors regular
Mar 28, 2011
104
1
Hitchin, UK
The phone is never FREE. When you buy subsidized, you pay less up front but many times end up paying more in the long run. And you don't actually own the phone while on that 1-3 year contract. I always buy phones outright, because I refuse to ever be chained to a carrier again.
exactly. i really can't believe there are still people who enter into contracts that think they are getting a 'free' phone at the end of it.

edited
 
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MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
.

@MacRumorUser
if your preferred network are charging pretty much equal amounts on contract for a sg5 or moto x, then more fool you for going with a network that is blatantly willing to rip off their customers.

No you missed my point once more - it's really becoming quite the habit.

The Moto X is not available here with ANY carrier. The only way to buy it is via €350 unlocked from Amazon etc..

Therefore if I am eligible for an upgrade and I'm looking at new phones - then the price of the Moto X becomes a part of the equation, regardless of the fact that it's fair or unfair to compare subsidised handset v non subsidised, the reality of the matter boils down to if the money is coming out of your pocket - you do compare what you are getting for that initial outlay....

How hard is that for some folks on here to understand ?
 
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0000757

macrumors 68040
Dec 16, 2011
3,894
850
Wow that sounds draconian. It goes to show the difference worldwide how carriers subsidise these handsets.

It's a trade-off. I mean, Instead of paying $199 for the phone outright and having it for 2 years with no option to upgrade, I pay like, $16/month and I can upgrade after 30 days. It really comes down to if you care more about owning your device or upgrading when you can.

Of course with an early upgrade plan, at least on Verizon and T-Mobile, you can outright buy the phone at ANY time and once you do that, you can keep the phone, but if you don't do that, after 2 years you can keep it.

I personally have no issue with handing the phone back in and getting a newer one but I can understand why people would be against the practice.
 

DanGoh

macrumors 6502
Apr 6, 2014
366
506
Getting a Moto X

I was going to get a Moto X. The bigger display, small bezels, near stock Android, great battery life, fair price, shape and design all made this look like the best Android smartphone for first time users. But there were also a lot of turnoffs that made it impossible to get one, the sell my 64GB iPhone 5 and call it an "upgrade".

The camera is not on par with the other flagships out there, the amoled display is prone to "burn in", the whites on the display aren't "white", the audio quality out of the headphone jack is sub-par (I listen to a lot of music on my phone), and the maximum 32GB storage made it impossible for me to justify getting it.

I hope Motorola brings their "A" game with the Moto X2 or X+1.
 

Lava Lamp Freak

macrumors 68000
Jun 1, 2006
1,566
618
exactly. i really can't believe there are still people who enter into contracts that think they are getting a 'free' phone at the end of it.

edited

It depends on how long you keep the phone. If you keep it the full two years, it really is free. If you paid full price for it, you wouldn't have a contract, but if you keep it for two years after paying full price for it you still paid the same every month for the plan. In the US you don't get a discount on most carriers if you pay full price without signing a contract. There are some new plans now that work out better for people who upgrade often, but if you are someone who keeps a phone for two years, on most carriers you save hundreds of dollars by signing a contract and getting the subsidy.

I got a Moto X last year for free on contract and I changed my mind a month later. I sold the Moto X and used that cash to pay the early termination fee. I consider that phone to have been free. The only money I lost was what I paid for the monthly service, and it would have been the same had I paid full price for the phone.

----------

I was going to get a Moto X. The bigger display, small bezels, near stock Android, great battery life, fair price, shape and design all made this look like the best Android smartphone for first time users. But there were also a lot of turnoffs that made it impossible to get one, the sell my 64GB iPhone 5 and call it an "upgrade".

The camera is not on par with the other flagships out there, the amoled display is prone to "burn in", the whites on the display aren't "white", the audio quality out of the headphone jack is sub-par (I listen to a lot of music on my phone), and the maximum 32GB storage made it impossible for me to justify getting it.

I hope Motorola brings their "A" game with the Moto X2 or X+1.

The display is why I returned my Moto X. I didn't like it.
 

DanGoh

macrumors 6502
Apr 6, 2014
366
506
It depends on how long you keep the phone. If you keep it the full two years, it really is free. If you paid full price for it, you wouldn't have a contract, but if you keep it for two years after paying full price for it you still paid the same every month for the plan. In the US you don't get a discount on most carriers if you pay full price without signing a contract. There are some new plans now that work out better for people who upgrade often, but if you are someone who keeps a phone for two years, on most carriers you save hundreds of dollars by signing a contract and getting the subsidy.



I got a Moto X last year for free on contract and I changed my mind a month later. I sold the Moto X and used that cash to pay the early termination fee. I consider that phone to have been free. The only money I lost was what I paid for the monthly service, and it would have been the same had I paid full price for the phone.

----------





The display is why I returned my Moto X. I didn't like it.


What did you get instead?
 

jimbo1mcm

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 21, 2010
1,922
477
Update on Moto X by OP:

Well, I returned the Moto X. It is a nice looking phone and feels good, but I fell in love with the LG G2. The screen on the G2 is fantastic. The camera is really good, with optical image stabilization and it has wireless charging plus a bunch of other features in a form size that is mostly all screen. I was leery of the buttons on the back, but I never use them. I use the knock knock feature to turn the phone on. To show you how impressed I am with the G2, I sold my Iphone 5S and couldn't be happier with my choice.
 

Robster3

macrumors 68000
Dec 13, 2012
1,987
0
Well, I returned the Moto X. It is a nice looking phone and feels good, but I fell in love with the LG G2. The screen on the G2 is fantastic. The camera is really good, with optical image stabilization and it has wireless charging plus a bunch of other features in a form size that is mostly all screen. I was leery of the buttons on the back, but I never use them. I use the knock knock feature to turn the phone on. To show you how impressed I am with the G2, I sold my Iphone 5S and couldn't be happier with my choice.

How can you show us you sold the 5S:)
 

0000757

macrumors 68040
Dec 16, 2011
3,894
850
I was going to get a Moto X. The bigger display, small bezels, near stock Android, great battery life, fair price, shape and design all made this look like the best Android smartphone for first time users. But there were also a lot of turnoffs that made it impossible to get one, the sell my 64GB iPhone 5 and call it an "upgrade".

The camera is not on par with the other flagships out there, the amoled display is prone to "burn in", the whites on the display aren't "white", the audio quality out of the headphone jack is sub-par (I listen to a lot of music on my phone), and the maximum 32GB storage made it impossible for me to justify getting it.

I hope Motorola brings their "A" game with the Moto X2 or X+1.

I disagree. I haven't had any burn-in on my display and the whites are very definitely white, and the headphone jack is perfectly fine.

I can understand the camera and 32GB of storage though.

All my issues are just issues with Android itself, rather than the device.
 

wilky76

macrumors regular
Oct 9, 2013
215
1
Wigan
Last week I decided it was time to sell the Note 3 on & just yesterday received my Moto X from Handtec.

And what a superb little smartphone this is, one of the main reason' i sold the Note 3 was it size was becoming abit of a hindrance, the new batch of smartphones are also bordering on being to large aswell, i wanted something small & didn't feel like a slab in my pocket plus didn't want to go back to apple, so it was a toss up between the Moto X and the Z1 Compact, The Moto X won because of the screen size in a small body over the Z1C which is the same size, also i don't need the grunt of the S800/801 neither as i don't game nor do i watch movies or benchmark, just listen to some selected MP3's so storage again wasn't a problem for me.

Plus with it being near stock android, it will get updates months before either Samsung or Sony or anybody else for that matter other than the Nexus devices.

Tested the camera on the Moto X as soon as i got it, and tbh it isn't all that bad in daylight it takes very decent snapshot pictures, even indoors shots i would say are better than the Note 3 could produce.

Video recording quality again is ok in good light, but don't use this much as i have a Panasonic G6 with a good selection of lenses which is leagues ahead of any smartphone when it comes to video & pictures for that matter.

Overall yeah I'm very happy with the Moto X & will be keeping it for a long time, as I've done with paying out £500+ on smartphones.
 

al2fast

macrumors newbie
Apr 28, 2014
6
0
Moto X is a really good phone. I've had one now since late summer 2013, got fast updates (us cellular), and has a very acceptable camera. I get 2 days of battery life out of it on average, it's my work phone so it makes calls first, then emails, then text, then camera and apps. Screen is ok. It is fast and fluid and experiences no lag, unlike the android phones I've had in the past (droid X, original galaxy, razor max hd).

My personal daily driver is a lg g2 and the screen on that thing is phenomenal and I get a couple days of battery life out of it as well. As with most of the fragmented android world, I just got my latest 4.4.2 update last week (Verizon) and the moto x had it months ago. The g2 is fast and smooth and I have really grown to like the lg skin. Vanilla android can get boring and root is easy on the g2 along with xposed for some customization, no need to rom it. The camera is good in good light and outdoors, but I think it sucks indoors like every other mobile camera I've seen. (One of the lumias took some great pics in the store, best I've seen in indoor lighting) the pics the g2 takes look like someone painted them with water colors if you zoom in on them.

I personally rom'd devices for speed increases and better battery life (customizations are a nice benefit too) and don't feel the need to do it with either of these phones or unlock any bootloaders. If you're into that, the x can be unlocked on pretty much any variant (verizon is probably a no go) and there are a lot of roms out for it!
 

Technarchy

macrumors 604
May 21, 2012
6,753
4,927
The Moto X was a big fat joke when it was first released. Internet experts looked at the spec sheet and made up their collective minds.

As it turns out though, for 2013, it was one of Android's best user experiences and best android phones.

If I could go back in time to last year, I wouldn't have wasted my time with the S4, and got the Moto X instead.
 
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