Android fans aren't angry because of the specs; all of those had already been leaked long beforehand. They were hoping for a killer off-contract, unlocked price, like that of the Galaxy Nexus or Nexus 4. Unfortunately it's priced more like the iPhone (hint, the target that Motorola has its crosshairs set on). Luckily, the sequel to the Nexus 4 is coming soon. Motorola won't be making the hardware of course, but neither Samsung nor LG are slouches at making good hardware (LG in particular; Samsung plastic can go away for all I care).
But Motorola isn't trying to appease the swathes of hardcore Android users; they're trying to build and sell the Android-equivalent of an iPhone "experience"--something that seems smooth, easy-to-use, and is visually appealing.
That said, I think Android phones are already there in terms of smoothness, ease-of-use, etc. (as long as you haven't been made too stubborn by iOS already). It's more Motorola's marketing and how they're targeting the phone toward the more regular consumer with intuitive, innovative features like the always-on selective info screen (this is big, to me), the unique camera controls and the active voice commands.
I know that with the Moto X, Motorola focused heavily on optimisation rather than specs that would drag the battery life down. This is why it's dual-core, not quad-core, and 720p, not 1080p (which would look no different on a screen of this size anyways). The average consumer is far more concerned with the phrase "lasts a full 24 hours of use" than the term "quad-core CPU". Look at the iPhone 4/4S and 5--they were decidedly all under-specced when released if you consider the CPUs, GPUs and amount of RAM that they COULD have stuffed in there, but they didn't, because they didn't need to. It's an exercise in strategic restraint. When you watch the preview videos of the Moto X at work, it's just as smooth, if not smoother than, the Nexus 4 and the Google Play editions of the HTC One and Galaxy S4. They abandoned the specs war because they know people are going to come into the store, fiddle with it, and realise it's fast and smooth rather than simply believe and expect it based on something they read.
I do hope the Moto X succeeds--it's not meant to satisfy the throngs of already die-hard Android users. It's meant to sell to the average consumer who's looking for a new smartphone, who more than likely has an iPhone.