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Motorola may not have had the wooden backs for the Moto X ready for launch, but the company isn’t going to give up on bringing them out for Moto Maker customers. Motorola took some time yesterday to remind us that the option is still coming with the image above, telling folks they should put their DIY projects on hold.
This particular quote still doesn’t give us a solid time frame to look forward to, but a tease lets us know that Motorola is ready to make this thing available any day now. We expect the wooden backs to be available for all editions of the Moto X sold in Moto Maker, which is now open to nearly any carrier the device is available on.
We already got a look at press renders for one version of the phone, with @evleaks giving us a quick peak at the thing in Verizon’s drags (which, in case you didn’t guess it, was plastered with out-of-place Verizon logos). We’ll be looking to see if we can get a definite time table from Motorola, but in the meantime let us know if you are holding off on buying the Moto X until this beautiful option is made available.
[via Google+]
*In Edgar’s voice* “Got wood?”
no, there’s just a Moto X in my pocket.
Wish my Note 3 had some wood now…
Yup, it just has to be happening after the Cyber Monday (aka Motopocalypse 2013), right? :P
If this thing goes live at noon est time today (right after my coupon expires) I’m going to be really pissed
The coupons expire at midnight tonight, not noon. On their Holiday Sale FAQ, it says by midnight, at 11:59PM. It also says 11:59PM in the confirmation coupon email. I just bought you another 12 hrs haha. I’ve been stalling for the same reason.
huh, i didn’t notice that, now i feel really stupid.
Thanks nvillaco, here’s hoping it drops today!
There’s also another possibility that might work if the wood doesn’t drop today but it will involve some luck and a little extra work… Moto has a 14 day return policy from the date we receive the phone that even covers custom Moto Maker designs. Check their return policy. But the problem is they probably won’t allow us to exchange it with the $150 off still as that deal will be over. We might have to call in and ask for the deal again specifically? Probably won’t work but if it did, it would buy us about 3 weeks more from today. Wood should definitely be out by then…. Its kind of a headache but I’d do it if it’d work. I need dat ebony phone.
Me too. Really hoping it appears before midnight. Don’t want to lose that discount, but really love the wood backs. Come on Moto, Iet me order one now! Please take my money!
Dear Moto,
Please release the wood backs today, before your $150 off cyber monday coupon ends at midnight. Thanks.
That brings it down to a Nexus 5 price. At price parity which phone is better?
To simply put, if you want a juggernaut and like to flash ROMs, get Nexus 5. If you couldn’t care less about ROMs but want a vanilla-ish feature rich princess, get Moto X.
It’s a tough call but as a prisoner of Verizon, I don’t have the luxury of having the option. Better battery life is huge but the one Moto X feature that is awesome that I don’t think get’s enough airtime is the fact that you don’t have to push a button to turn on the screen when pulling it out of your pocket. It’s small but I feel like it will be one of those things that I couldn’t live without after using it for awhile.
I feel you. Just ended my relationship there. They had me over a barrel for the last few months. Lost an iPhone to the infamous potty training incident. Ended up buying an HTC Thunderbolt $65 online to get through the end of the agreement. One thing i learned was the Android interface is similar to iPhone for so much less $ Moving to T-Mobile through 35orless.com and trying to decide Nexus 5 or Moto X.
Well I’d have to disagree with you there… Android is not similar to iOS at all… It is so so much more and allows you to do pretty much anything with your phone. With android, you make your phone work how you want it to, not how apple wants it to.
With regards to Verizon, ya i hate a lot of the things they do (no nexus, updates take forever…) but I can’t say no to the unlimited data i still have. I go through 5 gigs/month so I’ll buy off-contract and stay on verizon until they pry my unlimited data from my dead fingers.
Just because Android is much more open than iOS doesn’t mean they aren’t similar. They are in fact very, VERY similar in the way that they work and how the user interacts with them. Just take a look at the back and forth between the fanboys about who copied whom.
Well obviously, they are similar in that the “user interacts” with homescreens with icons that launch apps. And ya, they share similar design cues here and there. But i think the level of customization between the two is vastly unlike. At least to the fanboys and phone enthusiasts, the difference is huge. Android allows me to have a crazy Widgetlocker lockscreen that opens to a weird SS Launcher homescreen setup where I click on a personalized messaging app of my choosing and type a text with my unique Minuum keyboard. The user completely customized every aspect of that entire process. With iOS, you can’t even change your default app for anything. Nor does apple even allow custom lockscreens, launchers, keyboards…. So actually, you’re wrong. Just because android is more open than iOS does in fact mean they are not similar. I’ll agree with you maybe to the average user who doesn’t tinker around with their phones, the stock setups of the two are more alike. But it’s that android openness that allows for way more differentiation.
Exactly…they have similar UIs and the way the user interacts with said UI isn’t that much different. I’m not denying that they’re different when it comes to customization. My point was that MG’s post seemed to imply that from an “out of the box” perspective they have similarities, or moreover, that if a user were to migrate from one to the other (which is what MG did) they wouldn’t have much issue with figuring out how things work.
I’m not wrong, we’re just talking about different things. Are Android and iOS similar when it comes to their default UI and learning how to use the interface? Yes. Are Android and iOS similar when it comes to customization and the versatility of their platforms? No.
I was talking about the former (and I think that’s what MG was talking about as well) whereas I think you believed I was referring to the latter. We are in fact both right, there just seems to have been a bit of misscommunication.
True true. Ya stock vs stock, they’re definitely both very similar. My bad on the miscommunication. I just read “android and iOS are similar” and it offended the fanboy in me. Cause to a fanboy (someone who makes the effort to tinker, customize and veer away from stock), they’re definitely not the same. The fun is in the details.
No harm no foul. I just wanted to make sure you knew I wasn’t trying to poke at ya with sticks so to speak, rather I just thought I’d clarify what MG was talking about. Also I apologize for being contradictory yet again, but I think when you say “someone who makes the effort to tinker, customize and veer away from stock” aren’t you referring to being a power user? Of course, in your defense, there are many power users who are also fanboys. ;)
Personally I try not to be a fanboy either way because there are aspects of both that I really like (I have an iPod touch for media and my GNex for everything else). On a similar note I use both Mac OS and Windows and find things I appreciate about both those too. It’s interesting to assess the similarities and differences between opposing platforms and why they draw the following they have though. For instance, you can bet that Windows has a larger number of gamers than Mac OS does at this point.
It really rustles my jimmies that we can’t buy subsidized and still keep our unlimited data. I’ll be doing the same, and when they find some scheme to revoke my unlimited data I’ll likely jump ship to a carrier with faster updates and nexus devices. ;)
I’d go Moto X, but there are pros/cons to both, the main points:
Moto X:
-4.7″ Non-Pentile 720p (316ppi) AMOLED screen. Non-pentile OLED has been sought after by OLED fans for a while, it’s here and with a PPI comparable to Apple’s Retina. The only complaint I hear is that color saturation is a bit heavy.
-Active notification system is a standout feature that only works efficiently because of the OLED screen.
-Hands free “OK Google Now” voice commands, no other phone does this.
-The 4.7″ form-factor fits better in the hand for 1-handed use. I consider this the sweet spot and wouldn’t want bigger.
-Near stock Google interface
-Proven timely updates, has already received Android 4.3 then 4.4 quickly.
-Probably the best battery of any Android phone right now outside the MAXX.
-Unique customization from Moto builder website.
-Mediocre camera.
-$99 on Contract, $350 off contract.
Nexus 5:
-Faster performance through the Snapdragon 800 SoC.
-4.95″ 1080p (445ppi) screen, of course this makes the phone larger as well.
-Slightly thinner.
-It’s a Nexus, will get updates directly from Google for years. Although the Moto X probably will too.
-Mediocre camera
-Mediocre battery life
-$350 off contract.
Technically the Nexus 5 also has the hands free voice commands with the new KitKat launcher. Idk if it’d work outside of that launcher though (tests with my GNex on a KK rom showed that Nova Launcher doesn’t have the voice command luxury).
He means hands free voice commands even from a screen-off state. Only the Moto X has this.
Nice comparison writeup. If I could add one thing though, it’d be a Nexus 5 advantage of having wireless charging. It’s one of those features most people don’t think of as necessary cause they’ve never had it and don’t know what they are missing. But once you have it and never plug in again, I’d hate to lose it (which is what I’m doing going from my Droid DNA to Moto X. Oh well…).
But wireless charging is soooo sloooow VS wired.
Once they fix that, I might be onboard.
huh huh huh…he said put your wood on hold ;)
Wood is neat and all, but can’t imagine getting this. I would definitely get one with the braided black backing though. Love the Moto X. Hopefully Moto continues the line next year. A little thinner with an updated SoC and camera is all it needs.
It really doesn’t need to be thinner. Hold one and you’ll realize its reallly thin at the edges and the bulge is where your hand would naturally wrap around it. What it needs (as a Moto X owner), is a bigger battery and a better camera (though the camera is more than serviceable in most situations).
Irrelevant now. This was such an overhyped phone, wood or no wood.
that ugly broad in your pic looks overhyped
Number one I didn’t hype anything. Number 2, she’s gorgeous. Much more attractive than any dude you’ve ever slept with. Post a pic of your partner and we’ll see who’s ugly. *waits for fake picture of fake partner*
hahahha!!! You took your pic away! That little guy with you looked nice!
ah man, now I kind of feel bad. Tell the little guy i am sorry bro. No hard feelings ok?
I’m still skeptical of whether we’ll see actual wood panels or if it’s just plastic dressed up to look like wood.
Motorola has said several times that it is real wood…
They have even said that the reason why the release is taking so long is because there is a lot of testing they have to do with the wood to make sure it doesn’t interfere with the frequencies of the phone.
I hope it is, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
They also said they need to find a way to have minimal environmental impact
What a joke.
moto x is yesterday’s news…