Handset Review- Moto X2 from Motorola

Hello Motorola!

You do not cease to surprise me, from CDMA handsets to GSM Smartphones, you truly are one hell lot of good technology and awesome user experience.

@numerounity aka @ektakhetan

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I am an educated smartphone user and an early adopter. At least that is what I would like to believe specially after working in telecom domain from last 10-11 years and testing/ launching multiple hI am brand agnostic and technology jargon spells nothing to me unless they are backed by good performance. Also, I am entitled to change my opinion and that is purely driven by performance, Value of Money, Overall experience and post sales services.

If you read my previous reviews, I do not mix my word and call a HTC, HTC and a Lenovo, a Lenovo. I am a disappointed Samsung user and never given much #purchase consideration to Motorola in past except the time when I launched #MotoRazr for a leading telecom co. However, Motorola recently surprised me with it's new handset- Moto X Gen 2

Having heard some opinion about the brand form users, I was curious to give it a try. When the PR team of Motorola requested me for review, gladly I did not say no. Needless to say, I loved Moto X Gen 2 handset. 

The Phone's Specification

Works on NANO SIM

Well, the technical bit stops here and while I understand that we have lot many websites on the web that copy, paste the technical profile [wherein some actually translates something meaningful for it's readers], Here's my detailed [Non technically expressed] experience and feedback on the handset.

Motorola X Gen 2

First things first, Form factor!

I loved the wide screen, wooden design back design. It makes the phone look stand out from the clutter of smartphones and is quite convenient to carry and makes up for a great beauty & vanity.

Touchscreen

This one is absolute delight. It is smooth to navigate, to use, very receptive and responsive, and above all does not cause RSI while using the keypad or any other application. It has high clarity view and is pleasant for long time viewing as well.

The length and width is an added advantage. Highly video friendly. Personally I find the screen quality "best in  business" [so far what I tried]

Transition and Navigation

Totally seamless, smooth, real time, instant @ speed of Thought. Amazing Android experience.

User Interface

Another positive and a big positive. When I received the handset, I found the UI very regular but after the single update it asked for, the entire interface turned delightful and highly user friendly. Right from home page to Main Menu page, from Contacts to "Call Logs" to dialers to SMS. This one takes the cake. I am not exaggerating but the icons were real, easy to identify and highly standardized. The beautiful color combination on my frequently used feature aka "Call logs" provided an edge and made the navigation easy and not at all boring. 

Customization

Essentially you can run through 4 smart, easy to implement and sustained customization for your phone. 

Assist

Actions

Voice

Display

My favorite among them was "Actions" as it reacted to simple motions. For example, I can unlock my camera instantly by shaking the phone twice, at twist of a hand. It worked every time I initiated and executed flawlessly

The handset through its different setting, does help you to do basic customization without much hassle

Robust Internal Memory

I downloaded multiple applications using numerous pictures [taken from camera] and from the drive. No where did I faced issues with- Applications not integrating unless corrupted, ease of navigation, time to connect and close, opening multiple application or browsing through multiple apps at same time. For me it was a high point wherein even data download was high speed.

Quite a Sturdy device

Unlike iPhone, if you drop your Moto X by  mistake, it would not cause you any grief. From the screen to panel, everything looked clean and sturdy

Quicker Sync In

The phone sync with different accounts including the drive easily and did not take huge time to load any content irrespective of Internet speed

Internet/ Network Latching capability

The phone latches to Internet Servers quickly and does not take time buffering. Now this something I believe is highly dependent on the network you are using. however, this is a partial truth as handset plays a good role on network compatibility as well. 

Battery Life

If used moderately, the phone provided decent battery life even with 3G on unlike my current handset Lenovo Vibe X2 [review coming soon]. The phone came with battery saving options as well.

Oh yes, the phone does not get heated even when it is being charged or kept in pocket except for some exceptional times. Yes, I was able to stack the phone in my women's trousers pocket as well

Bright/ Colorful Display

The HDMI did worked.

Sim Slot

I know you must be wondering- what the heck is she laying an emphasis on SIM slot. Well, if you are using a Smart SIM [like what Airtel is offering to all it's Mumbai customers, a smart 4G SIM for all 4G enabled handsets], you will know what I am talking about. I am using a 4G enabled smart SIM by Airtel. In simple words, it is a unified SIM that can be adjusted to a normal SIM, Micro SIM and even a NANO SIM without going through the hassled SIM swap process. The SIM slot was simple with contoured setting to enable a user to fit the SIM inside without jamming the slot, causing a network failure. The pin given was more handy than usual ones and less likely to be lost as easily as normal slim pin comes. You may understand this feature better when I post my Lenovo Vibe X2 review

Motrola Migrate

The feature is interesting and is pre loaded on the phone. However the only restriction is that it works well with Moto handsets and compatibility with other handsets to download and transfer is restricted. this did not work for me and I blame my lack of enough efforts made for the same. 

I have to let go of all my sms and other important files that I could not transfer to my other phone immediately.

Well, this review is not about my fondness only  but also needs to highlight certain things that I found amiss in this lovely handset. For me they are-

1) Notification bar- This comes with pre-loaded design and you cannot alter the items featured there, nor can add anything that you want to add unlike other phones including Lenovo.

2) Not a Selfie Friendly camera- The camera quality is good but for selfie lovers, the camera was bare minimum and did not offer any great 'enhancing" tool as is present in VibeX2.

3) Camera Zoom in-Zoom out- It gave me quite a bad shots while trying to zoom. Some phones enable this feature on the volume button but on Moto X, I needed to "try and error" using my fingers in a zoom motion on the screen. Zoom was greatly missed while shooting a video

4) Lack of Camera Filter- While talking about the Camera, it does not have "built in" tools for creative clicking nor "filters" while shooting an picture or video. While I agree that often we are too busy to use it and different photo editing apps comes handy but having on camera is an added feature that a lot of handsets incorporate these days.

5) Missing important features- there are lot of features that we use on regular basis and consider them as boon, However some of them were totally absent from this phone. they include-

• Screen Shot- A big thumbs down as this feature is highly handy while sharing some phone related information including network speed, call logs, SMS etc
• Call Recording- These days a lot of handsets allow you to recall an ongoing call. While this may look highly unethical especially when people use it without informing the other party, I find this feature quite handy esp when I am talking to someone who is either giving me multiple instructions or using an accent. Off course after asking them. Moto X did not have any such feature
• No FM Radio- Do I have to stay something about this? Its a big miss
• Anti Tapping

6) Singular UI- though I loved the UI, the phone does not allow you to customize your UI to different modes. May be I am spoilt for choice by Lenovo Vive Z for the same. However, this feature is not "vital" but "desirable".

7) No external Memory available either

8) Consumed huge data while upgrading- I do not understand as in why the handset manufacturers do not do a system upgrade before selling the product in market but rather push for frequent upgrade requirements to consumers just a day after sending the product. For instance, there was a week plus gap between receiving this handset and started using this handset. The moment I converted my existing micro SIM to Nano SIM and inserted inside the phone, within a day I was prompted to upgrade the hardware. The up-gradation consumed a huge Internet units for me, leaving me to add a smart byte pack within a week, 10 days of plan renewal. I don't appreciate wasting so much of data over frequent

Well that was my overall feedback basis the experience.

Haute Kutir Verdicts: In Spite of many "missing features", I loved this phone. The overall premise is promising and enticing enough to buy. Overall, the phone is indeed a #Must #Try while you are planning to switch to a new phone or getting a hassled free handset. The user interface, screen, form factor and transition is so efficient and effective that after using it, you would not like to use any other handset unless they are targeted at similar value offering. 

The pricing may be little high but given the other handsets in this range, it is advisable to do a thorough research before purchase. A price point of Rs 25,000 is expected to seap in. However, given the proposition and unless you really care about the missing features, like I do, go for it.

Does Haute Kutir Recommends: Yes

Would I buy this handset- Yes if the missing features are incorporated.

Overall rating: Good!