Mobile Technology

Motorola's Moto X as made with Moto Maker

Motorola's Moto X as made with Moto Maker
Key features of the Moto X include touchless control and quick camera access via a gesture
Key features of the Moto X include touchless control and quick camera access via a gesture
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The Moto X recently went on sale from AT&T, which is the first carrier to also have Moto Maker stations in its stores
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The Moto X recently went on sale from AT&T, which is the first carrier to also have Moto Maker stations in its stores
Once designed via Moto Maker, the Moto X is assembled and shipped from a Texas facility
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Once designed via Moto Maker, the Moto X is assembled and shipped from a Texas facility
Our Moto X sports Gizmag's URL out of the box
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Our Moto X sports Gizmag's URL out of the box
A close look at the custom back
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A close look at the custom back
The accent around the rear camera lens is subtle
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The accent around the rear camera lens is subtle
The side buttons also show off metallic orange accents
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The side buttons also show off metallic orange accents
An orange backplate would have been more dramatic, but was not among the limited choices in Moto Maker
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An orange backplate would have been more dramatic, but was not among the limited choices in Moto Maker
In the beta version of Moto Maker, our order arrived in a little over a week
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In the beta version of Moto Maker, our order arrived in a little over a week
A custom Moto X still feels nice in the hand with its curved back
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A custom Moto X still feels nice in the hand with its curved back
Key features of the Moto X include touchless control and quick camera access via a gesture
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Key features of the Moto X include touchless control and quick camera access via a gesture
Moto Maker also offers the choice to upgrade to 32 GB, for a price
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Moto Maker also offers the choice to upgrade to 32 GB, for a price
The back accent can easily blend in to the rest of the back
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The back accent can easily blend in to the rest of the back
Our Moto X also arrived with a Skip, a magnetic, NFC-enabled accessory that automatically unlocks the phone with a tap
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Our Moto X also arrived with a Skip, a magnetic, NFC-enabled accessory that automatically unlocks the phone with a tap
Skip also comes with "Skip Dots," stickers that function the same way
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Skip also comes with "Skip Dots," stickers that function the same way
Skip is currently only in black, but will be available in more colors soon
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Skip is currently only in black, but will be available in more colors soon
Skip can be worn anywhere and costs $19.99 from Motorola
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Skip can be worn anywhere and costs $19.99 from Motorola
Our Moto X arrived pre-connected to my Google account
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Our Moto X arrived pre-connected to my Google account
The background chosen for our Gizmag phone came out well
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The background chosen for our Gizmag phone came out well
View gallery - 18 images

Gizmag officially has its very own, personalized Moto X, which I was allowed to design via Motorola's Moto Maker site. The Moto X is Motorola's first flagship Android phone to be designed and delivered as a full-fledged Google subsidiary. A big part of the sales pitch for the Moto X is the ability of consumers to personalize the design of their phone by selecting from a variety of backplate colors, accent hues and a personalized message stamped on the back.

Gizmag was given early access to the beta of Moto Maker and I used it to design a simple, elegant white Moto X with orange highlights, just like the site you read these words on itself. (You can see the full Moto Maker walk-through here.) Motorola has said it aims to deliver customized Moto X smartphones from its assembly facility in Fort Worth, Texas to anywhere in the United States in just four days, but beta users were warned that the turn-around time would likely exceed this threshold, and indeed, it took a little over a week to receive our Moto X.

But it showed up in fine, working condition and with nice, subtle metallic orange accents around the rear camera lens and on the side buttons. It might have been a bit more fun to pick a brighter color for the back plate, but I chose to go with the Gizmag theme and take it all the way.

Let's take a look at the results. Here's how our customized Moto X arrived, sporting Gizmag's URL and colors on its back:

Our Moto X sports Gizmag's URL out of the box
Our Moto X sports Gizmag's URL out of the box

And here's how the orange accents on the side buttons came out:

In the beta version of Moto Maker, our order arrived in a little over a week
In the beta version of Moto Maker, our order arrived in a little over a week

I also chose a road-themed wallpaper for the new Moto X, given how much Gizmag's readers and writers love to follow emerging technologies that can be put to good use on such a surface. At least it seemed more relevant than a bamboo background, or any of the other limited options available on Moto Maker.

The background chosen for our Gizmag phone came out well
The background chosen for our Gizmag phone came out well

To get a better feel for how our Moto X turned out, scroll through the gallery above. The phone also came pre-connected to my Google account – I just had to verify my password to get going.

Additionally I added a startup message, which is seen on the very first screen when the phone is powered on, but only for a few seconds.

For more info on what life with the Moto X is like, see my full review, and follow-up about my first two full weeks using the smartphone.

View gallery - 18 images
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