Hasta La Gadget!

A few months ago back in 2013, Motorola released the Moto X handset which wasn’t exactly a high-end device, but came with features and functions that helped to set it apart from the rest of the competition, features which Motorola felt justified in charging customers a price that would normally have nabbed them a handset with much better hardware specs. Over the past couple of months we have seen Motorola drop the price of the Moto X, making it more affordable each time, and now it looks like if you were planning on getting the Moto X, it has been revealed the handset will now cost $399 outright. Yup, if you weren’t too keen on the idea of signing a contract, Motorola will now let you buy the handset outright at $399!

Granted that’s still more expensive than the Moto G but then again, its specs are a bit better which we’re sure some users might appreciate. For those looking for a little more storage, the 32GB model of the Moto X will cost you an additional $50, and if you wanted to customize your Moto X with a bamboo backplate, that’s an additional $100 to top it off, meaning that it could add up to be quite a considerable amount. However for those who aren’t too fussy, the $399 price tag makes it a pretty good deal and it is almost comparable to the Nexus 5.

Moto X Price Dropped To $399 Off-Contract original content from Ubergizmo.

Let’s be real here: there’s a decent chance that you picked up a new smartphone at some point during the holidays, so you’re off the market for at least a little while longer. As it turns out though, you may have been better off waiting a bit.

In a show of New Years magnanimity (or, you know, a ploy to push more units) Motorola has slashed the prices of its sans-contract Moto X — a fully-customized 16GB model for any carrier will now only set you back $399 rather than the $499 it would’ve originally cost. Sadly, those of you with a woodgrain fetish will still have to pay a premium for those newly-available bamboo backs — $100 to be precise.

Does this ultimately mean you should pick up a Moto X over, say, a Nexus 5? Not necessarily — much as I love what the new Motorola is up to these days the Nexus is still my pick for Android device of the year — but it’s a little heartening to see a big name manufacturer is working to reduce the gap between on and off-contract device pricing for high-end smartphones. If anything, it’s that pricing precedent that seems most interesting here. Between this price cut and the introduction of the wallet-friendly Moto G back in late November, Motorola is positioning itself as a player that can deliver new remarkably solid (and in the X’s case, remarkably thoughtful) smartphone experiences at prices that can seem outlandishly low compared to most competitors.

But where does Motorola go from here? Will it be stuck playing the price game from here on out? It’s possible, but maybe that was the plan all along. CEO Dennis Woodside has mentioned multiple times in the past that he wanted Motorola to deliver cutting edge tech at reasonable prices, and I personally took the Moto G as an affirmation of desire. By slashing the price of its flagship device though, Motorola may be testing the waters to see if it can feasibly move its future products with similarly low price tags. If so, Samsung and rest of the low-cost smartphone leaders really need to keep on their toes.

In the world of advertising, coming up with something that is extremely compelling could prove to be more and more challenging as the days go by, since every single day that passes will see a brand new idea crop up – meaning there is one less idea less to fish from, assuming that the number of ideas are finite in the first place. Having said that, Wired’s January 2014 issue might be something you would want to pick up at the newsstand, thanks to their partnership with Motorola.

In this edition of their magazine, you will find three LEDs, some plexiglass, a quartet of batteries as well as a bunch of buttons that will form an interactive Moto X ad which is located right smack in the middle of the magazine. The design itself allows readers to “customize” a Moto X’s back, thanks to the bright LEDs which are capable of showing the handset off in 11 colors. For instance, tapping blue would see it light up in blue, red for red, the list goes on. It will require a few seconds of inactivity for the ad to shut itself off automatically in order to maximize the battery life of the four lithium batteries. Around 150,000 copies of Wired will be circulated in New York and Chicago, featuring this interactive advertisement. It sounds like a great collector’s item to me!

Wired January 2014 Issue Sports Interactive Moto X Ad original content from Ubergizmo.

After a long day in front of the computer, the ads in a paper magazine can seem a little flat. Where’s the interaction? Where’s the content? Moto is filling that gap with this cool full-page magazine advertisement that lets you pick your favorite Moto X color with the push of a button. Just like the internet!

Read more…

It looks like the long wait is finally over, and as expected, the Moto X with Bamboo is finally available. Motorola has released this fun experiment, where in the past, they have worked with the likes of DuPont Kevlar as well as aircraft-grade aluminum in their devices, and this time around, the use of bamboo would represent a totally new territory where the smartphone industry is concerned. Not only that, it will also be able to expand the thousands of customization options that are made available via Moto Maker. Considering how every single back will be made out of actual bamboo (by the way, do you know that bamboo is a type of grass?), you can be assured that there will only be one of its kind in the world, making it a smartphone that is as unique as you, the owner.

For those who want their Moto X to arrive with a bamboo back will be able to take advantage of a January delivery. There will be limited quantities at the beginning, and since you would be the one designing it, it will arrive with a slew of customization features that are available via Moto Maker. You will be able to select from the accent to front colors, memory, even throw in a custom signature on your bamboo back, before picking a carrier of choice – Verizon, AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile. [Press Release]

Moto X With Bamboo Now Available original content from Ubergizmo.