By We haven’t heard much about the Motorola X Phone other than it was supposed to be a high-end beast of a phone with Google’s heavy influence injected. It wasn’t necessarily said to be a Nexus phone, though early details would have anyone believing that’s exactly what it could become. Well, a new set of rumors have popped up and this is one doozie of a story.
According to information posted by a supposed trusted member of the community, which independent sources of Droid-Life’s seem to corroborate, the Motorola X Phone will be announced at Google I/O this may and all carriers will sell the device. An early July release date is said to be targeted, but things could obviously change between now and then.
The device won’t be marketed as a part of the Nexus line, and that unfortunately means Google won’t be guaranteeing updates straight from Mountain View as opposed to carrier-delivered upgrades. We imagine folks would still get timely upgrades for the most part, but as we learned with the Galaxy Nexus debacle nothing is promised.
The rumors state you will have to pay Verizon $15 per month if you buy the device and get it unlocked through them, but if you buy it through the Play Store you’ll get it unlocked with no fee to speak of. Staying on the topic of Verizon, it’s assumed their version will cost $300. It sounds like carriers can price the device according to their own tastes so it might not be the same for the likes of Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile.
Carriers will be permitted to install bloatware on the X Phone, but users can choose to remove any of it after they unlock the phone. This is an action that typically requires root so we’re glad to hear that we probably won’t need to wait for the community to enable us with that functionality.
As excited as you might get reading this, keep in mind that these rumors — although mouth-watering in some aspects and delivered by seemingly trustworthy messengers — are still to be treated as if they’re completely unsubstantiated. We don’t want people getting their hopes up only to be crushed in the event that none of this solidifies, so take it with a grain of salt and treat it as little more than a wishlist until we can gather up some more evidence. What would you say to these particular details?
[DroidRzr.com via Droid-Life]
Just put a card slot in it, ya greedy bastards.
Don’t forget LTE as well
I would assume there would be. Does Verizon even have new 3g phones anymore. I thought they moved away from that. I could be wrong.
new nexus doesn’t because Google says people don’t need LTE.
But how can we get the most from their services if we can’t utilize the bandwidth we’re paying for?
Google didn’t say that. Just most of the market outside US don’t have LTE and Nexus 4 is considered global phone not for US only.
Most of the Market INSIDE the United States does not have LTE
No, because they don’t want to deal with the redtape the carriers make them go through for them to push updates on a LTE network. Do you ever read any of the news or do you just head over to the comments an talk smack?
Let’s hope so, once you have have gotten used to Verizon’s LTE, it is really hard to go back.
If this happens to be a Nexus device, or if Google is in charge of design, we will not see a sd card slot… It seems like a big loss, but once u use a phone without it (card slot), u dont really mind
I dunno man, my Nexus 4 could really use a SD slot.
really? i have a Galaxy Nexus and i feel like 16gb is plenty for me. Could be cause i dont game..
I could only get the 8GB Nexus 4, so that’s part of the problem. I don’t game either.
oooo. that makes sense then. I also have a N4 in the family, my dad doesnt have a problem with its storage either
No… It can’t be. My phone has 2GB internal and a 16GB microSD card inside. I am already looking towards an upgrade to a 32GB class 10 microSD card to replace it, because I’m struggling to fit my needs into a 16GB card…
I disagree, I got rid of my ipod touch so I could put all my music and such on my galaxy nexus, at 32GB on the verizon version I was okay, but I was cramped, couldn’t put anything extra on. If I wanted to bring a movie to a friend’s place, I’d have needed my laptop, or to delete and recopy stuff later, lots of extra work. I find a 64GB card in my galaxy s3 is much nicer, I have more than enough space now and don’t feel cramped. With a 16GB phone with built in battery I’d need an external battery pack and a micro usb cable and some sort of portable music device to even begin to get the same functionality.
If you’re putting all your music on your device storage, your’e doing it wrong.
Google Music ForTheWin. Storage for 20,000 songs free (or about 100GB).
unless you have tiered data.
Google music sucks, 320kbps mp3 max. Let me know when they can stream my FLAC files properly, then I’ll consider it.
If you think your phone or car has an amplifier worthy of FLAC files, you’re sorely mistaken.
And having to rely on data plans and network if you want to listen to them all. And don’t tell me about cached musics because you may never get to cache all of theme and you’re going to end up like “Oh crap, I forgot to cache THAT song…”
660 songs is too much to put on one phone? How many is the right number? please enlighten me so I can live by your special rules on how I should use my devices.
659 is the right number. Unless you were born in May, then it’s 472. If you’re a blonde, then 390.
So there’s wrong and right and etiquette about what I do with my storage? Then there’s something wrong with what you’re living with, to get started.
Does anyone every really need all that music on their phones? Does anyone really ever listen to 10,000 songs a day? This obsession about card slots is starting to get ridiculous, especially when cloud services coupled with LTE is right at everyone’s finger tips.
I have 660 songs, not exactly a lot. Plus using the cloud means no lossless audio. I can’t live with that, I tried converting and the difference was not fun to hear.
Let me remind you that not “everyone” (as you pointed out) have LTE, indeed, most people do not. And let me remind you that you’ll have no music if you have no network or a good data plan. Let me remind you that no one needs 10.000 songs a day, but most won’t listen the same 10 songs everytime.This obsession about cloud is starting to get ridiculous, especially when only a dozen of three or four people for every 100 have the network and the data plan for that…
NO THANKS……. I’m sticking with Sammy for the long run. No Nexus or X crap for me, Google got me really good with 3 faulty Nexus 7s which were all obviously sent back for a refund. I don’t care what manufacturer makes the product, I am staying the hell away from Nexus or X devices.
Yeah, because other carriers and manufactures don’t make an occasional faulty device. But, I do understand your Nexus 7 pain, mine is moving slower than a turtle with no legs.
I had the same super slow Nexus 7 problem until I read that Google Currents was causing the trouble. It runs perfectly smooth since I uninstalled it. Do a search on the topic it really helped my performance.
That’s a bit unfair. Blame ASUS for that because the Nexus One, Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 don’t have major problems like that, whereas the Galaxy S3 has had known overheating, motherboard failing, and exploit problems. I own an S3 and am very happy with it so don’t take this as an attack against Samsung or the S3. What I’m getting at is, no device is perfect. The problems you had are inexcusable but it makes no sense to dismiss a “brand” because of a faulty product, especially when manufacturers tend to vary.
That’s because Asus products are sketchy as f*ck.
Hasty generalization! My Nexus 4 has no problems whatsoever. I love it.
And not even 6 months ago the rumor mill was saying there’d be a whole slew of Nexus phones- one from each major manufacturer, which later changed to saying the Nexus 4 would be on all major US carriers. I’ll believe it when I see it.
Actually the rumor was multiple Nexus devices, not necessarily phones. And amongst those devices, we WERE blessed with the Nexus Q.
O.o
nice one
Let me get this straight: It’s like a Nexus that will be available on every carrier like a normal phone. So basically, like a the Droid 1 or G2 that was running stock Android (but were never updated directly from Google).
Again, a Motorola phone running (mostly) stock Android, but be available on the 4 major carriers in the US. This could be interesting….
The Xoom tablet also ran stock.
And got crap for support….. as a Xoom owner, I am still a bit bitter.
The WiFi version had decent support. The 3G version was ruined by the carriers :(
Yeah, and this phone will have… you know, 3G. :p
I only mentioned it because i thought it was worthy of being grouped with the “nearly-Nexus” devices :)
64GB and an empty SD card slot please!
Honestly what do you carry on your phone?! I love storage but 64GB and a SD card seems a bit excessive, no?
You could watch two or three seasons of HD TV shows with that sort of storage.
I have like 200GB of music, and yeah it’ll be awhile before I can have all of it with me but I’m a big music nerd, so I’ll always hope :)
thanks for not being a douchenozzle about it btw
Allow me to be a douche about it then… There’s no effing way you’ll need 64+ GBs of music on you all the time, that’s ridiculous and u know it
“Need” is not the correct word here. We’re talking about smartphones, which for the most part we don’t “need” at all. Gadgets are my hobby and I’m always going to WANT more nifty features etc.
Don’t lie, it’s the porn isn’t it?
Nah, I only have 40some gigs of porn, and I don’t really need it on the go.
The best time to watch porn, is when you’re getting paid to do it. At work.
Only 40 gigs? :P
Metal?
You mean to tell me you have roughly 35,000-40,000 songs that you want to put on your phone?
Porn. Lots of porn.
please go away
It’s pretty obvious that this is what folks around here want, so you can go away, and I’ll stay.
sounds good. if it’s subsidized like the Nexus 4 i might buy it as a back up to my Note II and future Note III.
Interesting indeed.
this rumor seems a bit of a stretch, honestly 4 nexus devices would be a better idea than just one, its all about the options. Like not a lot of people care too much for the nexus 4 but if their were multiple nexus devices then they get more options and helps new OS updates adapt quicker.
The greatest appeal of the Nexus 4 is how cost effective it is. If you’re in the middle of a plan and *need* a new phone (for AT&T or T-Mobile) there is no comparison.
I left Sprint for the Nexus 4 on T-Mobile. I was already done with my plan and even though it was the Sprint Employee Referral one the T-Mobile pre-paid was still $20 cheaper.
Worth it for me big time. On top of that I found that pre-paid also means no taxes added on top of the plan. Gotta love it
And we get unlimted data well here in cali we do.
Is that the $70 plan though? I went with the 5GB because I have to try hard to get past 3GB in a month
True. I need to get the wife a new phone to last her until we’re done with contacts in October. I wanted to get her an N4,but at this rate, the N4 still won’t be available even in October.
the cost is great no doubt about that, but if we had some more options to choose from like a Sony manufactured nexus or even HTC, it would be great. I’m on Verizon so I can’t really get the Nexus 4 but I would if I was on at&t or T-Mobile.
Interesting… Let’s just see what happens…
I think Google is using this as an example for other carriers and manufacturers to allow users to choose whether they want the bloatware or not, I think that’s the point of the X Phone.
I’ve been using the GNex on VZW and love the Nexus line. Rumors like this are very exciting! At the same time announcing a Nexus 4 that will work with other carriers (CDMA) would be even more exciting. Even with no LTE. Just please give me some kind of Nexus love!!
So it’s not a Nexus – delayed updates. And Google’s launching it, so there will be no cases or other accessories available at launch, if you can even buy one. Yeah, think I’ll wait.
Not a nexus, but it *will* be running vanilla Android. If that’s what you like, this is what you want.
I’ve been a Nexus owner since, well, the G1. I would never buy a Nexus that didn’t get timely updates directly from Google. The G2 was supposed to have vanilla Android, and once I realized that it was controlled by LG/T- Mobile, I took it right back! – proud Nexus 4 owner.
I had/have the Droid 1 and GNex for vzw, and it works fine. Last I heard the latest 4.2.1 is plagued with horrible bluetooth bugs. I can wait. Only real complaint is that they never released a car cradle that used the 3 prongs for charging & car mode.
this is the first rumour in the past 2-3 months that Im excited about ….thanks!!
$15/month seems excessively high to unlock the phone. do they lose some kind of profit when you unlock the phone but remain on their service? it’s not like the 4G SIM card slot works with anyone else’s SIM cards (please tell me if i’m wrong).
It’s VZW.
i think that way the phone subsidies will be taken care. Maybe they will have a different plan for those who have unlocked..(cheaper – like what T Mobile does).
This is how all phones should be. Buy your hardware of choice from a vendor of choice. Then choose which carrier you want to pay your monthly fee to with the plan that suits your needs.
Isn’t it like that in Europe or something? Only in the US are the carriers so powerful that they can screw customers over two-yr contracts through subsidies and exclusivity deals.
3 year contracts in Canada.
3 freakin’ years.
Exactly
unfortunately that model will not work in the U.S. untill gsm and cdma towers are no longer needed. Its a phone manufacturer’s decision if they want to make a cdma phone or a gsm phone thus at this point its difficult to have all phones available in on every carrier in the U.S. However when the big three Verizon, ATT, and Sprint switch over to 100% LTE ad ditch their old network it will be possible.
I hope this doesn’t get delayed. I’ve been eligible for an upgrade since October and it us killing me that I haven’t gotten a new phone yet.
The only thing I believe is plausible in this rumor is we may hear the Moto X announced in May. Everything else is so ridiculous it sounds like my 14 year old son made it up.
Not part of the Nexus program? Who cares then, everyone knows Motorola blows with updates.
It will be Googorola..Not motorola though..
Nice set of features, but If it doesn’t carry a money back guarantee in writing on updates I’ll never buy another Motorola phone. I don’t forget broken promises.
Only fools will pay Verizon to unlock their phones, everyone else will visit XDA
Google should be spear-heading the Nexus 4 incident, not abandoning it for a new device.
Does anyone believe the line about Verizon’s fee? If so, this is unprecedented – Verizon charging $15 a month for a one-time unlock. It does not make any sense to me.
Who the heck would buy from them anyways?
Considering there’s roughly 100-or so million Verizon Wireless customers, a lot. -_-
If it doesn’t have an SD card then it had better have at least 32 GB (preferably 64) of internal memory. Google’s scam is to force people to store things in the cloud, which is great for people with unlimited access to 4G with great coverage. The Vanilla Android experience is unparalleled… if it has all those things then I will pay full retail for it. Unlocked isn’t important to me, as I don’t plan on switching carriers during the lifespan of a single Android device.
I think phones are finally catching up to the day when it isn’t necessary to purchase a new one every year. Kinda like computers used to be, I am still on my Galaxy Nexus and see no urgent reason to upgrade. This phone has been awesome.
Not great for even those with unlimited. I have 4g unlimited on Verizon, doesn’t help if it uses a ton of data that kills battery and I can’t store my music on the cloud without it being converted to crappy mp3’s. I use FLAC for a reason and google can’t tell me that it is wrong.
If they sound bad they’re probably encoded incorrectly. Most scene rips use aps settings or better. ape sounds perfect. Anyone pushing 320kbps CBR is wasting your space
Will it be offered in exciting storage capacities of 4 and 8GB? Will we users who dare to ask for 16 or 32 be roundly mocked by official Google people on G+? Will there be more than 20 units available for purchase worldwide?
Basically please let this be the anti-Nexus4.
I hear you boy. Why the frock nexus line does not come in 32 GB with a MicroSD is beyond my doubt. Seriously, having an awesome phone with limited storage capabilities in a no-network area is a real pain in the BUTT.
great rumor
Who the hell would pay $15 a month to unlock their phones. Dam greedy bastxrds at VZW
Yea, this aspect alone makes me not believe this rumor. There’s no way VZW be stupid enough to charge $15 a month to unlock a phone, that’s completely absurd, even for VZW. These rumors are obviously false, probably fabricated by this website or another one to generate traffic.
agreed. this seems a little far fetched – even for big red.
Just the imaginations of what this phone could be make me feel all warm and tingly inside.
So glad I forgone all this b.s. and got the SIII 3 months ago. $50 on black friday, can’t be beat. Its 7 months (in US time) old and its still the best phone out there. If history is any indicator, the Moto “X-phone” will be sold out on the play store for 3 months.
I’d love to get a Nexus one day when Google cleans up its act though. Hope the carriers don’t ruin this phone the way they did the Galaxy Nexus.
I hope it’s the size of the RAZR M. Doubtful… but it would be nice, the market is so absurdly flooded with phablets now it’s making me sick of Android.
Motorola already messed up with the whole ICS upgrade retraction. It’s going to take A LOT for them to earn back customer trust, especially the longer they continue to state that it’s acting independently from Google.
$300 superphone by motorola that can be put on verizon with LTE, would be awesome. So long as it isn’t limited to something like 8 or 16GB of storage. A nonremovable battery may also be a decent downfall though. I hate the whole concept of planned obsolesence. Phones are almost powerful enough that I want to just buy one and try sticking with it for 2-3 years for once, rather than upgrading every 3-12 months depending on my mood.
I highly doubt it will be for all carriers it will be ONLY FOR VERIZON greedy bastards. I already have my eye set on the XPERIA Z it’s 5″ WATER PROOF DUST PROOF. I be DAMN IF VERIZON gets it exclusive like they did with the GALAXY NEXUS. And don’t think i can wait till may my CRAPPY ATRIX is crapping out.
Why do my Android phones always become horribly obsolete and dysfunctional? I loved Android, but man, has it become a trainwreck. How is it that we have been fooled into believing buying a device that needs to be FIXED by rooting okay anymore? Without rooting, phones last 4 months in my hands. Also, Android has horrible app development (flagship or not), but no one admits it for some reason. I have money to waste, but it’s only getting worse it seems. Motorola couldn’t support a phone if the companies well being depended on it- which it does.
Why do my Android phones always become horribly obsolete and dysfunctional? I loved Android, but man, has it become a train-wreck How is it that we have been fooled into believing buying a device that needs to be FIXED by rooting okay anymore? Without rooting, phones last 4 months in my hands. Also, Android has horrible app development (flagship or not), but no one admits it for some reason. I have money to waste, but it’s only getting worse it seems. Motorola couldn’t support a phone if the company’s well being depended on it- which it does.
Have on board LTE and at least 32GB of storage. I can live without an SD slot, but anything less than 32GB will not do. I am excited to see what this device has to offer though
“Carriers will be permitted to install bloatware on the X Phone, but
users can choose to remove any of it after they unlock the phone”
That would be the deal for me. Might mean that I can have WiFI calling on my T-Mobile phone without any other crapware :-) The lack of WiFi calling was the deal breaker for me on the N4
No thanks. I’d rather wait for 5th gen Nexus.
uptil I looked at the bank draft 4 $8626, I didnt believe …that…my mom in-law truley receiving money part-time on their apple labtop.. there neighbour started doing this for less than thirteen months and just cleared the debts on their mini mansion and got a great BMW. read more at, jump15.comCHECK IT OUT
This lines up with my article and what my source hinted at: http://goo.gl/f011p