Moto X Demo Video Reveals Google's Android Superphone 151
MojoKid writes with word that "A tech demo posted to YouTube shows off Motorola's upcoming Moto X smartphone, a seemingly high-end device that is sure to win over a few fans with its wealth of new tricks and features. The Moto X handset, which is launching exclusive to Rogers in Canada (no mention of U.S. market carriers) this August, will be available in black and white, but a key selling point of the device comes from its voice activated features. The tech demo heavily emphasizes Google Now, which Moto X users can engage without touching the device. In the demo, a woman is shown asking Google Now what the weather will be like in Toronto while she types away on a computer, never having to reach down to tap the handset. It was also previously leaked that the Moto X will ship with a 4.4-inch display (1280x720), 1.7GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 8960 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 10MP rear-facing camera, 2MP front-facing camera, and of course Android 4.2 Jelly Bean." With a marketing budget said to include up to half a billion (!) dollars from Google, it's hard to imagine that any leaks are actually unintentional.
So it listens all the time... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
Not just your person but do you want to be around someone who's permanently recording everything in their area?
Re:So it listens all the time... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
This works pretty simply - when the phone hears the keyword it wakes up and starts listening for a query.
What if anybody says "NSA" or "Taliban" near it?
Re: (Score:2)
So the localisation for Arabian and other middle eastern languages is preinstalled... cool.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:So it listens all the time... (Score:4, Insightful)
Everyone knows it's bad. But the candy is too sweet, the heroin too lush. It is certainly possible to secure a phone, and I think there is a market for it. Meanwhile it is doable, if you have time to hack. Install AOSP. Disable E911 in hardware. The layered services which create the most vulnerabilities are generally not engineered to be resistant to use by a clean phone.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Wishful thinking :-( (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Or just maybe this "Google Now" might be an app you can run when you want to be able to interact with your phone hands-free, and leave off when you don't?
Ok, I get the outrage now that we all know just how pervasive the TLA spying really is, but the ability to listen in using cell phone microphones is nothing new. It's been part of the surveillance landscape for decades, well before smartphones were common.
Schneier on Security, 2006:
The surveillance technique came to light in an opinion published this week by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan. He ruled that the "roving bug" was legal because federal wiretapping law is broad enough to permit eavesdropping even of conversations that take place near a suspect's cell phone.
Kaplan's opinion said that the eavesdropping technique "functioned whether the phone was powered on or off." Some handsets can't be fully powered down without removing the battery; for instance, some Nokia models will wake up when turned off if an alarm is set.
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/12/remotely_eavesd_1.html [schneier.com]
So fin
Re:So it listens all the time... (Score:4, Insightful)
The video only shows it doing hands free voice search when you're already in Google Now which is already possible with any Android 4.2 rom (probably anything >4.0). The voice search only activates when you say the "google" keyword which she says "okay google now..."
The specs look pretty lackluster so I'm confused why they are calling it a "superphone."
Re: (Score:2)
Apparently Google Now requires Android >=4.1 or iOS >=5.0
http://www.google.com/landing/now/ [google.com]
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
The video only shows it doing hands free voice search when you're already in Google Now
I'm wondering if when you curse at it enough, it'll offer to file a bug report.
Re: (Score:2)
The HD also runs Jelly Bean 4.1.2. So I don't get it either.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
More like "in the cloud LIKE GOOGLE." Google had voice search long before Apple ever did but Apple marketed it better and expanded it to do other things, Google Now expands the existing Android voice search to do other useful things like Siri does such as adding reminders/alarms. It is mostly cloud based voice recognition but you can use it to call people without a data connection though the local voice recognition is much worse and often wants to call the wrong person.
Re: (Score:2)
Actually its not REALLY an 8 core, but four high speed high power cores, and four low speed low power cores. It dynamically switches between them based on your processing needs. It presents as a four core CPU to the OS.
Agreed on the specs though, very lackluster.
Re: (Score:2)
No. It presents itself as 8 cores, OS decides what to do with them. AFAIK currently Linux migrates threads using cpufreq clues.
Nothing stops you from using all 8 cores at the same time.
Re: (Score:2)
Really? Because the ARM white paper seems to indicate otherwise.
http://www.arm.com/files/downloads/big_LITTLE_Final_Final.pdf [arm.com]
"In the big.LITTLE task migration use model the OS and applications only ever execute on Cortex-A15 or Cortex-A7 and never both processors at the same time."
Says it takes about 20 microseconds to switch at 1GHz operating frequency.
It is invoked by setting a power state level and only 4 cores are ever presented to the OS.
There is a type called big.LITTLE MP which presents all 8, but I'
Re: (Score:2)
It is invoked by setting a power state level and only 4 cores are ever presented to the OS.
Yes, like I said OS sees 8 cores, but it partitions load using only 4 cores at a time.
Maybe you should actually read what he wrote (and perhaps even what he linked to).
Re: (Score:2)
erm, when I write OS I mean kernel, not applications.
Re: (Score:2)
erm, when I write OS I mean kernel, not applications.
That doesn't change anything. It is a paired configuration so the kernel just sets the power state using cpufreq and based on this the cpu itself will determine which 4 cores are presented to it. So I'm not sure what you're basing your assumptions on but if you were right there would be some pretty obvious patches in the Galaxy S4 kernel to support this, that kernel source is available but I've seen no such code in there.
Re: (Score:2)
erm, when I write OS I mean kernel, not applications.
That doesn't change anything. It is a paired configuration so the kernel just sets the power state using cpufreq and based on this the cpu itself will determine which 4 cores are presented to it.
No it doesnt.
So I'm not sure what you're basing your assumptions on but if you were right there would be some pretty obvious patches in the Galaxy S4 kernel to support this, that kernel source is available but I've seen no such code in there.
no there wouldnt be, unless you want to attach bigger battery and big cpu cooler.
Re: (Score:2)
That doesn't change anything. It is a paired configuration so the kernel just sets the power state using cpufreq and based on this the cpu itself will determine which 4 cores are presented to it.
No it doesnt.
False, that is the way big.LITTLE architecture works in a paired configuration.
So I'm not sure what you're basing your assumptions on but if you were right there would be some pretty obvious patches in the Galaxy S4 kernel to support this, that kernel source is available but I've seen no such code in there.
no there wouldnt be, unless you want to attach bigger battery and big cpu cooler.
Wrong again, if the kernel is presented with 8 cores and 'partitions' the load using only 4 cores then there would be specific code in the galaxy s4 kernel to do this as the linux kernel does not support such functionality. So you obviously have no idea what you're talking about.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, big.LITTLE allows both - a set of quad cores where one can work or the other, but not both (simplifies scheduler logic), or as a set of 8 cores if your scheduler is smarter and can control power requirements to turn off unneeded cores.
Though, the big thing is, you really don't want to run all 8 cores for more than a bri
Speak no evil. Hear no evil. See no evil. (Score:5, Funny)
Hey, what are you worrying about? If you speak no evil, it'll hear no evil. And if a future upgrade leaves the camera on all the time, just make sure it sees no evil! :-)
In Soviet America, the phone listens to you. (Score:2)
"...it tells you what you need to know even when you're not touching the screen..." And it tells the NSA everything else?
Re: (Score:2)
In the 1930s, a famous comedian/pundit (Will Rogers) said that one should "always speak in such a way that you would not be afraid to give your pet parrot to the town gossip." Maybe this is the parrot.
Battery Drain (Score:5, Interesting)
That is the type of "feature" I immediately deactivate to conserve battery. Most features added by manufacturers these days seem like gimmicks where the drawbacks are greater than the benefits.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:1, Troll)
Re:Battery Drain (Score:4, Funny)
You all really should loosen the Velcro on your shiny caps. It's cutting off circulation.
Re: (Score:3)
Anyone still sneering at tinfoil hatters in this day and age has been living in cave.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
"1984" indeed - against the law to turn off or block the camera in your home.
Re: (Score:3)
When I'm working on my computer, my phone is usually plugged in, so that's not an issue. My guess is you can configure it to turn on and off under certain conditions (on while charging, on and off on a schedule, always off until you turn it on, etc.) My question is this: If she's sitting at a computer, why is she asking her phone what the weather will be like? Not that it doesn't demonstrate ease of use. It does that. But how about a demo where she's putting groceries in the car or doing something els
Re: (Score:2)
My question is this: If she's sitting at a computer, why is she asking her phone what the weather will be like?
This is basically the "problem" I have with Google Now - it seems like you're giving them carte blanche access to all your information basically for a gimmick. I hear tech pundits rave about it - but I don't really see an advantage to having it volunteer weather info, sports scores, and the like. When I want to know those things, it's already trivial to check them. I don't want to be interrupted with unimportant factoids most of the time. With regards to appointments, the already-existing reminder systems o
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
It also watches traffic conditions and notifies you if you should leave early for appointments, which is a pretty useful feature as well.
Re: (Score:2)
Birthday reminders? I've only had those on my computers for a decade or two.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Plus it kind of sucks if you have a stammer or other speech impediement.
Re: (Score:2)
If you deactivate the feature without using it, how do you know how large the benefits and drawbacks are?
Advertising Budget (Score:4, Insightful)
With a marketing budget said to include up to half a billion (!) dollars from Google, it's hard to imagine that any leaks are actually unintentional.
Or this advertisement.
Re: (Score:2)
You'd think with all those advertising dollars, they'd hire somebody not related to Aunt Bunny (Goony Goo Hoo) to promote the product. Those arms were hairier than mine!
Nice but nothing special (Score:2)
These all seem like minor software updates for the next version of android.
Where are the flexible screens, extended battery life and more internal storage?
Re: (Score:2)
You're complaining about minor upgrades and then mention more internal storage (which is about as minor as they come, its just dropping in a new part and testing). Extended battery life is really a matter of people choosing to prefer thin to life- increase the thickness 50% and devote it to a battery and you'd see a much better life. People don't tend to care (unfortunately).
Re: (Score:2)
I specifically said minor software updates, not just minor updates. There have been advances in battery design that allow a same size battery with a much increased capacity, adopting something like that in turn with the flexible screens would be a big improvement.
Yes, increasing internal storage is minor, but it is a change people would appreciate more, especially since you can't use sd cards.
/vertisment (Score:3)
All I can see is yet another smartphone. Nothing in that video made me want to run out and buy one of these things. These smartphones are way more powerful than I need them to be which has resulted in ridiculous prices.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Seems an aweful lot like the exact specs of the Nexus 4, but with a slightly higher resolution camera on both sides. But Locked to a carrier. DO NOT WANT.
Re: (Score:2)
All I can see is yet another smartphone. Nothing in that video made me want to run out and buy one of these things. These smartphones are way more powerful than I need them to be which has resulted in ridiculous prices.
I'll wait for the price announcement but I'll be up for a new phone soon.
I passed on the Nexus 4 because I had a Galaxy Nexus, the Moto "X" might be a decent upgrade if it:
1) is competitively priced.
2) has an unlocked bootloader.
3) free of moto-blurgh.
LTE would be nice, but not a deal breaker.
Great a new phone (Score:3)
Meh (Score:3)
Looks like my Nexus 4 ... with a Moto badge on it.
Re: (Score:2)
But but but +2 megapixels! (behind a lens that could't resolve the 8mpix anyways).
Avoid google (Score:4, Interesting)
Avoid google, avoid android, avoid microsoft windows phones. Both of these companies (Google and Microsoft) are the worst when it comes to sharing your data with the 3 letter agencies.
Buy the Jolla phone when it becomes available or get yourself a Firefox OS phone. Yes, you may need to wait a little while, and yes, you may not get all the features you want, but it is about time we consider our rights and privacy above the next shiny thing.
Vote with your dollars or else forego your right to speak about privacy and rights.
Re:Avoid google (Score:5, Interesting)
Get a Nexus. Flash it with Cyanogenmod. Be free with all the features you need. Unless, you know, they decide to tap your line at the cell tower.
Re: (Score:2)
You're sending the message that you want a phone that can be flashed by the user without having to hack it. That's one of the main differences between a Nexus and most other Android phones...
Re:Avoid google (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
What's the alternative, Apple? Unfortunately, they're probably the most monitored phone in the world when it comes to intelligence agencies given so many of iPhone are out there....
but but but.... (Score:2)
same camera design flaw as in iPhone (Score:1)
It's a design flaw using the touch screen as shuttle button, rather than a dedicated button on the edge of the phone. It means you can't take pictures one handed. Also, pushing the screen causes the camera to move slightly giving blurry photos.
Re: (Score:3)
Funny thing, I came to the exact opposite conclusion you did... maybe it's because you're "pushing" the screen? If you're using the same amount of force on the virtual button as you do on a physical one, you're using too much (unless your phone has a poor-quality touch sensor).
On my iPhone 5 I don't need to firmly tap the virtual button, the barest touch will trigger it, meaning no additional motion gets added. Meanwhile, pressing a physical button can't help but introduce a lateral motion as it clicks, mak
Re: (Score:2)
The "holding it wrong" response by Jobs was inappropriate because Apple's own promo materials starting with the 2007 iPhone showed a user's left hand holding it naturally in exactly the way that could cause antenna issues.
On the other hand, if you can't easily take a picture using the on-screen button with one hand in at least portrait mode, then yes, you're holding it wrong.
Anyway, the assertion was that it was a design flaw and listed reasons why. One is no longer valid (even if the button isn't "dedicate
Re: (Score:2)
No it is a flaw on both iOS and Android and it's really annoying. I know exactly what the GP is saying.
Also annoying when you turn the camera and are about to reach awkwardly to push the button using a finger from the same hand you're holding it only to have the fucking thing rotate depending on angle and the button move to another place on the screen so you have to then try and move your hand one handed or convince it to flip back to where it was.
It really is stupid. The people who wrote both the iOS and A
iOS camera app does not rotate (Score:2)
Also annoying when you turn the camera and are about to reach awkwardly to push the button using a finger from the same hand you're holding it only to have the fucking thing rotate...The people who wrote both the iOS
Nice story bro.
Except the iOS camera app, does not rotate even if you tilt the phone... or at least it doesn't on iOS7 and I don't remember it doing that on iOS6.
I'm done with smart phones (Score:2)
No battery longevity and really for daily use wtf do I need a powerfull computer in my hand for. Yes internet seach i handy but the only other thing I need is a calculator.
Re: (Score:2)
Nobody is forcing you to use a smartphone. If you prefer dumb phones, there are a plenty of those still available. Many of us prefer smartphones because of the conveniences they offer. For example I use my Android phone for:
1. Maps and navigation. I don't want to carry a second device for this. And I prefer the automatic updates, latitude (find out where my family members are) etc. etc.
2. Email. I use it a lot. Personal and work.
3. Web. Check if my flight is on time. Get quick answers on Wikiped
If Moto X hears you pass gas... (Score:2)
...will it bring up a Google map showing the closest bathrooms [arstechnica.com]? :-)
The last decent cellphone made by Motorola (Score:2)
Was a team Startac. They haven't been a player since then.
Re: (Score:2)
I still have one of those but the battery doesn't work. I always got a little squee moment when I remembered it was the same model Mulder used.
Superphone? (Score:5, Insightful)
>"Moto X Demo Video Reveals Google's Android Superphone"
Superphone? Hardly. Compare to the HTC One/OneX/EvoLTE or the Samsung Galaxy S4/S3 or several other high-end models from other companies (LG, Sony) and it loses in most categories we know about so far.
*Smaller display.
*Lower resolution
*Slower processor
*Less storage (and I am assuming no SD slot either)
*Few special features
*No front speakers
So it is a somewhat midrange phone by the already set high-end standards. And even LESS attractive if you find Google Now" creepy, and REALLY less attractive if you find a phone listening to you all the time and linked into Google, Google Now, and probably Google+ even more creepy. And what does listening all the time and using the main screen for notifications do to the battery life?
It is nice to see Motorola getting back into the game, but let's not go ga-ga over the presented leaks because so far, they just don't look all THAT impressive. I am sure there is a market for a non BEASTLY phone, but this is not the "ultimate" phone, nor the solution for everyone (of course, no one phone is).
Re: (Score:3)
If you want to count screen resolution, fine, though DPI would be an even better measurement. But not size.
I've tried the Galaxy S4. It's too big for my hands. It's too big for my pocket. It was too big even to fit in the cup-holder in my car where i currently put my Nexus One.
I was excited about the rumors i heard a few days ago that the Moto X was going to be a superphone in a smaller package. But now i am not only disappointed by the less
Re: (Score:2)
>"Please do not conflate screen size with "superphone" status."
Screen size is but just one factor among many (which I provided). Of course, screens are getting crazy big now, and not everyone wants a large screen. But it is not the typical hallmark of a high-end phone to be small right now.
Re: (Score:2)
The definition of a "high-end" phone, not that there is one, is not "large". This is your problem, not Motorola's.
Yes, there is a race towards too large, too much screen resolution, too many cores, and too cluttered an interface. Along with it comes too poor battery life and bad usability (hallmarks of Android). It's possible for a phone to be "high-end" because it avoids those issues, not because it "me toos" them.
This phone has a larger screen and greater resolution than an iPhone5. Only a fool would
Re: (Score:2)
Part of the reason large screens are a hallmark of the current set of superphones is because so many people view it as a requirement when it's really not. "It's not a superphone because a it doesn't have a large screen." and "It needs
Re: (Score:2)
I assure you, it will be the superphone when some tech journalist from Engadget picks it up at a bar...
Re: (Score:2)
LargestPhone != SuperPhone. Why stop with the "superphones" you mentioned when the Note3 embarrasses them all?
It's nice to see an Android phone with saner dimensions. There's appeal in a 4.5" 720p display. 330 dpi is plenty, it's the same as the current iPhones.
"Few special features" --- really stretching there to come up with criticisms. Worried?
Re: (Score:2)
>"Few special features" --- really stretching there to come up with criticisms. Worried?"
Worried??? Of course not. Want more examples?
GS4 has temp and humidity sensors.
Evo 3D has 3D display and cameras.
Evo LTE has a kickstand and camera button.
One has ultrapixels for better night vision.
GS4 has "hover".
Evo 3D & LTE and GS3 & 4 all have SD slots.
Evo LTE, One, and One X all have HD voice.
None of those are just software gimmicks, there is hardware behind it. I am sure there are many more, just pi
Battery. Feature market division. (Score:1)
I really don't like the tying of software features to specific phones. Phone manufacturers really try to push it as they know it stratified the market whereas if all the software is the same standard Android platform you can compare phones easily. This is why Android is better value than iphone - it puts phone makers into competition and they don't like it.
I take this even further by wanting Cyanogenmod on every phone I buy so it's familiar.
As great as this software is I'm not going to buy into something th
Re: (Score:2)
I really don't like the tying of software features to specific phones. Phone manufacturers really try to push it as they know it stratified the market whereas if all the software is the same standard Android platform you can compare phones easily. This is why Android is better value than iphone - it puts phone makers into competition and they don't like it.
I don't understand, Android pushing phone manufacturers to compete is exactly what drives the "feature market division" you're complaining about.
As great as this software is I'm not going to buy into something that makes phones massively more expensive by dividing the market and also giving me less choice.
That's the whole point of Android, to have the OEMs differentiate by adding exclusive features, alternatively Google could just make it closed source and give it away for free.
Meh (Score:2)
"The device boasts active updates, which translates into display notifications on the screen rather than a vague flashing LED that doesn't really tell you anything."
Awesome. So instead of blinking a little LED to tell me the phone has gotten a message or something else of note, it leaves the screen lit up, wasting my VERY valuable battery life on these phones?
"Moto X owners can activate the built-in camera with two quick flicks of the wrist."
The phone getting jostled in my pocket activating the camera sound
Re: (Score:2)
We have not seen the phone. We have only learned of a few small details. It is too early to start making assumptions about things we don't know and start complaining.
What problem does always on solve? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
What problem are they trying to solve?
You have some money. They want it.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, obviously the problem is that people using their smartphones are too quiet and unobtrusive. We need to fix it so that smartphone users are much more annoying and distracting for everyone around them.
Rumor has it they were originally going to make it gesture-based and instead of saying "Google" you'd jump up and do the "Macarena" for the phone's camera, but there was some kind of "Kinect"-related patent on "System and method for inducing users to make an ass of themselves in view of a camera to avoid
Re: (Score:2)
Your assumption that they are using the CPU to always listen and process wake up commands and hence use much battery power, is incorrect. Google is using special low power DSP for this that does not wake up the system until it hears the magic wake up command.
Re: (Score:2)
You're assuming Google and Motorola engineers are not as smart as you and so have obviously missed some critical issue that only you figured out just now. Good catch.
If companies would just read the Slashdot comments then all the world's problems would disappear.
Re: (Score:2)
http://news.cnet.com/2100-1029-6140191.html
Voice commands? (Score:2)
I've never managed to make voice input useful on my Android phone. The reliability is just much too low. I use three languages: Swedish, English and Japanese, and recognition fails all the time with all three of them, including my native Swedish. I end up doing mor ekeystrokes to correct the voice input than it would have taken me to simply type it in the first place.
But what makes it worse is that it doesn't handle foreign words at all. Try to search for "Osaka" or "Watanabe" in English (or Swedish), and y
Re: (Score:2)
Some people have more success with voice input on Android than others. My wife and I both have Samsung Galaxy S4 phones. She uses voice input most of the time. It works well for her. I use the keyboard. It works reasonably well for me too, but the few times it does not, it annoys me.
Do not chalk it up as a failure when it does not work well for people like you and I. There are too many others who like it and use it daily.
S3 and many other phones already do this... (Score:2)
Whoever wrote the article or submitted it here on Slashdot must not be too heavily involved with Android devices or the news and specs going on...
Re: (Score:2)
S3 and other phones do not have this feature. The S3 does not listen for commands when the screen is turned off. And to the best of my knowledge no other phones at this time do this.
Google at odds with itself (Score:2)
Why is this not the next Nexus 4? Why would Google create the Nexus brand, only to promote a Motorola phone as? Why would Google compete with themselves? Why does every Android phone have to have a slightly different set of features and OS versions? Why wouldn't touch-less voice be a part of every Jelly Bean phone?
Would someone please send Google a big crate of Ritalin so maybe they can focus on one business strategy in the phone market that makes sense?
Black and white only?! (Score:2)
Clearly Motorola have some catching up to do with the likes of Appel and Sumsang.
Could this be the reason they're only trying to sell it in Canadia?
Re: (Score:2)
Sorry I really should add - I'm 99% sure I'm buying this phone on launch despite the tone of my previous post. I'm a grandfathered in Verizon customer and this will fit the bill nicely at it's rumored price.