Motorola's Moto X can be operated hands free using voice control, and
is designed to be in permanent listening mode.
Google has unveiled an American-built "self-driving" smartphone, the
first made from scratch by Motorola since it was acquired by the
internet company last year.
Using voice control as its standout feature, the Moto X is designed to
be in permanent listening mode, able to serve up directions, a weather
forecast or dial a number in response to a spoken command.
Using similar technology to the Google Glass spectacles which the
company is preparing for commercial launch, the device can be operated
hands free. By speaking the trigger words "OK Google now", users will
be able to wake up the phone without touching its screen.
"Google is the first to commercialise the self-driving car," said
Motorola chief executive Dennis Woodside, in a reference to the
vehicles Google's laboratories have been developing. "This is the
first self-driving phone."
The Moto X is the most high profile attempt by Google's founders Larry
Page and Sergey Brin to mesh software and hardware creation under one
roof, emulating the business model that helped Apple become the
world's most valuable company.
While Apple introduced the world to voice commands through its Siri
application, it has been criticised for its limited functionality and
integration with other application in the phone, and must be activated
by pushing the home button.
Google is using the Moto X to push the limits of voice control, but it
also responds to motion. Sensors linked to the phone's camera allow it
to be launched by two twists of the wrist, and the shutter is
triggered by touching any part of the screen.
The company is embracing the "made in America" banner as a point of
difference. In another deliberate contrast to Apple, whose reliance on
Foxconn's assembly plants in China has left it open to accusations of
allowing the iPhone to be produced by poorly treated workers, Google
will assemble its handset at a newly opened and Motorola owned factory
in Texas.
"Users have large screens, they have voice control – so at the end of
the day what may attract users to replace their current smartphone is
a completely new experience," said IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo. "In
my opinion, it's one of the biggest trends of the next year."
Google is also counting on the appeal of customisation. When ordering
their handset, new owners will be able to choose front and back case
colours and order their names or a short message engraved into the
body of the phone, via an online service called Moto Maker.
With smartphone ownership approaching saturation point among high- to
middle-income earners in the west, the Moto X is priced at the budget
end of the market.
Featuring a 4.7 inch screen and a 10 megapixel camera, it will cost
from $199 (£132) on contract for a handset with 16MB of storage.
However, Google has no plans yet to release the handset in Europe. It
will go on sale in the United States, Canada and Latin America from
late August or early September.
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