The day before the Galaxy S4 event in New York City we showed you two different Motorola leaks, one from Brazil and one from Vietnam, and wondered whether the latter was showing us the X Phone or not.
When looking at its specs and features, we concluded that this unnamed device can’t be the X Phone, and that instead it could be related to the phones spotted in Brazil.
Later that day, Motorola announced the RAZR D1 and RAZR D3, two low- to mid-range Android Jelly Bean phones, but neither one looked anything like the phone spotted in Vietnam (image above).
Now, a new Android and Me report tells us that the phone that was leaked in Vietnam actually represents an early X Phone prototype, even if it’s not necessarily a high-end device.
The same publication got wind yesterday, with just a few hours to go until the Galaxy S4 announcement, that the X Phone will be a new family of handsets for Google. A brand mean to challenge Samsung’s Galaxy family in the process.
That report said the X Phones will be user-customizable when it comes to hardware, that they will be guaranteed at least one Android update (which would be pushed out by Motorola and not the carriers) and that they will come with a budget-friendly price in mind, with Google interested to sell these devices directly to buyers.
Is the rumor too wild for your taste? Well hang on to your grain of salt, as the website has followed up with a second update on the story.
According to updated information from “several anonymous sources within Motorola,” the X Phone will start shipping in late July, not June as it was said yesterday.
The Vietnam phone appears to be the first X Phone, and while it’s an early prototype, its design has been only slightly changed. Apparently the back of the phone will include a touch-friendly Motorola logo that will be used to offer users access to some sort of controls – maybe the previously rumored human language system for the X Phone (which we have no idea what it really is yet). And yes, Google is interested in placing some controls of the back of a handset, according to a recent patent.
However, the Google X Phone will not be about top-of-the-line hardware, as Google is looking for something else:
Google is not focused on specs or software gimmicks (like Samsung) for their upcoming products. Instead they want to produce an ultra-affordable mobile device that connects to a bunch of wearable accessories they plan to release later this year. Google Glass and Google Watch are two examples of these accessories, and we are told more are in the works.
And when I say “ultra-affordable” mobile device, I’m talking a starting retail price of $199 or less. Google and Motorola will sell smartphones for the same prices that people are willing to pay for today’s flagships, but these devices won’t be tied to a two year contract.
We’re certainly going to keep tabs on these X Phone rumors, as they’re certainly getting more and more interesting. We’ll also point out that we were right to wonder whether Google will release some sort of X Phone rumor campaign around the Galaxy S4 launch, because, as it turns out, we had plenty of X Phone rumors these days.
Meanwhile, let us hear what you think about an Android device that would run the latest Android version and offer users the ability of choosing at least some hardware components? Would you be interested in buying such a handset, even if it won’t offer the high-end specs?
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