Motorola’s world may be concentrated on the release of the Moto G this week but Big Red is working to shift some attention back to the Moto X. The carrier is offering a $50 promotion on customized orders through Moto Maker until November 18th.
Five days after arriving on AT&T, Motorola announced today that its new Moto X flagship smartphone is now available to purchase directly through its Moto Maker website. Previously customers were forced to purchase the device through AT&T and enter a code on the Moto Maker site to start the customization process. Starting today, Motorola will allow AT&T customers to purchase the device directly through the Moto Maker site for $199 (16GB) or $299 (32GB) on contract, and it’s also making the device available without a contract for $579 (16GB) or $629 (32GB). While Motorola originally planned to ship devices ordered through Moto Maker in 4 days, the site is currently quoting a shipping time of 8 days.
The Moto Maker tool is the standout feature of the Moto X, allowing users to choose from over 2000 customization options for back, front and accent colors, unique wallpapers, and engraving. Unfortunately, we found out earlier this month that engraving won’t be available initially due to some manufacturing issues.
Verizon announced that Moto X would arrive in black and white on August 29, but the Moto Maker customization tool remains and exclusive to AT&T. Other major US carriers are expected to start carrying the Moto X by early September.
Expand
Expanding
Close
https://twitter.com/VZWnews/status/372079298259066880
Following a launch on AT&T last week, Verizon confirmed today that it will be launching Motorola’s new flagship Moto X smartphone starting August 29. Leaks leading up to the launch of the device pointed to an August 29th release date for the Verizon version of the device through Best Buy, but Verizon only mentioned online availability in its announcement today. It did note that the Moto X will become available in stores in the coming weeks.
The 16GB model will sell for the same $199 on contract as AT&T (the 32GB is exclusive to AT&T), but Verizon will only offer white and black versions. The customization options available through the Moto Maker tool are currently still available exclusively to AT&T customers.
Moto X is expected to launch on all major US carriers by early September.
We knew it was coming and today is finally the day that customers can get their hands on Motorola’s new Moto X flagship smartphone and the thousands of customization options offered through Moto Maker. While Moto X should be arriving on all major carriers in the US around the end of this month, the AT&T version of the device available starting today is the only one that will offer access to Moto Maker. The other carriers will be launching white and black versions of the device until Motorola’s puts an end to AT&T ‘s exclusive window sometime later this year.
Starting today, the customizable, assembled in the US version of the Moto X is available exclusively through the MotoMaker.com online tool for AT&T customers. Unfortunately online purchasing isn’t an option at this point, so you’ll have to first purchase the device through AT&T. That includes the 16GB model for $199 and the 32GB model for $249 on contract.
The Moto Maker tool is the standout feature of the Moto X, allowing users to choose from over 2000 customization options for back, front and accent colors, unique wallpapers, and engraving. Unfortunately, we found out earlier this month that engraving won’t be available initially due to some manufacturing issues.
It’s not the only notable device launching on the carrier today, however. The company is also kicking off availability of the 6.3-inch Samsung Galaxy Mega $149.99 on the usual two year agreement today, as well as the 4.3-inch HTC One Mini for $99.99 on contract.
Expand
Expanding
Close
One of the over 2000 customization options offered through Motorola’s “Moto Maker” online ordering tool for its new flagship Moto X was the option to engrave the device. We noted last week that the beta for the online Moto Maker tool was censoring profanity and competitor’s brand names for engraving, but today the company has confirmed engraving won’t be an option for users at launch. PCWorld’s JR Raphael got word from Motorola:
This just in from Motorola: Custom engraving won’t be available on the Moto X at launch. During beta testing, the company determined the quality of the printing wasn’t meeting its standards and decided to pull the plug on it for now. Spokesperson tells me they hope to work out the kinks and start offering the option to consumers soon.
The Moto Maker online ordering tool allows a long list of color and customization options for Moto X customers. While the customization features are the big selling point for many users, most carriers are only offering black and white versions of the phone initially. AT&T will customers will have exclusive access to Moto Maker when it launches on the carrier on August 23. Other carriers are expected to get access later this year.
If you’re looking to put a few curse words on your brand new Moto X, you’re out of luck. Even more interesting, the Moto Maker engraving site will block you from typing in “Apple,” “Google,” or “DROID”, according to The Verge.
Anything you try with “Apple” in it will fall victim to the block, including “An Apple a Day” and “Apple Martin-Paltrow,” while “Powered by OS X” and “WebOS forever” slip through unscathed. “iPhone,” curiously, also makes it through.
Of note, Apple’s engraving service has no brand filter, but is known to prevent curse words.
AT&T just made things official for its release of Motorola’s recently introduced Moto X flagship smartphone. Starting August 23rd, AT&T will make the device available in black and white through its stores, but also online using the Moto Maker customization tool that will allow users to apply over 2000 different customization and color options. As a reminder, AT&T is currently the only carrier that is offering the Moto Maker customizations, which for many people is the big selling point for the Moto X. Other carriers and retailers are expected to get access to Moto Maker sometime later this year, but as of yet we haven’t received confirmation on specific dates.
The 16 GB Moto X will be available or $199.99 and the 32 GB Moto X for $249.99 on the usual two year contract. AT&T also noted that it will be carrying the Motorola Skip accessory that we told you about earlier today and will also offer one for free to everyone who purchases the device through Moto Maker.