Hello Moto! Black Friday Boost Allows Motorola’s Flagship Handset To Surge Ahead of Samsung Galaxy S4

Moto X posted big gains in the battle for hearts and minds after a good Black Friday.  It is the highest rated Motorola handset, beating out the DROID ULTRA and DROID MAXX at Verizon.

While the buzz around the Moto X is not as high as the Galaxy SIV, consumers like the Moto X more than the Samsung flagship device.  The Moto X is also gaining on the Nokia handsets while still behind even the LG G2 and surprisingly resilience HTC One.

Moto X head of Galaxy S4 and all other Motorola handsets
Moto X head of Galaxy S4 and all other Motorola handsets

When we unpack what people enjoy about their Moto X experience, there are a few standouts, the camera and the so called Touchless Control.  Consumers are roundly disappointed by the camera

  • I haven’t had a chance to play with camera much other than in low light which was bad looking
  • Bottom line if you can deal with poor battery performance, disappointing camera
  • The camera is a complete disappointment coming from the note 2
  • miss, though a software update was supposed to fix the camera
  • If a decent camera is even slightly important, then avoid this phone like the plague

That being said, consumers do like the “shake to take” gesture that automatically launches the camera app.

  •  The shake to turn the camera on from lock is great too!
  • the shake for the camera to appear is fabulous
  • the camera which is accessed by shaking the phone in a certain way is very cool,

Consumers are resonating with the “always on” voice control, though early social conversations when the Moto X was announced were concerned with the privacy implications of always on voice control.

  • the touchless control feature is simply amazing
  • The “Google now” voice activated features are amazing – phone has consistently been spot on with spoken commands
  • It destroys the Siri function with the Google Now feature that is actually feasible
  • run quickly, Google now with voice commands works great every time
  • The Google Now voice recognition is flawless
  • Touchless control is also very convenient
  • reminders with Google Now is quick
  • In no particular order, benefits include a great feel when holding or talking on the device, voice quality is excellent, Google Now is a wonderful benefit
  • I would reccomend[sic] this phone for its sleek design, google now feature

Googlrola is holding the Touchless Control cards closely for this generation, not enabling what seems to be a consumer delighter on the new Nexus 5 as that would mean sharing toys (IP) with LG, signs that the old Motorola is still driving the handset bus at Google.  We are keeping an eye on the market to see if the next crop of smartphones can push further on the saturation pressure Apple is feeling.