Google’s Rumored Moto X Smartphone Needs 10 Key Features to Succeed

By Don Reisinger

In order for the Moto X to be a success, the device needs to come with a big, beautiful display. The top-selling Android-based handsets on the market today feature screens that are 5 inches or larger. If the Moto X comes with a screen that’s smaller than that, it won’t succeed.

Google is expected to announce a new Android version later this year. Assuming that happens in the summer, as previous launches have, the software would be available around the same time as the Moto X. If the handset isn’t running that latest Android version, it’ll be in for serious trouble.

One of the interesting things about the smartphone market is that customers are looking for something unusual or special about a product’s design. Since most devices look about the same these days, the Moto X should have some eye-catching design feature that would help it stand out and attract buyers.

It’s extremely important that the Moto X comes with a design that will allow for ease of mobility. In other words, the device must be lightweight, thin, and easy to toss into a bag or pocket. Judging by the images of Eric Schmidt holding the purported Moto X, it will have that. But there’s no telling if that’s really the Moto X.

This is an obvious one, isn’t it? The ability to connect to 4G LTE networks and surf the Web at a high speed is an absolute necessity today. And yet, there are still new products that launch that can’t connect to LTE networks. The Moto X cannot make that same mistake.

If the Moto X launches this summer, the device needs to be running the very best components available. That means the handset should have the high-end Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm, as well as more than enough RAM and strong graphics performance. All of that will make the device more appealing to customers.

Offering up devices with 16GB or even 32GB of storage is no longer enough. In today’s video-heavy world, the time has come for companies to deliver products with 64GB or more of storage. If the Moto X doesn’t deliver that, it’s hard to see how it can be successful.

Years ago Motorola was one of the top-selling mobile phone brands and one that people trusted, but that’s no longer the case. Search and cloud giant Google, on the other hand, is among the most admired tech companies on the planet these days. To give the smartphone the best chance of success, Google should make it abundantly clear to all customers that the Moto X is its baby, even if it is designed and manufactured by Motorola.

Ubiquity is one of the central tenets of success in the mobile space. That’s precisely why Google will need to bring the Moto X to as many carriers as possible. If the device is made exclusively for Verizon or AT&T, it will not succeed. If it’s available on all four major U.S. carriers, however, it’ll have a shot at taking on the iPhone and Galaxy S 4. Google must not forget that.

Timing is everything for the Moto X. If the device launches too closely to the iPhone 5S, it’ll be ignored. That’s precisely why Google and Motorola need to get the handset onto store shelves sooner rather than later. The Moto X should be a shot over Apple’s bow and the first indication that something big is happening at Motorola.