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2Motorola Moto X Teardown
A few unique things about the Moto X from the start: It’s the first smartphone designed and assembled in the USA, and users can customize their phones online before ordering, dictating color combinations, materials and inserting a custom greeting. Also, the headphone jack is on the top, instead of the bottom, as is more common. “Does this make more sense?” asked iFixit. “Probably.”
3Innovations Big and Small
4Made In the USA, for Better or for Worse
5The NFC Racetrack and Giant Battery
6Of Microphones and Innovation
Using a spudger to unclip a microphone board from the earpiece speaker, iFixit commented, “Naturally, we love design innovation. We can tell a considerable amount of effort went in to the internal design of this device; the number of clips and contacts we’ve found so far is a great testament to that.”
7Step 17, the Motherboard
On the back of the motherboard, iFixit found two microphones—arguably the greatest feature of the Moto X is its voice-recognition technology—and more cause for comment. “Motoroogle again shows off its novelty,” wrote iFixit. “The X’s vibrator motor is soldered right to the motherboard. The wonders never cease.”
8Protective Foam and a Suspended Frame
9How Repairable Is It?
10What Consumers Will Care About
The Samsung Galaxy S 4 received an 8 out of 10 from iFixit, but it seems unlikely that consumers will care much. It’s fun to play with Motorola’s MotoMaker tool. AT&T is now selling the Moto X, but by summer’s end, all the major carriers will be supporting it, along with retailers and smaller carriers.