Moto X

My Skyrocket is getting long in the tooth. And slow. I think that the slowness is due to the lack of TRIM. And we know what the cure for that is don't we? Android 4.3. But wait, AT&T hasn't pushed 4.3 to the Skyrocket and never will. I can't complain. AT&T has upgraded the Skyrocket twice since I've had it.

So I turned to my favorite ROM, CyanogenMod. Hmmm, they haven't released Android 4.4 (KitKat) for the Skyrocket. There is a stable version of Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) for the Skyrocket but it hasn't been updated since December 2013. I don't want to go to an old Android.

Sounds like a good enough reason to purchase a new phone!

You'll remember that I'm sensitive to size. That's why I chose the Skyrocket (Galaxy S2) over the Galaxy S3. So I went looking for a Galaxy S4 Mini. AT&T hasn't offered that yet so I was going to have to get it unlocked. That's already a generation back compared to the S5 and Samsung hasn't pushed KitKat to it. That didn't sound like a good place to land so I kept looking.

What I found was that newer phones than my Skyrocket have actually gotten smaller while increasing the screen size due to the smaller bezels. I could have my cake and eat it too!

I ended up with the Google Moto X.

Motorola was having a May Day sale for $325 for the unlocked GSM model with 32GB so I went for it. It's marginally smaller than the Skyrocket with higher resolution.

Do you think I have enough frequencies?

I used Moto Maker to build my own Moto X. I chose "Woven Black" (looks like carbon fiber) for the back, a black front, "Metallic Silver" for an accent color, and a personalized signature.

I found a carbon fiber wallpaper to match the back.

An amazingly quick trip to the local AT&T store got me a free nano-SIM with no activation charge and I was up and going.

	Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket	Motorola Moto X
DESIGN
Device type	Smart phone	Smart phone
OS	Android (4.1.2, 2.3.6, 2.3.5) TouchWiz UI	Android (4.4.2, 4.4, 4.3, 4.2.2)
Dimensions	5.15 x 2.75 x 0.37 inches (131 x 70 x 9 mm)	5.09 x 2.57 x 0.41 inches (129.3 x 65.3 x 10.4 mm)
Weight	4.66 oz (132 g)	4.59 oz (130 g)
DISPLAY
Physical size	4.5 inches	4.7 inches
Resolution	480 x 800 pixels	720 x 1280 pixels
Pixel density	207 ppi	316 ppi
Technology	Super AMOLED Plus	AMOLED
Colors	16 777 216	16 777 216
Touchscreen	Multi-touch	Multi-touch
Features	Light sensor, Proximity sensor, Scratch-resistant glass	Light sensor, Proximity sensor, Scratch-resistant glass
CAMERA
Camera	8 megapixels	10 megapixels
Flash	LED	LED
Aperture size	F2.6	F2.4
Focal length (35mm equivalent)		30 mm
Camera sensor size	1/3.2"	1/2.6"
Features	Autofocus, Smile detection, Geo tagging, Panorama	Autofocus, Touch to focus, Digital zoom, Geo tagging, High Dynamic Range mode (HDR), Panorama
Camcorder	1920x1080 (1080p HD) (30 fps), 1280x720 (720p HD)	1920x1080 (1080p HD) (60 fps)
Features	Video light, Video calling
Front-facing camera	2 megapixels	2 megapixels
HARDWARE
System chip		Motorola X8 (Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro MSM8960)
Processor	Dual core, 1500 MHz	Dual core, 1700 MHz, Krait
Graphics processor	Yes	Adreno 320
System memory	1024 MB RAM	2048 MB RAM
Built-in storage	16 GB	32 GB
Maximum User Storage		28 GB
Storage expansion	microSD, microSDHC up to 32 GB
BATTERY
Talk time	7.00 hours	12.00 hours
Stand-by time	10.4 days (250 hours)	10.0 days (240 hours)
Capacity	1850 mAh	2200 mAh
Not user replaceable		Yes
MULTIMEDIA
Music player
Filter by	Album, Artist, Playlists	Album, Artist, Playlists
Features	Album art cover, Background playback	Album art cover, Background playback
Speakers		Earpiece, Loudspeaker
YouTube player	Yes	Yes
INTERNET BROWSING
Built-in online services support	Facebook, Picasa/Google+, Twitter	YouTube (upload), Picasa/Google+
TECHNOLOGY
GSM	850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz	850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
UMTS	850, 1900 MHz	850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz
FDD LTE	700 (band 17), 1700/2100 (band 4) MHz	700 (band 13), 850 (band 5), 1700/2100 (band 4), 1900 (band 2) MHz
Data	LTE, HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS, EDGE	LTE, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS, EDGE, GPRS
nano-SIM		Yes
Positioning	A-GPS	GPS, A-GPS, S-GPS, Glonass
Navigation	Yes	Turn-by-turn navigation
CONNECTIVITY
Bluetooth	3.0	4.0 LE, EDR
Wi-Fi	802.11 a, b, g, n	802.11 a, b, g, n, n 5GHz, ac
Mobile hotspot	Yes	Yes
USB	USB 2.0	USB 2.0
Connector	microUSB	microUSB
Features	Mass storage device, USB charging	Mass storage device, USB charging
HDMI	via microUSB
Other	NFC, DLNA, Computer sync, OTA sync, SyncML	NFC, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync
OTHER FEATURES
Notifications	Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone	Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone
Sensors	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass	Accelerometer, Compass
Hearing aid compatibility	M3	M3, T3
Other	Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording	Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording
AVAILABILITY
Officially announced	31 Oct 2011	01 Aug 2013

Source: phoneArena.com

According to Steve Jobs that would be a "retina" display.

The Moto X is smaller than the Skyrocket in every dimension other than thickness (0.04 inches). And it's lighter.

I got the Seidio Spring-Clip Holster (HLMTXPAS). I used to buy cheap holsters but then one broke and cost me a new screen on the Captivate.

And just in case I wanted to play with a different phone using that nano-SIM I got a MediaDevil Simdevil 3-in-1 SIM card adapter kit.

Now I'll go flash my Skyrocket anyway.