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That command is specific to your voice. I asked three colleagues to speak "OK, Google Now" into a phone I trained by repeating the phrase three times. The phone ignored my colleagues, but responded to me instantly once I spoke from the same distance. Sorry, pranksters: You won't be able use this feature to set 3 a.m. alarms on your friend's Moto X. I was able to get the phone to recognize my command from about 10 feet away, as well as close by with an episode of "The Walking Dead" playing at full blast on a laptop inches away. But under those conditions, the service was more prone to make mistakes. For instance, the phone misheard a request for directions to Boston as "directions to fall." Even in a quiet room, Google Now made a lot of mistakes responding to requests to call specific people. When I asked Google Now to "call Bob," it offered me "Emily," "Dave" and "Super"
-- for the superintendent of my apartment building, who's not named Bob. I can see this feature being useful to motorists, but it's imperfect. And if you protect your phone with a PIN code, you'll need to type it in to unlock the phone, except to make a call. Motorola says it tried voice recognition for passwords, but couldn't get it to work properly. There are two things that will work without entering your PIN: You can get a peek at text messages and other notifications by pressing the center of the screen for a second. If you want to respond or see more, then you'll need the PIN. You can also access your camera by twisting the phone like opening a doorknob. You can browse through shots you have just taken, but you'll need the PIN for older ones. Speaking of the camera, Motorola did a good job of keeping it simple. With Samsung's Galaxy S4 and HTC's One, I've often hit the wrong buttons for gimmicky features I don't want. With the Moto X, you have to swipe the screen from the left to access the settings. That way, the buttons aren't there to hit accidently. To access your gallery of photos, you swipe from the right. Again, you won't be getting old images accidently and miss the chance to snap a new one. The camera also lacks a shutter button. Instead, you tap anywhere on the screen to take a photo. Keep pressing on the screen, and the camera will take a series of shots in succession. The screen measures 4.7 inches diagonally, which is larger than the iPhone 5's 4 inches and close to the 5 inches found on a few other leading phones. Held like a skyscraper, the phone is narrower than most leading Android phones. The edges are curved, but the middle is thickened more than the typical phone. That actually fits nicely in my hands, as the palm isn't flat when in a grip position. It's not heavy either, at 4.6 ounces. Although Motorola has released other phones since Google bought the company in May 2012, the Moto X is the first to be designed under Google. It's an impressive offering that could make Motorola a contender in phones again. ___ About Moto X: The Moto X is the first smartphone to be assembled in the U.S., allowing Motorola to offer a range of customization options, such as colors and personalized messages. It's available in black or white for about $200 through AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular. Other colors and options are available at no extra charge, but only with AT&T as a service provider. It's $50 more for a 32-gigabyte phone. The standard is 16 GB. The phone has a 4.7-inch screen and two cameras capable of high-definition video at 1060p. The back camera is 10 megapixels and the front one is 2 megapixels. With a curved edge, thickness ranges from 0.22 inch on the edges to 0.41 inches in the middle. That middle part is thicker than most phones, but it's designed to fit more naturally in the curvature of your palm in grip position. The phone goes on sale in the U.S. in late August or early September. Custom features are selected through Motorola's website, and delivery is promised within four days. ___ Online:
[Associated Press; By ANICK JESDANUN]
Anick Jesdanun, deputy technology editor for The Associated Press, can be reached at njesdanun@ap.org.
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