Google sends out invites for August 1 Moto X event

Here’s the latest on Google’s upcoming Moto X smartphone. News has it that the company is all set to unveil the highly-anticipated device at its scheduled August 1 event.

The Verge has confirmed that it received an invite to Google’s August 1 event in New York City, accompanied by a teaser that reads: “Come experience the new Motorola”. That apart, the invite features the black and white variants of the Moto X smartphone that are not any different from what we’ve seen in the past through the leaks.

August 1 it is!

A lot has already been said and written about the Android-running Moto X smartphone, including that it will be available with the Canadian carrier Rogers Wireless August onwards.

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Just this week, a video featuring the Moto X smartphone was posted by a Google+ user. The video gave us a more intimate look at the upcoming smartphone which Motorola has been working on alongside Google. Among Moto X’s key features is a more powerful version of Google’s voice-command service — Google Now. Google Now seems to be always enabled on Moto X, just waiting for the activation phrase, which in the video is “Okay Google Now.” When the phrase is said, a user doesn’t even have to unlock the screen, let alone touch it. Design-wise though, the video doesn’t show anything new. We’ve already seen a lot of the phone in leaks so far, and the video shows the same Nexus-esque design.

In addition to that, the phone has a new notification system in lieu of the notification LED - a common feature on Android devices. Instead of a blinking light, notifications on the Moto X show up briefly on the screen when the phone is locked with an icon depending on what the notification is about.

The smartphone also has some really handy motion-sensing capabilities. Starting the camera, for example, does not require the user to look for the Camera app icon. Instead, he can just twist his wrist twice, and the camera will start up. The interface for the camera also seems to be rather different compared to what we’re used to from Android. Instead of a shutter button, users can tap anywhere on the screen to take a picture. Tapping and holding results in multiple pictures, like the burst modes that we see in many high-end smartphones these days.