As busy parents, wouldn’t it be nice if our gadgets revolved around our schedules and lifestyles instead of us having to adjust to the design of the products? Well, one such smart phone does just that.  Introducing the Motorola X (Moto X).  The newest line of phones by the company that pioneered the flip-phone.

I got to review the Moto X and put it to the test against my lifestyle to see if it truly stands up to its claims.  Personally, I loved it.  The phone was a complete upgrade from my previous Samsung S3. The added features and long-lasting battery life represent just some of the functionality that make me think so highly of the Moto X. Here are a few of my favourite features:

Migrate function

If you’re already on Android, this app makes it easy to move over all of your settings between your existing phone to the Moto X.  Download the migrate app to your old phone and it will transfer all of your previous settings over including (SIM card) contacts, text messages and call history, media, volume and screen brightness.

Camera

Kids often act or do some pretty cute things. However, capturing those moments isn’t always easy because they’re often so brief.  Rather than fumbling looking for a camera app, on the Moto X with a double twist of your wrist, you are in camera mode and the moment is captured within seconds.

Tuning out without Turning off

The Moto X comes with a great functionality that was lacking on my Samsung S3.  The Assist function lets you set up your phone for driving, meeting and sleeping modes.  The driving mode, if turned on, detects that you’re driving based on GPS and allows you stay focused on the road. In this mode the phone will read your text messages, tell you who is calling and even send a quick reply with a text message to let anyone contacting you know you’re driving.  Meeting mode allows you to avoid interruptions when you’re meetings by checking your calendar, silencing your ringer and automatically sending callers a text to let them know you’re unavailable.  Sleeping mode lets you get a good night’s rest.  Choose your ‘sleep’ and between the hours selected your phone will be kept quiet. No beeps, alerts or phone rings.

Long Battery Life

The thing I despised the most about my previous phone was the short battery life. It lasted from 8:30 AM to maybe 3:00 PM (if I was lucky).  However, the battery life on the Moto X is amazing.  At a recent conference I attended almost everyone was complaining about their low battery. However, mine was still over half full even though throughout the day I was taking pictures, tweeting, checking e-mail, etc… I think this alone might be my favourite feature.

Touchless Control

Moto x responds to your voice, and your voice only! It also works when your phone is in sleep mode. Just speak to activate it. This is a nice feature to have when your hands are full (which realistically, is always).  All you have to say is “Ok Google Now” and it becomes your personal assistant. A few of the most useful tasks include: asking for the weather report, taking a note, placing a call, sending a text, adding a meeting to your calendar or setting a location based reminder (i.e. remind me to put the laundry in the dryer when getting home – based on GPS, you will be reminded when you walk in your door).  Here is a quick video of me using some of my favourite features.

Finally, a smart-phone designed for the average (aka busy) consumer in-mind. These are just some of my favourite features of the Moto X. If you’re not happy with your current phone and thinking about getting something new, I highly recommend the Moto X.