After initially launching in August at $579, Motorola's well-received Moto X is getting a permanent price drop to $399 on any carrier without a new contract. That's slightly higher than the $349 deals that Motorola intermittently offered (with some difficulty) in the run-up to the holidays, but it's still a great deal considering that the Moto X is almost universally regarded as one of the best Android smartphones currently available. The $399 price includes Moto Maker — that is, you can get a bespoke Moto X designed to your tastes — but does not appear to include the recently introduced bamboo-clad "natural" option, which runs an extra $100.

The new pricing puts the Moto X in more direct, permanent competition against Google's other flagship smartphone — LG's Nexus 5, which runs $349 to $399 unlocked, depending on internal storage space. With a 1080p display and the most direct link into the Android upgrade path available, the Nexus 5 is still more likely to appeal to power users, but as an everyday smartphone with great customization options, the Moto X is hard to ignore — especially at this price.