Made in America

One of the most intriguing aspects of the Moto X is that Motorola is taking great pains to see that the devices are hand-assembled at a plant in Fort Worth, Texas, as opposed to in an overseas shop such as Foxconn. (Apple is making a similar move with its yet-to-be-released Mac Pro.) Presumably, that adds cost and difficulty for Motorola, but as company SVP Rick Osterloh tells The Verge, "It’s just the right thing to do." Personally I can’t quite figure out if this is a political move aimed at scoring points with consumers, dinging competitors, or holding some kind of higher ground as a US economy-focused company, but it’s an exciting move nonetheless. Hopefully it’s more than just a novelty.

Hopefully 'Made in America' is more than just a political move

The phones aren’t wholly made in the States, but even an assembly line of smartphones simply being pieced together in America is notable. Motorola seems to have its heart in the right place, and if the phone is any kind of success, it could be incentive for other manufacturers to consider the US workforce. Of course, that’s still a big "if."

Build-a-phone

I would tell you that the device comes in one of two colors — black or white — and that’s true on some carriers. But on AT&T at first and others soon after, it will come in many more thanks to hardware customization options Motorola is offering for the phone. You’re able to select among the many available combinations using an online tool called Moto Maker, and your order is sent to an assembly line in Texas where the phone is hand-built and shipped to you in four days. By allowing you to select the color for several components of the phone, Motorola gives you up to 252 possible combinations: more than enough to please even the most demanding aesthetes.

In that Texas factory, 2,000 or so American workers will be putting together phones based on your exact specifications. You can choose how much storage you want, 16GB or 32GB. You choose a front face, either black or white, then pick one of 18 backs, with colors like red and yellow, but also teal and plum, and about four different shades of white. Next, choose an accent color from seven options — it colors the buttons on the phone, and the ring around the lens of the camera.

The colors look cool. They look fresh — of the moment. By comparison, the white and black (and even more colorful phones like Nokia’s Lumia line) seem drab and predictable. The monochromatic options look especially behind the times now, like a beige PC. Come to think of it, even aluminum computers come off as depressingly retro when you consider Motorola’s proposition. If these devices are our always-there accessories, shouldn’t we have some say over how they look? Don’t answer. The answer is yes.

Customization won't make or break the Moto X's appeal

The Moto Maker tool is simple, clean, and clearly a Google product — it looks vaguely like a Google+ page. Once you pick your phone, you can choose accessories to go with it (including color-matched headphones from Sol Republic), choose a wallpaper, and sign in to your Google account. Then as soon as your phone shows up, it’s already personalized and ready to go. If you don’t like what you picked, send it back within two weeks and try something else.

The success of this phone won’t hinge on a user’s ability to order a made-to-measure version, but it could compel certain buyers to at least consider the Moto X when they might have simply passed over a black model on a shelf. The real question is if Motorola (and by proxy its carrier partners) can message this properly to users. It needs to be out there in big, bold type. If consumers don’t know they can get something special, they simply won’t.