The Moto X, an Android-based smartphone introduced by Motorola in August of last year, was offered on a Try-Then-Buy promotion that lets participants to keep a no-contract Moto X for a two-week trial period for a penny.
The promotion began at midnight eastern time Sunday and expired sometime Monday morning, when Motorola announced that all the units made available for the promotion were gone. It was made clear at the beginning of the promotional time period that there would only be a very limited supply .
Buyers could choose the $349.99 16-GB model, the $399.99 32-GB model or the new 64-GB Moto X for $449.99. The Moto X does not offer a microSD card slot, meaning that storage capacity is not user-expandable. Those prices reflect no-contract pricing. Significant discounts are available for phones tied to carrier data plans under contract.
Those interested in the promo could use the Motorola website's MotoMaker configurator to customize their promotional phone -- categories include Styling (phone casing colors, details, personalization), Features (storage capacity, on-screen ID, wallpaper and pre-loaded Google Sync) and Accessories (charger and headphones). Only adding headphones and/or a natural wood back panel to the phone would incur extra cost.
The promotion served two purposes; to boost sales of the Moto X, which despite critical acclaim is not moving as quickly as Motorola planned; and to introduce the 64-GB model. The 64-GB model is available for AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Republic Wireless.
Once the customer receives the promotional Moto X, the 14-day promotional period begins. After 14 days, the customer can keep the phone and have their credit card charged, or return the phone at Motorola's expense. Choosing to keep the phone is rewarded with a coupon code worth 30 percent off the cost of an accessory.
It is up to the customer to remove all personal data from the Moto X prior to return.
The plastic-bodied Moto X is now offered with the new Android 4.4 KitKat operating system, a 4.7-inch Amoled HD display, a 10 MP rear-facing camera, a 2 MP front-facing camera (both cameras can shoot 1080P HD video), Bluetooth 4.0 LE + EDR, a Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU, a natural language processor, 2 GB RAM and two years of 50 GB storage online through Google Drive. It boasts many voice-activation features and its compact size, curved profile and plastic body help make it lightweight and comfortable to handle.
