Moto X, New Smartphone From Google's Motorola, May Be Unveiled 'In The Coming Weeks'

Moto X Could Be 'Weeks' Away
SUN VALLEY, ID - JULY 11: Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, makes a call on still to be released Google produced Moto X phone during the Allen & Co. annual conference on July 11, 2013 in Sun Valley, Idaho. The resort will host corporate leaders for the 31st annual Allen & Co. media and technology conference where some of the wealthiest and most powerful executives in media, finance, politics and tech gather for a weeklong meetings which begins Tuesday. Past attendees included Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
SUN VALLEY, ID - JULY 11: Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, makes a call on still to be released Google produced Moto X phone during the Allen & Co. annual conference on July 11, 2013 in Sun Valley, Idaho. The resort will host corporate leaders for the 31st annual Allen & Co. media and technology conference where some of the wealthiest and most powerful executives in media, finance, politics and tech gather for a weeklong meetings which begins Tuesday. Past attendees included Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

The wait for the Moto X may soon be over.

In an earnings call on Thursday, Patrick Pichette, Google's senior vice president and chief financial officer, dropped a hint that the highly anticipated smartphone from Google-owned Motorola is weeks away.

"I'll leave it to the coming quarters to demonstrate the new Motorola that's showing up, and you'll see that in the coming weeks actually," he said on Thursday, responding to a question from an analyst.

Google and Motorola haven't been specific about the release date of the Moto X, and they haven't revealed many details about the phone, although a recently leaked promotional video said the phone would be available -- at least in Canada -- in August.

That video, posted at Engadget, also shows some features of the phone, like voice commands. "Without touching it at all, you can get directions, set an alarm, or do nearly anything just by talking," says the woman in the video. She also turns on the phone's camera by twisting her wrist twice.

In the earnings call Thursday, Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page alluded to "new ways of interacting" with hardware.

Earlier this month, Motorola released a full-page ad that said the Moto X will be the first smartphone that's "designed, engineered and assembled in the USA," and it will be "the first smartphone that you can design yourself." ABC News reported that customers will be able to customize the device with a variety of colors and engraving options.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Google may spend as much as $500 million marketing the phone.

The Moto X will be the first smartphone Motorola has fully developed since Google acquired the phonemaker in 2012 for $12.5 billion, and investors are watching its performance closely to see if Google's huge bet will pay off.

"A lot of people are questioning whether or not it was a good idea for Google to purchase Motorola to begin with," said Scott Strawn, an analyst at IDC who focuses on Google. "A positive reception by the public of the release of the Moto X will serve to help the perception of Google's acquisition of Motorola by investors."

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