Heads up, Android fans, because a new rumor has surfaced today that you may be interested in hearing about. According to sources speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Google is teaming up with Motorola to create a new "X Phone" smartphone to help it better compete with devices like the iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy handsets. The device is reportedly being crafted by Motorola engineers while the company also works on carrier-branded phones like Verizon's DROID line. Former Google product head Lior Ron is said to be in charge of the X Phone project, and Motorola is allegedly expected to create an X tablet device once it's done with the X Phone.
There's not much in today's report about the feature set of this mysterious X Phone, but it does say that Motorola is aiming to include "top-notch features for the phone's camera and photo software," including good color saturation and the ability to take panoramic photos. Moto's reportedly had some issues with features that drain too much battery or are already present on other smartphones, and the company has also had some trouble trying to incorporate a bendable screen and ceramics to help make the X Phone stronger.
Many folks have been wondering when Google might tap Motorola to create some new hardware ever since Motorola was acquired by Google last year, and while executives at both companies have been saying that Motorola will get no preferential treatment for a Nexus device, it appears that Google has begun to utilize Moto to build some sort of new hardware. It's said that this X Phone is set to launch some time next year, which is obviously a pretty big window of time. With today's report claiming that Motorola is designing the X Phone as a "marquee handset" that will "stand apart from existing phones," though, I'm guessing that there will be many Android fans that'll be willing to wait for this Google-Moto colloboration. More on this as we get it.
