Ever since the WSJ dropped a hint about the mythical 'X Phone' back in December, the rumors have not stopped flowing. Which is great because, according to Motorola's CFO, the 18 months of product pipeline that Google acquired weren't exactly wow-ing anyone. However, according to Moto's design chief Jim Wicks, the next generation of hardware will be fantastic.

The handsets have been in the works for the last eight months (so since around August, for those counting), and will target the segments of the market that's looking for a "just right" screen size. Said Wicks:


As a bonus, Wicks says the phones will run "the unadulterated version of Android." Which isn't quite an explicit guarantee for an AOSP-based batch of software, but it does sound like Motorola is interested in sticking pretty close to Google's image of what Android should be.

The manufacturer is also hoping to get away from the carrier exclusives that have made it so hard to get devices into the hands of consumers in the past. Verizon will likely not be pleased. Of course, lines like the Droid and RAZR will still be developed, but Motorola wants to create a more universal brand, similar to the HTC One or the Galaxy S IV. Yet another hardware maker looking to break the carrier stronghold on its marketing.

We still don't know exactly when these new devices will land, though describing the timeline as the "second half of 2013" does not give much hope that this phone will be released in July or August as certain rumors have claimed. Usually, when a company is only two or three months away from a product launch, it doesn't make estimates as vague as half-years.

Source: PCMag