Moto X vs Nexus 5: Permanent Moto X Discount Makes Both Unlocked Google Phones Competitive

Motorola offered a big discount on Cyber Monday on its Moto X smartphone, which many customers ended up unable to take advantage of after the Motomaker customization site crashed. The company then rescheduled the sale for later, and then made it ongoing until the new year. Now, Motorola has announced that the discounted price for an unlocked Moto X is permanent.

Continuing Google's push (Motorola is owned by Google) into the pre-paid, month-to-month smartphone market, the Moto X at $399 is a very good deal. But it's still $50 more than the base-line Google Nexus 5, also unlocked. So which unlocked Google phone is a better buy for pre-paid users? Here's a rundown of hardware and features to help you decide.

Google Nexus 5

The Nexus 5, like its predecessors, is meant to be Google's flagship smartphone for Android fans who want a high-powered device at a low cost - plus the option to use whatever carrier or pre-paid service they want, when they want.

Built buy LG Electronics and announced on Halloween, the Google Nexus 5 comes with a 5-inch Full HD True IPS display with 1080 x 1920p resolution, bringing a very competitive 445 pixels per inch to the screen. It's powered by the latest quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chip, clocked at 2.3GHz with 2GB of RAM and comes with a non-removable Li-Po 2300 mAh battery. It comes with an 8-megapixel camera, which is probably the only low-end piece of equipment on the phone. 

The Nexus 5 is LTE capable, and works with practically any LTE service (with the big exception of Verizon Wireless), and since it's a Google phone, it comes with the latest Android 4.4 KitKat and the fastest software updates, in perpetuity.  For $349, you can get the Google Nexus 5 at 16GB, with the 32GB version costing about the same as the Moto X does now. 

Moto X

The biggest advantage about the Motorola Moto X, besides the fact that it supports Verizon Wireless along with GSM providers like AT&T, is the customization. On the Motomaker site, you can customize your phone's back, front, accents, and greeting with thousands of possibilities.

On the basic hardware end, it's a little less impressive than the Nexus 5, however. It comes with a dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor clocked at 1.7GHzwith 2GB of RAM. For storage, there's a 16GB or 32GB option, but, as mentioned, the 16GB Moto X costs the same as the 32GB Nexus 5. The touchscreen is AMOLED, but only 4.7-inches and 720 x 1280p resolution.

The Moto X's camera beats out the Nexus 5 however, though barely, with a 10-megapixel shooter (both have standard front-facers). The 2200 mAh battery performs well for the less high-powered hardware, too.

Of course the Moto X is a Google phone as well, which means speedy updates. Indeed, though it was released mid-to-late 2013 with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, it's now shipping with Android 4.4 KitKat, standard.

Bottom Line

If you want lots of customization and are willing to pay a little more, the Moto X is still a great phone - especially unlocked for $400. And if you see Verizon Wireless in your future, Moto X is the way to go. But for an unlocked smartphone for all other carriers that costs little, brings the latest Android, and will be a solid high-performer for a long time, the Nexus 5 is still a better choice.