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Motorola has officially unveiled the Moto X phone, color-customizable and running the Android OS from Google. Courtesy / Motorola

It is official: The Moto X, the first true phone collaboration from Motorola and Google, will be released in “late August, early September” in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. The suggested retail price of the Moto X, after a 2-year contract agreement discount, is $199 for a model with 16GB of storage, and $249 for a 32GB version.

Motorola said the Moto X phone will be released at a $199 price point “with a 2-year agreement,” which means the overall price of the phone will be higher than that. This invalidates earlier rumors that suggested the Moto X might reflect the low-cost, no-contract pricing scheme of the Nexus 4 from LG and Google.

The Moto X will be assembled by Motorola in the U.S. at a plant in Fort Worth, Texas. To differentiate the Moto X from the rest of the mid-range devices on the market, Motorola will allow users to customize the backplate – with everything from multiple colored plastic to woods like teak and bamboo.

Moto X customers will be able to customize their new phones on the "Moto Maker" website, which is not yet live. The Moto X will be available in with a black and white front, in addition to several colors and backplate materials.

The Moto X will not run the newest version of Google's Android operating system -- version 4.3 -- instead opting for the older version 4.2.2.

The Moto X will be equipped with the Motorola X8 Computing System, along with a 4.7-inch AMOLED screen, with a resolution of 720p. The phone will constantly be "listening" for voice commands and its camera will be gesture-based, opening with two flicks of the wrist.

Motorola said the Moto X phone is for "most users," referring to the fact that it will not contain the most high-end specs, like a quad-core CPU or other hardware features. Instead, the Moto X will focus on new software features and a high level of customization to attract smartphone buyers.

Here are the full specs of the Moto X phone, taken directly from Motorola’s website:

Operating system: Android 4.2.2

Architecture: Motorola X8 Mobile Computing System

RAM: 2 GB

Storage: 16 GB standard, 32 GB version available online. 2 years 50GB storage free on Google Drive

Display: 4.7" AMOLED (RGB) / HD 720p

Width: 65.3

Height: 129.3mm

Depth: (Curve) 5.6 -10.4mm

Weight: 130g

Battery: 2200 mAh

Rear Camera: 10MP CLEAR PIXEL (RGBC) / LED Flash / 1080p video (30 fps)

Front Camera: 2MP 1080p HD video

Bluetooth: 4.0 LE + EDR

WiFi: 802.11a/g/b/n/ac (dual band capable), mobile hotspot

Bands: GSM/GPRS/EDGE UMTS/HSPA + up to 42 Mbps CDMA/EVDO Rev. A (CDMA model only), 4G - LTE

The Moto X will have carrier availability on Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular, and there are reports of a Google Play edition of the Moto X running Android 4.3 on the way as well.

What do you think of these Moto X specs? Are you looking forward to the release date of the Moto X? Do you plan on purchasing this phone from Motorola and Google? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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