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Moto X will not be a Droid on Verizon

Moto X will not be a Droid on Verizon

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The new flagship stands alone, but the Droid lives on

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Gallery Photo: Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx review pictures
Gallery Photo: Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx review pictures

Motorola's forthcoming Moto X phone will not be a Droid device on Verizon, multiple sources tell The Verge. The change marks a sharp inflection point in the tight relationship between the two companies: previous Motorola flagship phones like the Droid RAZR HD and Droid RAZR Maxx HD have all been Verizon exclusives in the US.

That's set to change with the Moto X, which Google-owned Motorola will begin advertising tomorrow in a series of full-page newspaper ads that breaks from the aggressive, techno-warfare aesthetic of the Droid marketing to promise "the first smartphone you can design yourself." Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside called the Moto X the company's "lead device" in May at the D11 conference, and confirmed that it's meant to compete with the iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy S4. Woodside also said the phone will be built in the United States and be "broadly distributed," adding that "the support the carriers have provided has been fantastic."

the Droid relationship is not over

But while Verizon will almost certainly carry the Moto X, the Droid relationship is not over: it appears Motorola will also be building a new line of Droid Ultra phones, which will be branded and sold separately from the Moto X. A Verizon landing page for the Ultra briefly appeared this morning, indicating that the new phone would be extremely thin and available in several colors.

Every indication is that Motorola is gearing up to announce these devices in the coming weeks; we'll let you know as we hear more.