Going Ballistic with DROID Turbo

Does anyone else, before leaving the house, recite the trinity? Keys, wallet, smartphone. Our phones travel everywhere with us—in all types of weather and situations.

These days, our phones must be as visually appealing as they are durable. Which is why we’ve equipped our new DROID Turbo with ballistic nylon, a first for any smartphone.

But Just What Is Ballistic Nylon?

Ballistic nylon is the strong, lightweight, tightly woven material used on the back of DROID Turbo. It’s a tough aesthetic that matches the hardcore features of the device: a 48-hour battery, a top-of-the-line quad-core 2.7 GHz Snapdragon™ 805, a 565 ppi screen, and a 21 MP camera.

The material’s history goes all the way back to World War II. Ballistic nylon was originally developed for use as flak jackets to protect airmen from flying debris in combat and served its purpose well.

But ballistic nylon didn’t disappear after that. Through the years, the materials have been used in everything such as:

• Extreme weather backpacks
• Tactical bags for the military troops
• The US Army’s combat boots
• Hunting supplies
• Super durable watch straps (Take it from this guy.)
• Skin-on kayaks (Warning: This video may be too awesome for kayak enthusiasts or ballistic nylon lovers.)
• Motorcycle jackets and pants

Why Ballistic?

Ballistic nylon, unlike other nylons, is not only known for use in tough situations, but it is also versatile. The military uses it because the fabric is resistant to tears, holes, and high temperatures, not to mention it provides a level of water resistance. Companies use it for some of those same reasons, but unlike some other highly durable materials, ballistic nylon also offers more flexibility in design and execution. We love it because of the material’s association with all of those things.

When it comes to phones, ballistic nylon offers unique visual and tactile aesthetics. It looks sleek and feels strong in your hands. Which is why bringing the ballistic fabric technology to phones for the first time makes sense.

Because why can’t your phone be built to last with a tough look to match?

Posted by Jenny Schroder, Product Marketing

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At Heidi Klum’s Halloween Party

Halloween is all about expressing your personal style - whether it’s witty, wild or wacky, anything goes. When it comes to this time of year, no one does it better than the Queen of Halloween - Heidi Klum. Each year she dazzles fans with costumes that push the envelope on creativity and design. They are part art, part high fashion, and always a full expression of Heidi’s bold, personal style. And this year was no exception. At her annual Halloween extravaganza in New York, Heidi stepped out in a beautiful butterfly costume. To complete her look, Motorola created a special customized Moto X inspired by her costume.



Don’t feel like waiting for October 31st to roll around again to express your style?  Head over to Moto Maker and design your own custom Moto X and show your colors all year long. Need some inspiration? Here are some of the best costumes from the night at Tao Downtown on New York City’s westside.



Questlove of The Roots and Heidi Klum



Zoe Kravitz and Joe Jonas



Designer Christian Siriano and Brad Walsh



Orange is the New Black’s Matt McGorry



A close up of Heidi Klum’s customized Moto X

Posted by the Motorola Blog Team

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The New Moto X: The Story Behind a Name

Your name says something about who you are and how you see the world. Maybe you’re named for a person or a place or maybe something just downright silly. We don’t get many opportunities to name things. But when we do, we reserve the best names and nicknames—the most creative, the funniest and most personal—for the people and things we love.

The new Moto X responds to your voice and whatever name you give it, but no matter the name, the story behind it is what matters most.

Whatever your choice, choose for you.

Posted by Barbara Liss, Social Media

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Style Speaks: An Interior Designer on Why Black is the New Black

Welcome to the Style Speaks Series—a moment in which we talk with experts and thinkers about what style and color really mean and what it conveys in our lives. Color is integral to how we feel, how we choose to communicate, how we choose express ourselves—and even how we choose to customize our phones! This is what these people think about color. What about you? What do you choose?

When it comes to color, Sabreen Madden is obsessed. As an interior designer and teaching assistant at Harrington College of Design, color is integral to how she creates spaces. During her day-to-day she is always thinking about color theory, color relationships, and design elements. “Everywhere I go, everything I do, every package I look at—even a box of cookies—I’m thinking about the color and design,” she said.

Black is one of Sabreen’s favorite colors. She took us around the house in Chicago she beautifully designed and shared how she thinks about what black conveys.

While she was decorating her home on Chicago’s North Side she took inspiration from raw, concrete, industrial modern spaces she saw during a trip to New York in 2009. “I realized it’s not scary. You can do one wall that’s black and pair it with white and really have an open and airy space that has these dark, dramatic moments,” she said. “I decided to just go for it.”

Sabreen said that the color black is often associated with a “gothic” stigma, but that was not her intention when she chose the paint for her industrial modern loft on Chicago’s North Side. She used black to create depth in her home.

“In my space I’m using black for design purposes,” Madden said.

 

Sabreen Madden’s husband, Terrence, built the fireplace in their industrial modern loft on Chicago’s North Side. She said the black paint around it is used intentionally as camouflage, so when a fire is burning it’s “kind of it’s own element,” she said, adding that the black paint also camouflages the television. Their dog Winnie can often be found sleeping on the fireplace’s steel hearth.

“I think black is a very sophisticated color or non-color,” Sabreen says. “I hope that when someone sees the black in my house they see it as an intentional element to enhance what’s within the space.”

Sabreen said color choice in a home is very subjective and contingent on what feeling the homeowner is attempting to convey. In her North Side home, where she used black and white as her base colors, Sabreen said she was attempting to be bold, dramatic and sophisticated, while also keeping her space personal.

“Usually when we go through the design process, we have a series of interview-type exercises to determine what a client wants in a space,” she said. “First and foremost, you want to have a functional space, and then you can talk about what kind of feeling you want. In that way, I try to get examples. If you want a light and airy feeling, what are some examples of a space that gave you a light and airy feeling? What about that space made you feel light and airy? Then we can build off of that.”

Sabreen said that if a client wanted to include black in their space, she would advise them to use it as an accent color to create some contrast. If too much black is used, she added, it can get too heavy, too dark, and can make a space look small.

“It would definitely show they are willing to take a risk,” Madden added. “Black isn’t something you see in residential design very often, but when you don’t hold back it can be very powerful and fun.”

“When you have all really light neutrals in a space, there’s nothing really to ground your eye, there’s no focus wall. Black is an absorption of all colors, so it’s not even really a color. In the bedroom I use it as a back wall to ground the bed. In another room I use it to frame the bookshelf, I also use it to emphasize the alcove.”

“You can get inspiration from anywhere, and that’s what I do now,” she says. ‘I even look at my dog, Winnie, and think about her color combinations compared to other dogs, I can’t help it.”

What colors speak to you? What do you choose? Tell us on Twitter by tagging #choosechoice. 

Posted by Noelle Chun, Blog Team

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