Update: To clarify: your phone is actually listening for you, and to you. Actively. If the Moto X is on, the microphones are on, and should be able to pick up your voice from about 30 meters away depending on your location.

There are also three microphones in the top, bottom and back of the phone for better vocal recognition in your car, in your pocket and on a table.

Original story

Motorola's newest device, the Moto X, is out in the open, and it brings with it a bevy of specialized features and applications.

Motorola has really taken their slogan "Made for you, responds to you, designed by you" to heart.

The Moto X is replete with touchless control where voice command is king and saying "OK Google Now" will activate your phone to do practically anything, but only if it's already turned on.

Responsive to you and you alone, there is a three step training process to learn your voice. If you have a similar voice with your buddy, there's a chance the Moto X will get confused however, Motorola has spent a lot of time making sure this happens as little as possible.

Need to set an alarm? Ask your Moto X. Want to listen to music? Your X is apparently waiting patiently for you to tell it what to do.

Though voice command only works to first party apps however it won't open third-party apps like Spotify.

Vocal range still has yet to be confirmed, but the engineer of the Motorola's Rick Osterloh claims range is good as he was able to make a phone call with the device in his pocket.

• Here's a bit more about the Moto X's splashy new camera features.

A bit of good financial news for Sony: the company confounded expectations with its latest results, with smartphones leading the charge and a bucket of hope riding on the PS4.

Sony reported operating profit of $396.68m for April to June 2013 after analysts predicted a mere $256.4m for the quarter.

It's even better news when you look at the operating profit compared to this time last year - income is up by 30 billion yen - that's around $300m - after restructuring came into place and the global exchange rates swung in Sony's favour.

Xperiance

Sony says the big bucks are all thanks to the strong smartphone sales boosted by products like the Xperia Z on top of those thrilling favourable exchange rates.

Sony's mobile division saw a huge 36.2% uptick compared to last year and Sony notes the fact its phones sell for more than they used to has also helped.

Champagne corks might not be popping over at Sony HQ just yet though - the gaming division saw a bigger loss than in previous results, which Sony attributes to a drop in PS3, PSP and PS2 sales coupled with the cost of developing the PS4.

The PS4, of course, should further revitalise Sony's coffers when it launches in time for Christmas.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted Apple a new patent that indicates the tech giant may be developing a new camera for the iPhone and iPad that uses three separate sensors, each with their own lens.

The US patent No. 8,497,897 is for "Image capture using luminance and chrominance sensors" on mobile devices.

The system would use two chrominance sensors and one luminous sensor with a lens sitting in front, allowing the capture of three separate images that collect colour, light and other data.

The raw data can then be combined to create a higher quality composite image, which would be particularly handy for photos taken in low-light.

That camera effect

Though we probably won't be seeing the new camera tech in any upcoming iPhones this year, smartphone camera quality seems to be the new "go to" frontier for device dominance, what with Nokia claiming that its Lumia 1020 is "the first smartphone to put the camera first" and Samsung releasing the Galaxy S4 Zoom.

The focus on cameras in smartphones has been around for ages, only increasing because of apps like Instagram, Snapchat and Vine, so this new patent could be a boom for Apple as it faces dropping market share.

But while the USPTO granted this camera patent to Apple, it also invalidated Apple's "pinch-to-zoom" patent earlier this week, which could cause more troubles for the tech giant in its court cases against Samsung.

Via: AppleInsider