Most smartphones buyers this holiday season will be asking one question: "Should I get the new iPhone or something else?" Granted, Apple's recently announced iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are bound to be winners in anyone's hands, but there's another, cheaper option that has the technosphere excited: the new Motorola Moto X.

Before we get into the customization options and bells and whistles, it's important to note that the 2014 Moto X is finally the flagship phone Motorola needs, building on its predecessor in almost every way.

The second-generation Moto X features a crisp 5.2-inch AMOLED display with a 1920 X 1080 resolution pushing out 424 pixels per inch. For those interested, that means full 1080p HD. Powering the phone is a 2.46GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and a 2,300mAh battery. Storage options include 16GB and 32GB and the phone also comes with a nifty 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2-megapixel front shooter for those selfies. Buyers can also expect Android 4.4.4 KitKat pre-installed.

All of this adds up to an impressive smartphone at an even more impressive price: $99 with a two-year contract or $499 unlocked. AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and U.S. Cellular have confirmed that they will offer the Moto X, and while T-Mobile hasn't said anything yet, there's little doubt the nation's fourth-largest carrier will join in.

Official release dates have yet to leak out, but expect the Moto X to be available for purchase in the United States before the end of September.

Interested buyers will be happy to know that they can customize their Moto X through Motorola's MotoMaker.com. So far only AT&T and Verizon are said to be on board with MotoMaker, but expect the other carriers to join in soon too.

The design this time around gives the Moto X a premium feel that the original lacked. The bezels have been reduced to give the display a larger feel and the glass cover connects to a solid aluminum rim. The back will depend on the buyer's preference, but overall the Moto X finally feels closer to premium handsets like HTC's One M8.

Of course, there's a ton of other features that make the Moto X worth looking at. There's an active display that displays the time even when it's asleep, touchless controls, the ability to turbo charge 8 hours of juice in just 15 minutes, and the promise of quick Android updates thanks to the near-vanilla version of Android the phone runs.

Overall, the Moto X seems to be a phone that can offer a nice midpoint between top-tier handsets like the Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 4, and HTC One M8 and a budget.