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Moto Skip unlocks the Moto X with a single tap

A new Motorola accessory promises to do away with your PIN, as you just tap it to unlock your phone.

Joe Svetlik Reporter
Joe has been writing about consumer tech for nearly seven years now, but his liking for all things shiny goes back to the Gameboy he received aged eight (and that he still plays on at family gatherings, much to the annoyance of his parents). His pride and joy is an Infocus projector, whose 80-inch picture elevates movie nights to a whole new level.
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Joe Svetlik
2 min read
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I know the Moto X won't ever reach us on these shores, but here's an intriguing accessory for it nonetheless. It's called the Skip, and lets you unlock your phone with a single tap.

Here's how it works: it has embedded NFC tags that can be read by the Moto X handset. In those tags are unique numbers used to verify pairing of your phone -- a password, in other words. Tap it on the phone, and it'll unlock, doing away with the need to enter a password ever again. Very clever.

You can wear the Skip too, as it clips on your belt so you'll never leave it at home. And if you do, you can always go back to the old-fashioned way and enter your four-digit PIN or pattern of dots.

You can buy the Skip from the Moto X website for $20 (£13), though it's nowhere to be found in the accessories section at time of writing. Motorola also says for a limited time you'll get a free Skip when you order a custom Moto X through Moto Maker -- the company's website that lets you personalise your phone.

Setting it up is simple. Make sure your NFC is enabled, and tap your Skip on the back of your phone to begin. Enter your PIN, and that's it. From then on, just tap it to unlock your phone.

You can pair multiple Skips with your handset, and give them different names.

Of course there is the rather massive flaw that if someone gets hold of your Moto X and your Skip, they can access your phone without having to figure out your PIN. But it's still an interesting idea. And it's rare we see a mobile accessory that tries something new.

It could also come bundled with future Motorola phones that do make it across the pond. Like the next Nexus smart phone that Motorola is rumoured to be working on, for example.

What do you think of the Skip? Genuine innovation, or bit of a novelty? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook page.