The year 2013 has seen a lot of focus on the customization of smartphones specifically around the colour of the smartphone. Some people would say that the Motorola Moto X is leading the customization race.

However, other smartphone manufacturers are not too far behind. Samsung has traditionally preferred to use plastic for the body of its smartphone and providing its phones in different colours will not be difficult, it currently offers different colours on its devices as accessories.

Apple iPhone 5C's Design Chic

Apple traditionally preferred a metallic body but with the new rumoured iPhone 5C, it seems to have jumped on to the plastic band wagon.

The iPhone 5C is rumoured to come in five colours - white, black, pink, yellow, blue and green. According to some analysts the colour offerings could attract the younger population that yearns for trendy bright colours on their devices. The switch to a plastic material allows Apple to make this possible. The other advantage of a plastic body is that it is relatively inexpensive to the other metallic bodies. The iPhone 5C however is expected to be a mid range phone.

According to some analysts the best smartphone for customization is the Motorola Moto X. The company has set up a separate web page for customers to go online and choose the customization features they prefer.

Motorola's Hues

The colours have been categorised into "cool," "Neutral" and "warm." Spearmint green, royal blue and olive are some of the colours that come under the cool colours. Black, white and grey et al, are in the neutral category. Lemon yellow, cherry red and violet come under the warm colours. The various colours are for the back panel of the phone and the front panel comes in either white or black.

The wide range of customization is done by Motorola at its plant in Texas; therefore the availability of the customization in the international market is difficult. The U.S and perhaps the Europe market can avail the customization.

With the custom colours offered by Apple, international markets can look forward to the iPhone 5C. According to some analysts, if the market responds favourably to the multi coloured plastic body of the new device from Apple; this could set the trend for providing customized colours the way Motorola is doing with the Moto X.

Will 2013 be known for the customization offered by the smartphone manufacturers? A lot would perhaps depend on the success of the new iPhone launching on Sept 10.