Android market is increasing everyday but where it lags is the low end market where most customers prefer windows phone or a Nokia device but now we have the priced for all and made to last Moto E with extremely low price retailing at $129 off contract or 7K INR!
So let's find out whether this phone is the best low end smartphone in the market right now or not in my full review here.
DESIGN AND BUILD.
Moto G is an exceptional phone with a great build that fits right in your palm and surprisingly the Moto E comes with the same build and design that feels and fits great!
It feels robust, with very little flex in the body apart from when pressing very hard on the screen, which bends slightly. That solid build makes the phone relatively heavy at 142g, and noticeably heavier than the Nokia Lumia 520 or some other super-budget smartphones.
The Moto E is also very thick which could be a great feature for some and for some it is just cheap! It comes with a matt plastic back with a curved design that is as I said before is perfect.
The design and build is overall is great and doesn't feel cheap either.
DISPLAY.
The display as you would expect is not that great as its sibling Moto G and reflects the price of the phone from all angles.
The display is not bad at all, considering the price and the competition including the Nokia X or the lumia 520, the display is really good.
Moto E rocks a 4.3-inches 540 x 960 pixels (~256 ppi pixel density) display which is adequate for regular usage.
Despite being low resolution, the screen is very good. It is bright, with decent viewing angles and good colour saturation – a cut above most of its competition, including the Nokia Lumia 520. In general use the screen is crisp enough for viewing most text. It is only when you start to look at smaller text on desktop web pages that it becomes hard to read compared to higher resolution phones like the Moto G.
Gorilla Glass covers the Moto E’s screen, making it scratch resistant, while a P2i nano waterproof coating on both the inside and outside of the phone makes it water repellent and splash proof.
Bottom line is that the display is decent enough and can be lived with!
HARDWARE.
When it comes to connectivity options, Moto E comes with 3G, Bluetooth v4.0 and WiFi Hotspot!
Device comes with 4GB of internal storage of which only 2GB is user available but not to worry because this time Motorola added Micro SD card support so that you can increase your storage up to 32GB.
The speakers on the Moto E are on the front, they are the same as the Moto G in quality and loudness but having them on the front boosts the experience a lot!
Now when we talk about the battery, Moto E runs on a 1980mAh non removable (the back is removable so that you could swap different back covers! ) battery that is great!
It can give you a solid full day on heavy usage and a period of two days on moderate usage which is I think one of the finest android battery out there.
SOFTWARE.
Software is I think the most important part when it comes to low end android devices but this phone completely fills that void.
Moto E comes with Android 4.4.2 with near stock android experience which is extremely smooth given the low specs!
Closing and opening of applications cannot be comparable to a higher end phone but it is not that slow and is fast enough to give you a lag free life.
Motorola has added a few bespoke apps, including Motorola Migrate, which helps you transition to the Moto E from other Android smartphones, pulling contacts, call history and text messages, photos and videos wirelessly to your new phone.
Motorola Assist is another useful app that plugs into your calendar, automatically silencing your phone when in meetings or at night, with favourites lists that allow phone calls through if the caller calls twice in quick succession.
Finally, Motorola Alert is worth mentioning as it acts as a panic button, automatically calling emergency contacts or the emergency services, as well as sounding an alarm. The app can send your location to a friend or family member, and send short bursts of pre-defined text like “I’m in danger! I need your help."
Software is I think the only place where there is no flaw and is perfect.
PERFORMANCE.
Performance is the category where I think you are concerned the most because of the low specs and you should be as this is not the fastest or the near fastest phone out there.
A Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 1.2GHz dual-core processor makes the Moto E relatively fast and responsive, while 1GB of RAM – typically twice what is available in other smartphone costing around this device allows every app to run without running into memory issues.
When it comes to gaming performance, Moto E is capable of running almost all the games excluding the graphically intensive games like MC4 or Fifa 14.
You can run Asphalt 8 on low graphics else it will drop frame rates at some point.
Performance is overall great and this is the best android performance you can get in this price range.
CAMERA, DROP YOUR HOPES!
It’s a 5-megapixel camera, but it lacks auto-focus, which means that objects in the foreground can appear out of focus if too close. The photos it captures are weak, often lacking colour and detail – not a replacement for a point-and-shoot camera like most more expensive smartphones.
It also lacks a flash, while video capture is limited to standard definition. There is also no front-facing camera, which means selfies and video calling are out, but that is probably not a problem for the target market as the competition lags here too like the Nokia X or the lumia 520.
Camera is capable of giving you some great shots in enough lighting but in low light, it completely fails!
Camera is the part where the Moto E falls apart completely.
If you are a photo addict, this is not for you!
I would still give a pass to Moto E here because of its price.
Take a look at some snaps taken from the Moto E.
TO SUM UP...
Moto E is the best android phone in its category with a lag free experience that misses from every android device in its category.
If you want a android phone with capabilities of running almost all apps and can live with a poor camera, this is for you else increase your budget and opt for the Moto G!
I would soon post comparisons of this phone with Nokia X, Nokia lumia 520 and Moto G, so stay tuned for that!
ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU FOR READING, IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE SUGGESTIONS OR QUESTIONS ON THIS ARTICLE , COMMENTS ARE ALWAYS WELCOMED OR YOU CONNECT ME ON TWITTER@phonesoldier or Facebook!
DO MAKE SURE TO HIT THAT SHARE BUTTON IF YOU LIKED READING IT!
So let's find out whether this phone is the best low end smartphone in the market right now or not in my full review here.
DESIGN AND BUILD.
Moto G is an exceptional phone with a great build that fits right in your palm and surprisingly the Moto E comes with the same build and design that feels and fits great!
It feels robust, with very little flex in the body apart from when pressing very hard on the screen, which bends slightly. That solid build makes the phone relatively heavy at 142g, and noticeably heavier than the Nokia Lumia 520 or some other super-budget smartphones.
The Moto E is also very thick which could be a great feature for some and for some it is just cheap! It comes with a matt plastic back with a curved design that is as I said before is perfect.The design and build is overall is great and doesn't feel cheap either.
DISPLAY.
The display as you would expect is not that great as its sibling Moto G and reflects the price of the phone from all angles.
The display is not bad at all, considering the price and the competition including the Nokia X or the lumia 520, the display is really good.
Moto E rocks a 4.3-inches 540 x 960 pixels (~256 ppi pixel density) display which is adequate for regular usage.
Despite being low resolution, the screen is very good. It is bright, with decent viewing angles and good colour saturation – a cut above most of its competition, including the Nokia Lumia 520. In general use the screen is crisp enough for viewing most text. It is only when you start to look at smaller text on desktop web pages that it becomes hard to read compared to higher resolution phones like the Moto G.Gorilla Glass covers the Moto E’s screen, making it scratch resistant, while a P2i nano waterproof coating on both the inside and outside of the phone makes it water repellent and splash proof.
Bottom line is that the display is decent enough and can be lived with!
HARDWARE.
When it comes to connectivity options, Moto E comes with 3G, Bluetooth v4.0 and WiFi Hotspot!
Device comes with 4GB of internal storage of which only 2GB is user available but not to worry because this time Motorola added Micro SD card support so that you can increase your storage up to 32GB.
The speakers on the Moto E are on the front, they are the same as the Moto G in quality and loudness but having them on the front boosts the experience a lot!
Now when we talk about the battery, Moto E runs on a 1980mAh non removable (the back is removable so that you could swap different back covers! ) battery that is great! It can give you a solid full day on heavy usage and a period of two days on moderate usage which is I think one of the finest android battery out there.
SOFTWARE.
Software is I think the most important part when it comes to low end android devices but this phone completely fills that void.
Moto E comes with Android 4.4.2 with near stock android experience which is extremely smooth given the low specs!
Closing and opening of applications cannot be comparable to a higher end phone but it is not that slow and is fast enough to give you a lag free life.
Motorola has added a few bespoke apps, including Motorola Migrate, which helps you transition to the Moto E from other Android smartphones, pulling contacts, call history and text messages, photos and videos wirelessly to your new phone.
Motorola Assist is another useful app that plugs into your calendar, automatically silencing your phone when in meetings or at night, with favourites lists that allow phone calls through if the caller calls twice in quick succession.
Finally, Motorola Alert is worth mentioning as it acts as a panic button, automatically calling emergency contacts or the emergency services, as well as sounding an alarm. The app can send your location to a friend or family member, and send short bursts of pre-defined text like “I’m in danger! I need your help."Software is I think the only place where there is no flaw and is perfect.
PERFORMANCE.
Performance is the category where I think you are concerned the most because of the low specs and you should be as this is not the fastest or the near fastest phone out there.
A Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 1.2GHz dual-core processor makes the Moto E relatively fast and responsive, while 1GB of RAM – typically twice what is available in other smartphone costing around this device allows every app to run without running into memory issues.
When it comes to gaming performance, Moto E is capable of running almost all the games excluding the graphically intensive games like MC4 or Fifa 14.
You can run Asphalt 8 on low graphics else it will drop frame rates at some point.
Performance is overall great and this is the best android performance you can get in this price range.
CAMERA, DROP YOUR HOPES!
It’s a 5-megapixel camera, but it lacks auto-focus, which means that objects in the foreground can appear out of focus if too close. The photos it captures are weak, often lacking colour and detail – not a replacement for a point-and-shoot camera like most more expensive smartphones.It also lacks a flash, while video capture is limited to standard definition. There is also no front-facing camera, which means selfies and video calling are out, but that is probably not a problem for the target market as the competition lags here too like the Nokia X or the lumia 520.
Camera is capable of giving you some great shots in enough lighting but in low light, it completely fails!
Camera is the part where the Moto E falls apart completely.
If you are a photo addict, this is not for you!
I would still give a pass to Moto E here because of its price.
Take a look at some snaps taken from the Moto E.
 |
| Because of the fixed focus, forget about taking close ups! |
 |
| Outdoors however, the camera performs decent! |
TO SUM UP...
Moto E is the best android phone in its category with a lag free experience that misses from every android device in its category.
If you want a android phone with capabilities of running almost all apps and can live with a poor camera, this is for you else increase your budget and opt for the Moto G!
I would soon post comparisons of this phone with Nokia X, Nokia lumia 520 and Moto G, so stay tuned for that!
ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU FOR READING, IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE SUGGESTIONS OR QUESTIONS ON THIS ARTICLE , COMMENTS ARE ALWAYS WELCOMED OR YOU CONNECT ME ON TWITTER@phonesoldier or Facebook!
DO MAKE SURE TO HIT THAT SHARE BUTTON IF YOU LIKED READING IT!
