Motorola's back, and it's kicking off its global smartphone revival
with the keenly priced Moto G handset. A mid-range handset with a
low-end price tag and Android KitKat - okay Moto, I'm listening.
First
things first then, the Motorola Moto G price. You can pick the handset
up in two storage sizes - 8GB and 16GB. The former will set you back
just £135/$175 (around AU$190), while the larger size is still a very
palatable £159/$199 (around AU$215).
And here's some more good
news: both Vodafone and Tesco Mobile in the UK have got the phone on
offer, coming at £100 (with a £10 top up) for the former, and £110 from
the latter - man, that's cheap for what you're getting.
So where does this place the Moto G in the market? Well at that price it has the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Fame, Nokia Lumia 520 and LG Optimus L3 2 for company, but dive into the spec list and you'll note the Moto G wipes the floor with them.
In terms of design the Moto G takes most of its cues from the firm's first, post-Google takeover handset, the Moto X.
It's
hardly groundbreaking in terms of looks, but the soft, curved edges of
the Moto G make it relatively attractive and the swath of plastic feels
solid and well built.
Weighing in at 143g the Moto G has a
pleasing, well balanced presence in the hand without being overbearing,
and while it may measure 11.6mm thick in the middle the tapered edges
make it feel thinner than it is.
Couple that with a rubberised
rear plate which slightly hugs the side of the handset too, and the Moto
G fits comfortably in the palm, providing a decent level of grip.
The
Moto G features a water repellent coating which means you'll be able to
whip it out in the rain without fear of a short circuit, but it is not
waterproof - so no jumping in the pool with it.
You
can even take the rear cover off and swap it for a different color,
which Motorola is pushing as a big customizable feature of the phone. In
reality however it just reminds me of my Nokia 3310.
Sure,
changing covers is fun for all of five minutes, but the novelty soon
wears off. Not to mention the back cover is also pretty tricky to remove
- you need to really dig your nails in at the base of the handset to
get it free.
In
fact, so much strength needs to be employed to free the cover from the
Moto G I feared on more than one occasion that the thin plastic would
snap - thankfully it never did.
Motorola did make a point that the
younger generation like the ability to "customize" their handsets and
this particular feature, along with the rock bottom price, reinforces
the Moto G's credentials as a handset which may land in the laps of many
teenagers.
The
left side of the Moto G is devoid of any features, while the top of the
handset only sports a centralized headphone jack. Both the power/lock
key and volume rocker switch are located on the right of the G and these
are easy to reach and responsive to the press.
On the base is a
microUSB port, while under the removable cover is a microSIM port - but
no microSD slot. That means if you want to expand the onboard storage
you'll have to take to the cloud.
The
2070mAh non-removable battery housed inside the Moto G is claimed to
give you all day battery life, and I put that to the test - skip ahead
to the battery life and connectivity section to see how it got on.
The
Moto G comes with a 4.5-inch, 1280 x 720 display and boasts a 329ppi
pixel density. To put that in some perspective that's a bigger, higher
resolution and more defined display than the iPhone 5S - not bad for a handset which is a third of the price.
Of
course a HD display isn't the only key factor in a smartphone, but
Motorola has managed to equip the Moto G with a 1.2GHz quad-core
Snapdragon 400 processor and 1GB of RAM.
In terms of specs then the Moto G is actually giving the HTC One Mini, Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini and Nokia Lumia 820
a run for their mid-range, dual-core money - and once again the screen
is bigger than these rivals. The Motorola handset even beats the Samsung
and Nokia when it comes to resolution.
The camera on the rear of the Moto G is only 5MP and this is trumped by the S4 Mini and Lumia 820 and their 8MP snappers.
All
in all the Moto G finds itself in no-mans land, with a complete
disconnect between its price and spec list. This, of course, isn't a bad
thing and on paper it offers outstanding value for money.
The proof however, is in the pudding, so let's see how the Moto G got on in real life.
Interface
The Motorola Moto G is one of the first handsets to be updated to Google's latest software - Android 4.4.2 KitKat - thanks to the manufacturer now being owned by the search giant.
With
a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM at its heart, the Moto G is
more than well equipped enough to run KitKat which is the smoothest
version of Android to date.
Android purists will be pleased to
learn that the Moto G is running the stock version of KitKat, with
Motorola opting against applying an overlay - claiming instead that it's
focused on things which add real benefit to users.
These "benefits" include a faster boot up time and improved audio, data management, web speeds and general navigation.
I found that the Moto G did boot up impressively quickly, but Motorola's claims that it performs various tasks quicker than the Samsung Galaxy S4 still seem a little far fetched to me.
Sure
the interface is smooth - impressively so in fact when you consider the
price - but I can't say that it noticeably out performs, or even
matches the various flagships I've had the pleasure of using.
General operation is fluid and while it may not be as lightening quick
as the top end handsets, the quad-core chip is doing a good job under
the hood and I had no issues with lag.
You
get five homescreens - no more, no less (there's no way to add or
remove) - and the familiar Android set up with a selection of widgets
available in the tabbed app drawer for you to choose from.
Drag
and drop an app onto another on any homescreen and the Moto G will
automatically create a folder with both applications inside, allowing
you to easily organize and manage your favorite apps.
The pull
down notification bar at the top of the Moto G's display offers up a
feast of information from recent calls, new emails and text messages to
Google Now prompts, app updates and third party notifications.
Glide
a finger over certain notifications, such as a new email alert, and it
will expand allowing you to see a longer overview of the message.
Slide
you finger up from the home key at the base of the screen and you'll
launch Google Now, Android's own digital personal assistant and Siri
rival.
Google
Now offers up relevant information in a series of cards, and by
tracking your movement, messages and emails it can tailor these cards to
suit your needs.
You can get information such as the weather,
meeting reminders and details on the journey home here. It's still
relatively hit and miss and there are far fewer features enabled for
those outside of the US, but Google is constantly working on Now and
it's slowly becoming more relevant.
Tap the multi-tasking key in
the bottom navigation bar and you'll be greeted with the familiar stack
of thumbnails showing the apps which are currently running.
This
is testament to the quad-core processor inside the Moto G, as the
handset can comfortably handle multiple apps at the same time and you're
able to switch between them very quickly.
Basic applications
opened promptly, but I did notice some lag with some of the more
demanding games, such as Stick Cricket and Stick Tennis.
When
these were tapped the Moto G took a couple of seconds to load up the
application. It's not a huge issue and game play is still smooth once
you're past the initial load, but it just hints at a potentially small
flaw in the low 1.2GHz clock speed of the quad-core chip.
Everything
looks bright, crisp and clear on the 4.5-inch display and while the
Moto G doesn't match up to the full HD offerings you get on the flagship
phones, for a handset with such a low price you'll be more than happy
and it puts the competition to shame.
There's a thin bezel down
each side of the screen, but it's not the slimmest I've seen and I
reckon Motorola is pushing its luck a little calling it an "edge-to-edge
display."
Sure it doesn't feel like there's any unnecessary
plastic padding around the screen, but it's not a close cut as on other
handsets - the LG G2 springs to mind immediately as a handset with a slimmer bezel.
The screen is also very responsive to the touch which makes moving around the Moto G a stress-free experience.
Contacts
As I've mentioned the Motorola Moto G is running pretty much stock Android, so there are no surprises in the People app.
Contacts
are displayed in the standard, alphabetical list format with pictures
of your chums to the left - that is if the Moto G can pull them through
from your Google contacts and their Google+ pages.
A
lot of my contacts ended up faceless for the simple fact that they
aren't on Google+ and there's no way of linking your buddies up with
their Facebook or Twitter profiles - Whatsapp integration is available
however.
Why? Well it's because Google had a bit of a falling out
with some of the main social media players and the join contact
integration we see on the likes of Samsung, HTC and even Huawei devices
are all the doing of the manufacturers themselves tinkering with the OS.
It's
not a huge issue, it just means your contact list doesn't look quite as
pretty, but it's something I feel Motorola could have included as part
of its added benefits for the user - never mind, you can't win them all.
What
all this means is that your contact cards a relatively bland - there's
all the vital information - numbers, emails and the sort - but don't
expect any thrills. It's cheap, cheerful and user friendly.
As
well as your main contact list the People app offers two further tabs at
the top of the screen - groups and favorites. Nothing out of the
ordinary here, but it makes it easier to find the people you contact
most often.
Adding a new contact is easy - just tap the central
icon in the bar below your contact list and you'll be transported to the
data entry screen where you can fill in all manner of details about
your new found friend.
Calling
The Phone app is where
you'll be heading if you need to make a call, and as default you'll find
it in the app dock on the homescreen of the Motorola Moto G - although
you can move it out of here if you prefer.
Fire it up and you'll be taken to the phone overview tab which a new feature in Android KitKat. Here you'll see your more recent calls, most called contacts and your stared buddies for easy call-back ability.
Hit
the dial pad icon at the base of the screen, start tapping out a number
and you'll notice that smart dialing is enabled, with the Moto G
offering up various contact suggestions relating to the numbers you've
entered.
If you want to call someone you've spoken to recently tap
the clock icon at the top of the screen and you'll get to the call
list. Press the phone icon to the right of a contact and the Moto G will
start calling them.
Call quality is acceptable, although it was
far from crystal clear and the Moto G could do with the addition of HD
voice to improve the clarity of voice chat.
That said I was still
able to hear and understand the person on the other end of the line, and
vice versa, so for a budget handset the Moto G doesn't perform badly.
I
found the Moto G was able to keep hold of signal well, even in areas of
poor reception and I didn't witness any dropped calls during the review
period.
The Motorola Moto G offers up the usual array of messaging
capabilities, but thanks to the inclusion of Android 4.4.2 (and Android
4.3 before it) you get not one, but two text messaging clients.
There's
the stock Messaging application which will be familiar to anyone who
has used an Android phone in the past. It's a minimalist, intuitive
interface with a list of all your message streams and options at the
base of the display to create a new SMS, search your current messages
and a basic menu.
Profile pictures are pulled through from contact
cards which makes the app look a little better - although the lack of
Facebook and Twitter integration means you'll still end up with a lot of
blank tiles.
This is all very well and good, but Google is
looking consolidate messaging apps by bringing together SMS and what was
known as Google Talk into the Hangouts application.
In terms of
text messages Hangouts works in a very similar way to the standard
Messaging app, albeit with a slightly different look. But mixed up in
your text messages are also instant messaging streams, allowing you to
talk to more people from a single app.
Talking of things coming in
twos, you're also treated to two email clients on the Moto G, with the
Gmail app living alongside the standard Email offering.
If
you only deal with Google's email setup then you can completely
disregard the stock Email app and focus all your efforts on the
intuitive Gmail client.
From here you can manage multiple
Googlemail accounts, with an attractive and colorful interface making it
a seamless and pleasing experience.
Those of you with other
accounts outside of the search giant's remit will have to go to the
stock Email app where you'll be able to sign in to all manner of
addresses - you can even stick your Gmail accounts in here.
There's
a unified inbox on offer, allowing you to see all your messages in one
place, but you can also filter by account if things start to get a
little confusing.
HTML emails load in a fully zoomed out view in
both apps, allowing you to easily navigate to the area you want without a
lot of frantic scrolling.
The Moto G looks set up for the younger
generation with its low price and interchangeable covers, so I was a
little puzzled when I found Motorola hadn't pre-installed the likes of
Facebook and Twitter.
It's
not a huge issue, as a quick trip to Google Play quickly resolves this,
but it is a little frustrating. Although with Google breathing down its
neck, perhaps these pre-installs were out of the question for the Moto
G.
In terms of an input method you get the stock Android keyboard,
which is a serviceable offering with word prediction and auto-correct,
although I'd still recommend downloading a third party option such as
SwiftKey if you're planning on doing a lot of typing.
The
responsive 4.5-inch touchscreen aids typing speed, and provides enough
space to ensure the keys are not cramped. Rotating the Motorola Moto G
90 degrees will see the keyboard adjust to the landscape view, giving
you larger keys.
Chrome is the default browser on the Motorola Moto G, which isn't a
huge surprise, and I found that on a strong Wi-Fi connection web pages
loaded up in good time.
The desktop version of TechRadar managed
to render in an impressive five seconds, while the mobile site took just
a couple of seconds.
There's no 4G
connectivity on the Moto G, so you'll have to settle for 3G data
speeds, but even so it was able to load mobile sites in around three
seconds, while desktop offerings took less than 10.
The Moto G
comfortably outperforms its price bracket when it comes to surfing the
web, and the 4.5-inch display means there's plenty of space to play
with.
Text is crisp and clear and images are well defined on the
1280 x 720 display, which gives the impression you're using a smartphone
which is twice the price of the Moto G.
Double tapping on a
paragraph of text will see the Moto G zoom in to fit the width of the
text to the screen, and thanks to the 4.5-inch display you can read it
relatively easily.
If you find that the text is still a little
small you can zoom in further, but there's no auto text reflow
available, which means you'll be scrolling sideways as well as down.
Sadly
there's no reader mode on offer here and that's probably the one
negative mark against Chrome, as along with the lack of text reflow it
makes reading long articles a little frustrating.
Chrome
supports tabbed browsing and you can view the number of open tabs at
the top of the page next to the URL bar and quickly jump between them by
tapping the icon.
This gives you a thumbnail view of each tab,
displayed in a series of scrollable cards. The Moto G has no trouble
running multiple tabs at the same time.
You can also open up
incognito tabs which don't track your surfing history, meaning you can
visits all those special sites without a trail for your partner to find
at a later date.
A handy feature within Chrome is the ability to
sign into your Google account and have all your bookmarks, and even
opened tabs, pulled through from your desktop and vice versa.
Bookmarks can be accessed from the Chrome menu and appear as app icons on the screen for easy perusal.
While many of the specs on the Moto G have exceeded its price, the
camera is an area where Motorola has clearly tried to save some money.
On the rear of the handset you'll find a 5MP camera and single LED flash, while on the front you get a 1.3MP snapper.
Motorola
has done some work in the camera app on the Moto G, providing a
minimalist interface which sees all the settings hidden from view and
the whole screen made into a shutter key.
Now
I've bemoaned the use of the whole screen as the shutter on other
handsets, as the fiddly little app icons could be easily missed, leading
to me taking many unwanted snaps.
Luckily this issue has been
overcome on the Motorola Moto G, as the settings wheel is accessed by
sliding your finger from left to right over the display - not once did I
accidentally take a picture when trying to tweak options.
That might be partly due to the fact I rarely found myself accessing settings, because it's seriously slim pickings.
For
anyone looking to tinker with various modes, effects and advanced
settings such as brightness and white balance the Moto G is not the
cameraphone for you.
All you get are flash, HDR mode, shutter
sound and aspect ratio toggles along with a Panorama mode, the ability
to attach location information to your snaps and a rudimentary focus
& exposure control.
Shutter
speed is pretty swift, but if you fancy a burst mode just hold down on
the screen and the Moto G will snap away until you release your finger.
There's
a 4x digital zoom to boot which is controlled by sliding your finger up
and down the display - although picture quality takes a serious
battering, so it's best avoided.
The full screen trigger makes
snapping photos easy as you don't have to aim for a small shutter button
on screen, although once you see the results you may wish you never
bothered.
That
budget price tag really rings true here, and I found the majority of my
photos were a pixelated mess. The Motorola Moto G struggled to focus
properly and even with the focus & exposure setting turned on things
didn't improve.
The Moto G performed better close up, as it was
obvious what to focus on - but when looking at landscapes and situations
with a lot going on it just couldn't make up its mind.
It's a
real shame that the Moto G doesn't have even a slightly better camera
offering, but at its rock bottom price point a concession had to be made
somewhere, and this is it.
Up close it copes betterClick here for full resolution image While many of the specs on the Moto G have exceeded its price, the
camera is an area where Motorola has clearly tried to save some money.
On the rear of the handset you'll find a 5MP camera and single LED flash, while on the front you get a 1.3MP snapper.
Motorola
has done some work in the camera app on the Moto G, providing a
minimalist interface which sees all the settings hidden from view and
the whole screen made into a shutter key.
Now
I've bemoaned the use of the whole screen as the shutter on other
handsets, as the fiddly little app icons could be easily missed, leading
to me taking many unwanted snaps.
Luckily this issue has been
overcome on the Motorola Moto G, as the settings wheel is accessed by
sliding your finger from left to right over the display - not once did I
accidentally take a picture when trying to tweak options.
That might be partly due to the fact I rarely found myself accessing settings, because it's seriously slim pickings.
For
anyone looking to tinker with various modes, effects and advanced
settings such as brightness and white balance the Moto G is not the
cameraphone for you.
All you get are flash, HDR mode, shutter
sound and aspect ratio toggles along with a Panorama mode, the ability
to attach location information to your snaps and a rudimentary focus
& exposure control.
Shutter
speed is pretty swift, but if you fancy a burst mode just hold down on
the screen and the Moto G will snap away until you release your finger.
There's
a 4x digital zoom to boot which is controlled by sliding your finger up
and down the display - although picture quality takes a serious
battering, so it's best avoided.
The full screen trigger makes
snapping photos easy as you don't have to aim for a small shutter button
on screen, although once you see the results you may wish you never
bothered.
That
budget price tag really rings true here, and I found the majority of my
photos were a pixelated mess. The Motorola Moto G struggled to focus
properly and even with the focus & exposure setting turned on things
didn't improve.
The Moto G performed better close up, as it was
obvious what to focus on - but when looking at landscapes and situations
with a lot going on it just couldn't make up its mind.
It's a
real shame that the Moto G doesn't have even a slightly better camera
offering, but at its rock bottom price point a concession had to be made
somewhere, and this is it.
While many of the specs on the Moto G have exceeded its price, the
camera is an area where Motorola has clearly tried to save some money.
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