I handle my phone in a ruthless fashion. Right from the day I bought my Galaxy SII till today, the “settings” icon of my android phone has been the most accessed icon. I try to extract every ounce of computing power available in the phone and in doing so, I’ve become a fan of flashing and installing customised ROM. My phone is about 2 years old and provided I get proper updates, I feel it will be good for one/one and a half year more. The next phone I buy may not be the flagship at that time but will surely be a top end one, probably something like the Oneplus One.
Not so with my wife. She uses it for all the basic needs like calls, messaging and light entertainment and such stuff. So pouring a good amount of money into mobile purchase is not an idea she likes. But whatever you do, your mobile is a hardware which after some time, and constant mishandling(read throwing on the ground in an attempt to break it in to pieces) by our two year old kids, stops working the way it should. That’s what happened with my wife’s phone about a week back. Luckily the big billion day was around the corner and this auspicious day(an auspicious day for e-buyers) I bought a Motorola Moto E for my wife. On a regular selling price of 6999 rs I got a discount of 1500 rs so the final price on that way came out to be 5499 rs. Received the delivery of the phone two days back even with the huge amount of orders that flipkart had with them, so this was a commendable job. Keep it up.
Anyway the point is, I have the Moto E in my hand and here’s the review.
Unboxing
The Moto E comes in minimalistic packing.
Upon opening up the box, the Moto E glares at you right away.
The box contains a Moto E handset with battery built in(no user replaceable battery), a charging kit, a hands free kit and the necessary startup leaflets. Gone are the days of the software cd and bulky booklets. An unsurprising omission is that of a data cable since at this price point, it would be hard to squeeze in.
The backside
For inserting the Micro SIM cards and Micro SD card, you need to pull off the back plate by prying in your fingernail at the charging port. Motorola warns against using tools as it might damage internal components. Motorola also instructs to use more force without hesitation. The trick is to use index finger nail for opening up the cover while using the thumb to press the Motorola logo on the cover.
Upon removing the cover, you will find the two SIM slots and a micro sd slot one below the other on the right side. Also notice that the battery is enclosed inside the casing.
Around the Phone
On the top the phone has a standard 3.5 mm hands free pin port and a pin hole for secondary mic. On the right it has the power/lock button and the volume rocker. At the bottom it has a micro usb port for charging and data transfer. The front face has two metallic strips, one on top and another on bottom which are for the speaker and the mic. No other physical buttons all around. The camera is housed on the back, centered, without a flash.
Specifications
The important specifications are as below:
CPU : Dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 on Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 with Adreno 302(decent enough)
RAM : 1 GB
Internal Memory : 4 GB(2 GB available for user, supports 32 GB expandable memory)
SIM : Dual SIM dual standby
Camera : 5MP primary(no secondary)
OS : Android 4.4.2 upgradable to 4.4.4(upgrade already seeding)
Screen : Corning Gorilla Glass 3, 4.3”, 540 X 960 pixels
Detailed specifications at gsmarena
Usability
This phone is targeted towards beginners to the android world. Hence the price has to be kept below a certain value. The result will never be a feather light phone. But the weight gives a feel of sturdiness to the phone. My current phone is almost similar to Moto E in terms of processing hardware so I am happy that such is available for 1/5th of the price of my phone.
The phone once started, guides you through a setup wizard to get you ready. The user interface is minimalistic, hinting at a pure android experience apart from the standard motorola addons like the Moto migrate which is a boon if you want to transfer your old phone to any moto phone.
The device interface feels smoother. All the necessary google apps are inbuilt.Login with your google ID and you are good to go.
Competitors
Karbonn Sparkle V, Micromax Canvas A1, Spice UNO. These phones are google initiative to promote android to the Indian masses while helping local brands create a brand image. Though these manufacturers are well known in India, Micromax is the only company to have made a breakthrough in gaining confidence of the Indian massed.
Final Say
At this price point the phone is a good starting point for android beginners.
Buy Moto E here