Hello folks,
This is my second review - first written 4 years back. Device going under scanner of review is Moto E from Motorala - a Google company. I ordered this one from Flipkart, for my mom, to replace Samsung Galax Ace. As almost everybody knows it, it costed me ₹ 6,999/-
To begin with, following are key specs for reference:
CPU: Dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 200)
Memory: 1GB RAM
Internal Memory: 4GB with microSD card slot
OS: Android KitKat 4.4.2 with one more update guaranteed
Camera: 5MP (2592*1944 pixels)
Display: Capacitive LCD 4.3” screen with resolution of 540*960 (256 ppi)
Unboxing:
Moto E comes in a very compact box, with box just big enough to hold the phone.
On opening up you will be graced with the phone in front with a screen protector cover with Motorola logo. At first sight this does not look like a phone costing ₹ 7,000. It definitely is gorgeous.
Beneath phone, box contains a charger and a headset - USB cable is not present in the package but at tight budget offering it can be excused.
From various angles:
Front of the phone is absolutely stunning. It has quite big bezel at bottom - feel space is wasted. At the back we have a 5MP snapper and Motorola ‘M’ logo. The camera is bit deeper than the rest of back which protects it from scratches. The overall texture at back is good and kind off matte in nature which provides good grip.
Sides
Left side of the phone does not have anything.
Right side features power button and volume up-down keys. The keys are bit hard to press at first. Hopefully one should be able to get used to it after using it for some time.
Top of the phone has a 3.5mm jack and mic.
MicroUSB port is located at the bottom of the phone.
On removing the back cover, I could see a non-removable battery, two SIM slots and microSD card slot. Non-remove-ability of battery is done by a plastic sheet spanning from top to bottom of battery.
Over all the build quality of the phone is very good and phone feels sturdy. Though it is weighing 140gm and 12.3mm thick it is nice to hold in hands and fits in palm perfectly thanks to curved shape.
Starting up:
On powering it on we are presented with a boot-animation. After the boot animation is over next is welcome screen greeting us.
After usual rituals of setting up phone, we are now at main screen. The display looks sharp and colors are good. The general stock moving around did not display any noticeable shutter or lag though the CPU powering the device is no big-shot-fancy-stuff. Also opening time for apps is good and satisfactory. The phone comes pre-installed with many Google apps including Chrome browser, presenting and ensuring a complete Google experience. Internal storage space is 4GB however only 2.16GB is available for user.
General Operations and Android 4.4.2 UI
The phone has near stock version of Android 4.4.2 There are no bloatwares included which could slow down the phone. There are some nifty apps already included such as Motoroal Migrate which facilitates migration. There is also app named Assist. Notification area is usual one for Android KitKat.
Running Benchmarks:
For bench-marking this phone I have used popular apps;
Benchmark Pi
This is good old school benchmark app which generally measures per core performance of the device under test. Moto E managed to score 462 milliseconds.
Next benchmark used is Linpack for measuring multi-threaded performance. Moto E scored a handsome 145.65 MFLOPS.
For overall bench-marking I have used AnTuTu Benchmark. Apart from benchmarks AnTuTu app reveals good amount of information of device.
All the specs, from CPU to Display to OS, are well verified in the information provided by AnTuTu.
On running the benchmark, AnTuTu gave score of 12,800 which according to it is ‘Good’. Digging in to details of the benchmark, AnTuTu terms CPU as ‘Poor’ stating that can not run large apps smoothly. RAM and 2D graphics were termed ‘General’. However 3D graphics were termed as‘Good’ stating ‘fluently supports most games’.
Multimedia - Camera, Radio, Music, Video playback and Gaming:
Camera
The snapper we have with this device is 5MP one. Camera UI is in following pic.
Though it is touted as being a average one, for device at this range we can not ask for more. Camera is snappy and takes photos quite quickly. Image quality is not ultimate but does not suck completely too. Sharpness in pic is not that great.
However in low light or non-natural light photography, snapper is not able to stretch to limits at par. Below image confirms same with colors looking washed out and bit dull.
Link to full resolution images: https://imgur.com/a/NBMZ9
Radio
Keeping in mind that phone is more targeted at emerging markets, Motorola have included FM Radio in this device. As normal tradition, one need to keep headphones plugged in order to use FM Radio.
Music
Next is check on Audio quality of the phone. I paired the phone with my V-Sonic GR02 BE and played couple of hindi songs from Bollywood and ‘Dance of death’ by Iron Maiden. Audio quality is good according to my noob level of audiophile-ness. At volume level just above half mark, isolation is quite good.
Video Playback
For testing out video playback I used MX Player. For video my choice boiled down to 1080p (1920*800) rip of Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Playback is very smooth with seeking backward and forward, playback would not shutter for encoding. It would resume instantly.
Gaming
To test gaming capabilities of the phone I have used four games viz Subway Surfer, Drag Racing, Dead Trigger 2 and Asphalt 8. Overall games are running smooth except Asphalt 8 (in high settings) which seems bit sort of slow/lagging. However it is sill very much playable with performance improving in medium visual settings. I have attached videos of game-play next. I have captured videos with Lumia 720 with help of my brother. Kindly excuse me for quality as it is not utter professional.
Subway Surfer
Drag Racing
Dead Trigger 2
Asphalt 8
Connectivity:
As most smartphones, Moto E also is equipped with various connection options. It has WLAN 802.11 upto n. It boasts HSDPA up to 21mbps along with slower GPRS & EDGE. Moto E has Bluetooth 4.0 LE, with LE now being core specification in Bluetooth 4.0. LE consumes lesser power and uses simpler modulation.
Call quality and reception is good on this phone. Loud speaker of the phone is pretty loud. GPS on the device is ultra fast. I got sync and my accurate location within couple of seconds, impressed.
Battery life
I could not use phone for full day to test battery life but for whatever time I could use the phone, my observation is that during non-operative mode battery drop is minimal. However as usual when device is in use, there is battery drop.
For approx 1 day and 14 hours' usage, battery drop was approx 65%. Screen ON time was around 2 hours with 30 mins of WhatsApp and another 30 mins game - Dot Saga.
Summary
Coming to final leg of review, I would like to list some pros and cons.
Cons (first
):
- Power and Volume button are little hard to press
- Phone is bit thicker than usual
- relatively higher SAR value
Pros:
- smooth and lag-less performance
- easily handles 1080p videos with no lag in seeking
- one more OS update guaranteed
At price point of ₹ 6,999, Moto E defines new definition of VFM among Android phones. For me, it also have comfortably clinched the crown of most VFM smartphone from Lumia 520. It is a definitely a recommendation from my end.
Wrapping up this review, I would like to thank for reading this patiently. Any suggestions/comments/doubts are most welcome. Do let me know if you want to test me something on this. I will definitely carry that out if time permits me.
This is my second review - first written 4 years back. Device going under scanner of review is Moto E from Motorala - a Google company. I ordered this one from Flipkart, for my mom, to replace Samsung Galax Ace. As almost everybody knows it, it costed me ₹ 6,999/-
To begin with, following are key specs for reference:
CPU: Dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 200)
Memory: 1GB RAM
Internal Memory: 4GB with microSD card slot
OS: Android KitKat 4.4.2 with one more update guaranteed
Camera: 5MP (2592*1944 pixels)
Display: Capacitive LCD 4.3” screen with resolution of 540*960 (256 ppi)
Unboxing:
Moto E comes in a very compact box, with box just big enough to hold the phone.
On opening up you will be graced with the phone in front with a screen protector cover with Motorola logo. At first sight this does not look like a phone costing ₹ 7,000. It definitely is gorgeous.
Beneath phone, box contains a charger and a headset - USB cable is not present in the package but at tight budget offering it can be excused.
From various angles:
Front of the phone is absolutely stunning. It has quite big bezel at bottom - feel space is wasted. At the back we have a 5MP snapper and Motorola ‘M’ logo. The camera is bit deeper than the rest of back which protects it from scratches. The overall texture at back is good and kind off matte in nature which provides good grip.
Sides
Left side of the phone does not have anything.
Right side features power button and volume up-down keys. The keys are bit hard to press at first. Hopefully one should be able to get used to it after using it for some time.
Top of the phone has a 3.5mm jack and mic.
MicroUSB port is located at the bottom of the phone.
On removing the back cover, I could see a non-removable battery, two SIM slots and microSD card slot. Non-remove-ability of battery is done by a plastic sheet spanning from top to bottom of battery.
Over all the build quality of the phone is very good and phone feels sturdy. Though it is weighing 140gm and 12.3mm thick it is nice to hold in hands and fits in palm perfectly thanks to curved shape.
Starting up:
On powering it on we are presented with a boot-animation. After the boot animation is over next is welcome screen greeting us.
After usual rituals of setting up phone, we are now at main screen. The display looks sharp and colors are good. The general stock moving around did not display any noticeable shutter or lag though the CPU powering the device is no big-shot-fancy-stuff. Also opening time for apps is good and satisfactory. The phone comes pre-installed with many Google apps including Chrome browser, presenting and ensuring a complete Google experience. Internal storage space is 4GB however only 2.16GB is available for user.
General Operations and Android 4.4.2 UI
The phone has near stock version of Android 4.4.2 There are no bloatwares included which could slow down the phone. There are some nifty apps already included such as Motoroal Migrate which facilitates migration. There is also app named Assist. Notification area is usual one for Android KitKat.
Running Benchmarks:
For bench-marking this phone I have used popular apps;
Benchmark Pi
This is good old school benchmark app which generally measures per core performance of the device under test. Moto E managed to score 462 milliseconds.
Next benchmark used is Linpack for measuring multi-threaded performance. Moto E scored a handsome 145.65 MFLOPS.
For overall bench-marking I have used AnTuTu Benchmark. Apart from benchmarks AnTuTu app reveals good amount of information of device.
All the specs, from CPU to Display to OS, are well verified in the information provided by AnTuTu.
On running the benchmark, AnTuTu gave score of 12,800 which according to it is ‘Good’. Digging in to details of the benchmark, AnTuTu terms CPU as ‘Poor’ stating that can not run large apps smoothly. RAM and 2D graphics were termed ‘General’. However 3D graphics were termed as‘Good’ stating ‘fluently supports most games’.
Multimedia - Camera, Radio, Music, Video playback and Gaming:
Camera
The snapper we have with this device is 5MP one. Camera UI is in following pic.
Though it is touted as being a average one, for device at this range we can not ask for more. Camera is snappy and takes photos quite quickly. Image quality is not ultimate but does not suck completely too. Sharpness in pic is not that great.
However in low light or non-natural light photography, snapper is not able to stretch to limits at par. Below image confirms same with colors looking washed out and bit dull.
Link to full resolution images: https://imgur.com/a/NBMZ9
Radio
Keeping in mind that phone is more targeted at emerging markets, Motorola have included FM Radio in this device. As normal tradition, one need to keep headphones plugged in order to use FM Radio.
Music
Next is check on Audio quality of the phone. I paired the phone with my V-Sonic GR02 BE and played couple of hindi songs from Bollywood and ‘Dance of death’ by Iron Maiden. Audio quality is good according to my noob level of audiophile-ness. At volume level just above half mark, isolation is quite good.
Video Playback
For testing out video playback I used MX Player. For video my choice boiled down to 1080p (1920*800) rip of Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Playback is very smooth with seeking backward and forward, playback would not shutter for encoding. It would resume instantly.
Gaming
To test gaming capabilities of the phone I have used four games viz Subway Surfer, Drag Racing, Dead Trigger 2 and Asphalt 8. Overall games are running smooth except Asphalt 8 (in high settings) which seems bit sort of slow/lagging. However it is sill very much playable with performance improving in medium visual settings. I have attached videos of game-play next. I have captured videos with Lumia 720 with help of my brother. Kindly excuse me for quality as it is not utter professional.
Subway Surfer
Drag Racing
Dead Trigger 2
Asphalt 8
Connectivity:
As most smartphones, Moto E also is equipped with various connection options. It has WLAN 802.11 upto n. It boasts HSDPA up to 21mbps along with slower GPRS & EDGE. Moto E has Bluetooth 4.0 LE, with LE now being core specification in Bluetooth 4.0. LE consumes lesser power and uses simpler modulation.
Call quality and reception is good on this phone. Loud speaker of the phone is pretty loud. GPS on the device is ultra fast. I got sync and my accurate location within couple of seconds, impressed.
Battery life
I could not use phone for full day to test battery life but for whatever time I could use the phone, my observation is that during non-operative mode battery drop is minimal. However as usual when device is in use, there is battery drop.
For approx 1 day and 14 hours' usage, battery drop was approx 65%. Screen ON time was around 2 hours with 30 mins of WhatsApp and another 30 mins game - Dot Saga.
Summary
Coming to final leg of review, I would like to list some pros and cons.
Cons (first
):- Power and Volume button are little hard to press
- Phone is bit thicker than usual
- relatively higher SAR value
Pros:
- smooth and lag-less performance
- easily handles 1080p videos with no lag in seeking
- one more OS update guaranteed
At price point of ₹ 6,999, Moto E defines new definition of VFM among Android phones. For me, it also have comfortably clinched the crown of most VFM smartphone from Lumia 520. It is a definitely a recommendation from my end.
Wrapping up this review, I would like to thank for reading this patiently. Any suggestions/comments/doubts are most welcome. Do let me know if you want to test me something on this. I will definitely carry that out if time permits me.
Attachments
-
Unboxing 1.jpg -
Unboxing 2.jpg -
Unboxing 3.jpg -
Front.jpg -
Back.jpg -
Left.jpg -
Right.jpg -
Top.jpg -
Bottom.jpg -
Unboxing 4.jpg -
Home.png -
Lockscreen.png -
Notifications.png -
About.png -
G - Apps.png -
Storage.png -
Benchmark Pi.png -
Linpack.png -
AnTuTu 1.png -
AnTuTu 2.png -
AnTuTu Info 1.png -
AnTuTU Info 2.png -
AnTuTu Info 3.png -
AnTuTu Info 4.png -
Music 1.png -
Music 2.png -
Radio.png -
WP_20140608_21_03_44_Pro.jpg -
WP_20140608_21_04_01_Pro.jpg -
Camera UI.png -
Battery 1.png -
Battery 2.png
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