If the Nexus 5 is for smartphone aficionados, and the Moto X is for upgraders who can't resist the offer of a custom handset, then the Moto G is for those who want a functional device at a reasonable price. At $179 or £135 unlocked, the Moto G slots into the low-cost niche Samsung and others have been steadily cashing in on. That price tag, however, includes an unwritten disclaimer: Sacrifices were made. It's certainly true with the Moto G, but with expectations in check, it's hard to not be impressed with what Motorola has managed to achieve.
HARDWARE
There are no physical or soft keys on the front face of the device. The standard Android home, back and multitask catches will show up onscreen when required, however overall the bezel below the 4.5-inch display is exposed. The bezel above the screen, in the interim, is home to a sunken, metal speaker grille, the front-facing camera and a little white notification light. As the Moto G's sizes are like the X - its 0.6mm more extended and more extensive, and 1.2mm thicker at its fattest focus - the somewhat littler screen means there's additional clear space underneath the presentation. Still, this is more a perception than a slight - the inside parts need to go some place, all the same.
Around the outside, there's a blank left edge, and a power button and volume rocker on the right. In the mean time, the essential mic and micro-USB port could be found on the base, with the second mic and headphone's jack lift top. The keys on the right edge jut more than we're used to, yet they do process a decent, fulfilling click. All details on the back spread sits around the top edge. In diving request, you'll discover the Polaroid lens with the amplifier grille to its left above a LED blaze, which, thus, is above a little space surrounding the Motorola logo. That is the place your thumb rests when prying the back board off, when you accompany Motorola's directions (and you may as well). Nothing energizing anticipates you under there: only a space for your micro-SIM.
| MOTO G | |
|---|---|
| Pricing | $179 (8GB), $199 (16GB) |
| Dimensions | 129.9 x 65.9 x 11.6mm (5.12 x 2.59 x 0.46 in.) |
| Weight | 5.04 oz. (143g) |
| Screen size | 4.5 inches |
| Screen resolution | 1,280 x 720 pixels (329 ppi) |
| Screen type | LCD |
| Battery | 2,070mAh |
| Internal storage | 8/16GB |
| External storage | None |
| Rear camera | 5MP |
| Front-facing cam | 1.3MP |
| Video capture | 720p |
| NFC | No |
| Radios |
GSM/UMTS: GSM (850/900/1800/1900); UMTS (850/900/1700/1900/2100); 21 Mbps HSPA+
CDMA: CDMA 850/1900; EVDO Rev. A
|
| Bluetooth | 4.0 |
| SoC | 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (MSM8x26), Adreno 305 GPU |
| RAM | 1GB |
| WiFi | 802.11b/g/n |
| Operating system | Android 4.3 Jelly Bean |
SOFTWARE
Not at all like the Moto X, the G doesn't have any extravagant specific processor centers that the previous' Active Display and Touchless Control characteristics use. Our opened unit was appreciatively without bloatware with just Motorola's Migrate and Assist programming going hand in hand with the stock applications. Relocate permits you to duplicate virtually all information from an alternate Android handset with the application introduced to your new G. Support will "take in" certain things about your normal and immediately change various settings therefore. Case in point, assuming that you've a gathering connected to your timetable, it'll captivate a meeting room inviting profile; also, it'll switch to noiseless mode when you're getting a few Z's. Both sound suitable enough, yet in the event that you're anything like me, you'll most likely overlook them.
PERFORMANCE AND BATTERY LIFE
One way we really like to challenge handsets is with an old-fashioned gaming session, and sure enough, the Moto G's got some mettle. We started off with a few quarters of NBA Jam. Our three-pointer percentage wasn't the best, but the G handled it with ease. That Snapdragon 400 didn't even break a sweat during an online multiplayer round of Shadowgun: DeadZone (on the highest graphics setting, no less). Next, we hit the tarmac in Real Racing 3, which has taken some smartphones out of their comfort zones in the past. We gave up trying to find the phone's breaking point after a few smooth laps. If it dropped any frames, it wasn't noticeable, so we headed back into Tiny Death Star to restock our levels, and called it a day.
After being thoroughly impressed with the Moto G's gaming prowess, we were puzzled by hiccups with web browsing. Mobile and desktop sites loaded extremely quickly on good connections, and we didn't have any problems with tiling. What we noticed, however, was a perceptible lag while navigating up, down and around web pages. It's not a huge turnoff -- the delays are fairly minor -- but nonetheless, this isn't something we were expecting.
| MOTO G | MOTO X | HTC ONE MINI | GALAXY S4 MINI | NEXUS 5 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quadrant 2.0 | 8,723 | 8,958 | 5,200 | 7,250 | 9,296 | ||||||||||||
| Vellamo 2.0 | 1,962 | 2,427 | 2,118 | 1,980 | 1,407 | ||||||||||||
| AnTuTu 4.1 | 17,364 | 20,292 | 10,048* | 13,732* | 28,171 | ||||||||||||
| SunSpider 1.0 (ms) | 1,377 | 1,023 | 1,442 | 1,142 | 696 | ||||||||||||
| GFXBench 2.7 Offscreen (fps) | 16 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 23 | ||||||||||||
| CF-Bench | 15,030 | 14,092 | 6,542 | 13,646 | 20,709 | ||||||||||||
| SunSpider: lower scores are better. *benchmarked in AnTuTu version 3.X | |||||||||||||||||
Speaking of the sort, the Moto G's 2,070mAh battery is non-removable, and is nothing to write home about, either. It'll support you through a full day of moderate to busy use, but no further. It performed as such in our standard battery rundown test, looping a 720p video at 50 percent brightness for seven hours and 48 minutes before blacking out. That's about 30 minutes more than the Nexus 5 lasted, and it's slightly better than average in the grand scheme, but we don't recommend going on a weekend hiking trip without a portable charger for topping up. You know, in case you need to call for help when a bear mauls your pal, or something.
