There are numerous 'cheap' smartphones available in Indian market, but the quality is amiss. You say there is Nokia X, but the software is amiss. You say Lumia 520, yes I would agree, but Moto E undercuts Lumia 520 in price and offers a whole bunch of better features. It may be true, that the camera on Lumia 520 is superior to that of Moto E, but it is a no slouch, and as an overall device, the Moto E turns out to be a clear winner.
I own both these devices, both bought from Flipkart for the same price. The Lumia 520 is being used by my dad, while the Moto E arrived just yesterday. So I will be comparing these here. But before we compare let us meet the Moto E.
(As compared to other tech sites out there, I won't be writing 'review', per say, but rather my experience in using the device. As a result, a product 'review' or experience will be spreading out into multiple posts rather than one post)
The premium-ness of a device is defined, according to me in these terms: The Looks (#1), The Specs (#2), The Performace (#3) and The Overall Experience (#4). We will first have a look at the looks :)
Moto E, the looks
Moto E may be an affordable device, but it looks great, is build great.I have a black version of the device, but I have a feeling that the white version looks better than the black one :)
The front of Moto E is made of scratch resistant glass with oleo-phobic coating, which is quite similar to the iPhone. Moto E does not sport any buttons on the front, not even capacitive buttons. In fact, it has only two button on the right side of the device: one for sleep/power and other for volume control.
The front also houses the earpiece at the top, and a mono speaker at the bottom. The speaker slot probably also has a mic.
Moto E is not slim. At 12.3 mm (6.2 mm at the edges) this is the thickest of the smartphones I currently have (not that I am using all of these thought). It is also not light weight: at 142 grams it is heavier than even Lumia 800 .. and I thought that would be the heaviest phone I would ever be buying. The weight and thickness is however a personal preference. I travel a lot in public transport, and to me a slightest increase in weight in my jeans pockets is noticeable and causes inconvenience. This is also especially noticeable when I go on long walks.
The back of the Moto E is made up of rubberized plastic, that feels great when holding the device as well as provides a solid grip.
Moto E, in the box
The Moto E is currently only available via Flipkart in India: Buy Moto E (Black) from Flipkart.com or Buy Moto E (White) from Flipkart.com. Even though, the Moto E may be out of stock on Flipkart, I would recommend against heading on to eBay to get one. It is better to wait a bit than pay up more on eBay.
The Moto E sales package comes with bare minimum: a charger, a headset and printed manuals along with warranty information. Unfortunately there is no data cable, and no complimentary sd card either.
Moto E, the charger and the headset
The Moto E comes with a micro usb charger that fits properly in Indian power outlets. In fact, the charger units has the words "Made in India" printed on it, that made me a bit happy :) The charger cable is fairly long at about 1.5 m, which is good. The charger takes almost 3 hours to fully charge the Moto E, but then probably you may not need to charge it every day.
Moto E also comes with a descent headset with integrated mic and a call receive/end button.
The only gripe I have is that all the accessories are full which when the phone is full black. I should have either ordered a black one or Motorola should provide matching color accessories with the device ;)
(Up next: Moto E specs, compare with similar priced phones)
I own both these devices, both bought from Flipkart for the same price. The Lumia 520 is being used by my dad, while the Moto E arrived just yesterday. So I will be comparing these here. But before we compare let us meet the Moto E.
(As compared to other tech sites out there, I won't be writing 'review', per say, but rather my experience in using the device. As a result, a product 'review' or experience will be spreading out into multiple posts rather than one post)
The premium-ness of a device is defined, according to me in these terms: The Looks (#1), The Specs (#2), The Performace (#3) and The Overall Experience (#4). We will first have a look at the looks :)
Moto E, the looks
Moto E may be an affordable device, but it looks great, is build great.I have a black version of the device, but I have a feeling that the white version looks better than the black one :)
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| From left, Lumia 520, Lumia 800, the Moto E and the iPhone 5s. |
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| Moto E from the sides. Right of the device is where all the buttons are, the top has a mic and a 3.5 mm headset jack, nothing on the left of the device, while the bottom has the standard micro usb data / charging outlet. |
Moto E is not slim. At 12.3 mm (6.2 mm at the edges) this is the thickest of the smartphones I currently have (not that I am using all of these thought). It is also not light weight: at 142 grams it is heavier than even Lumia 800 .. and I thought that would be the heaviest phone I would ever be buying. The weight and thickness is however a personal preference. I travel a lot in public transport, and to me a slightest increase in weight in my jeans pockets is noticeable and causes inconvenience. This is also especially noticeable when I go on long walks.
The back of the Moto E is made up of rubberized plastic, that feels great when holding the device as well as provides a solid grip.
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| Moto E with the back cover removed. The battery is non-removable. There is a 5MP camera, but not flash on the back side (top - center). |
Moto E, in the box
The Moto E is currently only available via Flipkart in India: Buy Moto E (Black) from Flipkart.com or Buy Moto E (White) from Flipkart.com. Even though, the Moto E may be out of stock on Flipkart, I would recommend against heading on to eBay to get one. It is better to wait a bit than pay up more on eBay.
The Moto E sales package comes with bare minimum: a charger, a headset and printed manuals along with warranty information. Unfortunately there is no data cable, and no complimentary sd card either.
 |
| Moto E sales box: 1 phone (battery is non-removable, in-built), 1 charger, 1 headset (with mic), printed manuals and warranty information booklet. |
Moto E, the charger and the headset
The Moto E comes with a micro usb charger that fits properly in Indian power outlets. In fact, the charger units has the words "Made in India" printed on it, that made me a bit happy :) The charger cable is fairly long at about 1.5 m, which is good. The charger takes almost 3 hours to fully charge the Moto E, but then probably you may not need to charge it every day.
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| Moto E charger, the Indian edition is made in India. |
Moto E also comes with a descent headset with integrated mic and a call receive/end button.
The only gripe I have is that all the accessories are full which when the phone is full black. I should have either ordered a black one or Motorola should provide matching color accessories with the device ;)
(Up next: Moto E specs, compare with similar priced phones)
Nice post.. especially when I was looking for size comparison of 520 with the new moto e. (No way to get hands on moto e in stores)
ReplyDeleteI use the 520 in developer preview mode and frankly wp8.1 isnt even better than jellybean. So was looking for size comparison with moto e and finally found it. Nice post :)
BTW why in earth will Motorola provide white earphones to a black phone!
Thanks Raunak! Glad to know that the post was of use to you. Agree with the WP part. The OS is still playing catchup 4 years after being released.
DeleteAlso if you plan to buy moto e go for the white version all the accessories match well, and the handset also looks a lot nicer than the black model ( a friend of mine has a white version )