Lava Iris X1 : another affordable premium

As more Indian manufacturers respond to Moto E, things are getting interesting. Lava Iris X1 is the latest. And if camera is the primary reason for you to buy a phone, look no further, Lava Iris X1 offers a 8MP auto focus primary camera with capability of full HD video recording. It also uses a 1.4 µm pixel BSI (back side illuminated) sensor, some thing heard of only in very highly priced phones.

With each product iteration things are improving exponentially. I would guess that Moto E quality phone will soon be available for no more than 5K INR, that will be very interesting.

For now, if you are looking to buy Lava Iris X1, head to Amazon (see the link below), as of now it is exclusive, and only available on Amazon India.

Sony Xperia E1 : the first E, before Moto E

Before Moto E became hit, the 'E' moniker was I think first introduced by Sony with the Sony Xperia E. The newest entrant of this being Xperia E1 that was announced back in January 2014 (http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/phones/xperia-e1/?utm_source=sactive&utm_medium=blogs&utm_campaign=xperiae1), with both single and dual SIM models available in Indian market. When introduced, it was termed as the "The world’s best smartphone in its class", however, one can say that this crown now belongs to Moto E.

Sony has recently announced that this phone will receive a Android KitKat update, in July this year: (http://blogs.sonymobile.com/2014/05/21/new-sony-software-upgrade-including-android-4-4-kitkat-rolls-for-xperia-z-xperia-zl-xperia-zr-and-xperia-tablet-z/). This is a very good news for those who bought this phone, or are thinking of (i.e. if you are a Sony fan!). For this very reason (that a software update is provided to the next OS release), I would recommend Sony Xperia E1 as another alternative to Moto E.

Moto E : sim is a micro sim

For those migrating from a feature phone the Moto E, many may require to get a newer micro-sim. Some may opt for cutting their current SIM to fit in the Moto E slot, but I would recommend getting a new micro-sim from your service provider. Generally the micro-sim is given free of charge, but the service provider may charge you about 25-50 INR for the same.

I had moved my SIM from Lumia 520 to Moto E. The SIM I used on Lumia 520 was manually cut from a full sized SIM. As I had not cut it perfectly the SIM wouldn't fit in the Moto E. This was not a problem on Lumia 520, due to the design on the SIM slot. However, on Moto E a sprint loaded slot is used where you push in the SIM and then it gets locked in its place. Essentially, I had to spent some time polishing the edges and the cuts to fit the SIM on Moto E. Moral of story : it is better to get a new micro SIM from your service provider.

Looking for Moto E alternatives? Here are some.

With Moto E constantly getting out of stock on Flipkart, and you have an urgent need to get one of the affordable smartphones, what other options are available.

Lava Iris 406 Q

Lava Iris is almost as good in terms of specs as the Moto E (except that there is no Corning Gorilla Glass protection). Lava Iris 406Q also has slightly better camera than Moto E, along with a front facing camera for video calls, and low quality selfies.

With a price almost same as Moto E on Flipkart, you may get it at a lower price from open market. With Moto E selling well, it may happen that Lava prices drop on Flipkart, so keep a price watch.



Micromax Unite 2

Micromax Unite 2 is superior to Moto E in all respects except the software update guarantee provided by Moto E. Though launched at the same price at Moto E, it appears to be selling at a higher price on Flipkart. You should be able to easily get this in open market. An inquiry at a local mall store however revealed that the unit is yet to come, but should be available by the end of June 1st week.



Micromax Canvas A105

This one is a new entrant. Micromax seems to be in a hurry to beat Moto E. This one is priced same as Moto E. But falls under the phablet category and comes with 512 MB rather than Moto E. The phone is currently available online on Homeshop18 (http://www.homeshop18.com/micromax-canvas-5inch-12-7cms-3g-quad-core-kitkat-a105/mobiles/mobile-phones/product:31837039/cid:3027/). Availability in local store is unknown currently. This is a good option, if you actually want a bigger screen, but be warned about the limited RAM, although Android KitKat is optimized to run smoothly on the low memory devices.

That is it. If you are ready to wait for Moto E, however, it is still the best option.
Keep a look at the Flipkart stock, and a happy weekend!

Moto E : not all apps to sd card

While in the earlier post I mentioned that I didn't like that I had to individually move the apps to the SD card, what I didn't realise is that many app cannot be moved in the first place.

I did finally try to move all app one by one  the SD card, and even after that only about 600 mb is free on the internal storage. This can be quite restrictive is you do a hell lot of things on your phone. But I guess a large majority doesn't do so.

As I mentioned before that this is not actually a gaming device. Its a work device for sure, not for gaming definitely. And is especially true in terms of the extremely limited internal storage. More so as you can't install apps or games directly to the SD card. You will have to first install it on the internal memory and then individually move it to the SD card if allowed.

With all these funny quirks with SD card, I think an SD card is more of a hassle than actually trying to solve any problem. My current primary phone and the previous phone both have 16 GB internal storage and no SD expansion slot. I am almost filling up my current phone's space with apps and data, but I know that I have enough cloud storage to not worry much about storage.

I hope that the next iteration of an affordable premium actually come with a larger storage and forgo the SD card.

In the end there are two things at premium  on a smartphone : the battery life and the storage space. Motorola has done quite well on the earlier front, it is the later that needs work and attention.

Moto E: no magnetometer

The Moto E does not seem to have a magnetometer, so no compass for you. I had not realized this earlier, but is a bummer. The Unite 2 by Micromax has a magnetometer sensor.

Moto E vs Unite 2 via GadetsToUse@Youtube

Here is an Youtube review from GadgetsToUse:



Their verdict: both are good, but if you need a good camera it is Micromax Unite 2 that is the winner.