The Moto G is made by Motorola but the biggest influence
here is Google, Moto’s owner and the main driver of the G’s Android OS. It
takes the company’s Nexus concept of serving up top-quality hardware at low
prices and really runs with it.
The sharpest 4.5" HD display in its class, all-day
battery, quad-core speed,
AndroidTM 4.4, KitKat®, and colorful backs to customize your phone.
The result is a device that asks just how far you can push
the boundaries of what is classed as a “budget” phone. The answer is likely to
haunt Sony, Samsung, HTC and other Android rivals for some time to come.
To keep the price of a smartphone under $250, compromises
have to be made, but the Moto G chooses exactly the right places to do so.
First up, a curved back sidesteps the issue of bulk; it’s 11.6mm at its
thickest point, but just 6mm at its thinnest. Combined with the matt back cover
this makes it easy to hold, despite its 143g weight, and a reminder of just how
convenient it is to have a phone you can hold and use with just one hand,
something that’s increasingly been forgotten as smartphone screens get bigger
and bigger.
Despite being mostly plastic, the build quality is great.
The G feels well put together and able to take the odd tumble, giving the HTC
One Mini a run for its money and easily trumping the Galaxy S4 Mini.
Furthermore, a water-repellent coating provides protection against the British
weather and spilled beverages.
In the US, Motorola offered almost limitless colour
customization of its America-only Moto X, and there’s a taste of that here too,
with a choice of interchangeable back covers, in colours ranging from subtle to
trendy. All are reassuringly hard to get off once attached.
Google’s Android 4.3 is presented all but unskinned – a
welcome sight, in our view, as Google’s collection of services is now so wide-
ranging that it can feel crowded when another UI is added over the top.
Another handy advantage of unadorned Android is speed, and
the Moto G flies along with nary a hint of lag. Motorola includes just two
bespoke apps: Migrate, which helps you swap your content from one phone to
another, and Assist, a contextual app that changes notifications and alerts
depending on time of day, appointments in your calendar and more.
Its edge-to-edge display stretches to all four corners of
the phone.
Watch, read and browse on a big, brilliant display. You’ll get a sharp picture
and then some.
All of this is shown through the Moto G’s 4.5-inch, 720p,
and 329ppi display. Immediately it’s clear that if any compromises were made,
they weren’t in the screen department. Not only is it the best display in its
class, it’s also arguably one of the best displays of its size, offering
bright, vibrant colours and very black blacks.
Motorola has also shoved two fingers up at its low-rent
rivals when it comes to power. An impressive Qualcomm 1.2GHz Quadcore processor
means lag-free operation – and it should get even better when the G gets its
promised upgrade to multi-tasking-friendlier Android KitKat in early 2014 – and
no panic when HD video rears its head.
You don’t have to hang up to send an email or turn off
YouTube when you want to text. Moto G multitasks as easily as you do with the
powerful Qualcomm® SnapdragonTM 400 processor.
That leaves the camera and storage to pick the short straws
in the low-budget spec lottery. But while the rear-facing five-meg snapper is
not going to go toe-to-toe with the iPhone 5S or Galaxy S4, it’s actually not
that bad. Images in good light are surprisingly colorful and what the camera
app lacks in stunning detail, it makes up for in ease of use and idiot-proofing.
For straight-to-Facebook use, it’s great.
