Yesterday, I provided my first impressions. Today, I will start offering my further thoughts on this £99 marvel. To recap on my first views click here.
The official specs are –
-Operating system – Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) with guaranteed upgrade
-Processor -Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor with 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU
-Capacity, 8 GB standard, 16 GB version available
-Two years 50 GB storage free on Google Drive
-Dimensions and weight,Height 129.9 mm, Width 65.9 mm, Depth 6.0-11.6 mm (curve)
-Weight 143 grams
-Display 4.5 inches diagonal (11.3 cm) 1280 x 720 HD, 329 ppi
-Connectivity Micro USB
-3.5 mm headset jack
-Battery Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion, 2070 mAh
-Mixed usage up to 24 hours
-Rear camera 5 MP at 4:3 and 3.8 MP at 16:9 (user-configurable)
-LED flash 4X digital zoom
-Slow motion video,Burst mode,Auto HDR,Panorama,Tap to Focus
-Front camera 1.3 MP
-Video capture and playback 720p HD video (front and rear),Capture 30 fps (MPEG4, H.264)
-Playback 30 fps (MPEG4, H.263, H.264, VP8)
-Audio playback AMR-NB, AMR-WB, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, MP3, PCM, FLAC, MIDI, QCELP, EVRC, OGG/Vorbis
-Networks Global GSM Model: GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) UMTS/HSPA+ up to 21 Mbps (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)
US GSM Model:
GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) UMTS/HSPA+ up to 21 Mbps (850, 1700 (AWS), 1900 MHz)
CDMA Model: CDMA/EVDO Rev A (850, 1900 MHz)
-Both GSM models require a micro SIM card.
-Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
-Bluetooth® Technology
-Version 4.0
-Location services GPS, GLONASS
-In the box Moto G in black, USB cable,Quick start guide
The box for the Moto G is very spartan. Just the phone, a quick start leaflet and a usb micro cable.
So is the Moto G really a good deal. Well it sort of is, but if you compare it to the Samsung S4, Lumia 1020 or iPhone 5S it looks every greater value, or is it? Let’s try and compare the Moto G if it had a higher specification comparable to the iPhone or Samsung S4.
£99 gets you the 8gb version. Another 8gb costs £129. So a 32gb Moto G in theory would cost £229. Still at £229 that still is a good deal and half the price of an iPhone. But the iPhone has a much better camera, processor, motion processor, audio quality, includes some cool headphones and a mains adapter. The iPhone has significant improvement on build quality. That’s worth at another £130 approximately. So now the total is £359. Still sounds like a bargain? The Samsung S4 can be bought for £399 and the 32gb iPhone 5C for £549.
The difference now in the price of the S4 or iPhone is down to the extra layers and user experience Samsung and Apple provide. Apple is a fashionable brand and you do pay for the label. But Apple does offer the best user experience, the best retail experience and the best customer care during and after purchase. And that costs something. Samsung also provides it’s touchwiz and an array of “smart” functions.
So really, the Moto G is cheaply priced with a good spec sheet. It just depends what you want in a phone and what features or functions are important. Bear in mind with the Moto G you get an additional 50gb of cloud storage on Google Drive. Plus you can change the back for a colourful option. See link to Motorola site for more info. Click here.
I have been testing the camera out taking loads of photos. I will post samples of these tomorrow along with my critique.
I said yesterday I would report back on battery. Well the Moto G came off the charger at 7am yesterday after being charged overnight. By 6pm it was down to 83%. That’s incredible.
Anyway, more tomorrow.
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 
If the difference between 8 and 16 GB is £30 then a 32 GB Moto G does not need to be £229. The Moto G already varies in price by £40, see the price at Amazon. I think Motorola could make a Moto G with 16 GB and sd slot for less than £90!
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Clearly my maths was slightly rusty 🙂
But I don’t think £90 is realistic. Google won’t provide a SD slot. The use of cloud services pushes data tariffs for the networks so the networks earn more.
Don’t forget the £99 8gb from Tesco won’t work with the Tesco sim installed. So the sim free price which is £40 more is more realistic. So maybe despite my rusty maths £229 for a 32gb is realistic.
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Gavin, I bought the 16GB for my nephew and was £130. Unlock code in less than £5. He already has a shared plan with family members on Three so for him this is a great solution. if you are already on PAYG, the Moto G from Tesco once unlocked is a fantastic bargain. I think the Moto G has been the best seller at Amazon for a while.
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And how much does 50 GB of icloud cost per annum?
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It’s irrelevant. The cloud option is to help networks earn more money from data tariffs.
And you can’t install apps or games into the cloud. And no internet coverage equals no cloud. So the free cloud limit looks great on paper but is merely marketing.
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Not sure. I paid a lot of money to Apple for wife’s iCloud account for storing media. If cloud storage is free, like with Samsung and Dropbox, it should be considered in the equation. Especially since unlike the 32GB Moto G, we know the price of 50GB of Apple cloud storage.
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Apple is never the cheap option and never will be. You have to pay for their services with gold blocks.
But that’s the price if you want the Apple Eco experience.
Personally I think another company will cause choas in the phone market and challenge Apple and others. And they don’t make a phone yet!
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It does sound a little bit like you’ve written it off already.
I might be wrong so forgive me if so, but trying to work out how much all the extras are worth stepping up from an 8GB Moto G to a 32GB 5C or S4 seems picky and irrelevant.
For someone who just wants a cheap phone with decent performance and isn’t interested in hundreds of apps or storing hours of music the Moto seems perfect. However, you and your readers are not the target market. My wife, however, who constantly complains about the performance of her similarly-priced Xperia J, is, and there’s no chance we’re spending £550 on a “cheap” phone just because it has Apple’s build quality and slightly better apps, so she’s getting a Moto for Christmas.
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Not written it off at all. Just trying to add perspective to how it is so cheaply priced.
As I said yesterday it’s incredible value and as you added too 🙂
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Gavin, what’s the screen quality like? Viewing angles and brightness. Also, what’s it like in sunlight? The ppi is high, so it should be very sharp on a 4.5″ screen.
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Paul. The screen is excellent. Bright too. Good viewing angles. Not had sunlight to test yet
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