When Motorola launched Moto G in India in February, the company upped the ante for all smartphone makers in the sub-Rs 15,000 segment. It has done the same again with the launch of Moto E. The new smartphone will wage the war for Motorola in the entry-level smartphone segment, with an arsenal that comprises better hardware than rivals, the clean version of Android OS, and a price that will be hard to match.
Moto E is pitted against the economical smartphones from Samsung, Nokia, Sony, as well as Indian brands like Micromax, Karbonn, Lava etc.
We played around with Moto E at its global launch event to bring you our first impressions and help you decide whether it is the best smartphone at the killer price of Rs 6,999.
Display
Moto E sports a 4.3-inch display with 960x540p resolution, giving pixel density of 256ppi. Beyond the numbers, we noticed that the colours were bright and saturated and it was hard to find individual pixels. This is a welcome change from most smartphones at this price, which feature much lower resolution and have overall poor displays.
Colours appear a bit saturated. Viewing angles are decent but not something Motorola can boast of; yet the overall effect is nice and we are pleased with the display quality.
The quality of touch is a major concern for buyers looking for budget Android phones. We found the touch quality of Moto E to be at par with the best in the business; it responded to even the slightest touch instantly.
Moto E offers one of the best displays that we have seen in the sub-Rs 10,000 range yet.
Design
Motorola has carried the design of Moto G with the new Moto E. It has the same curved edges and sloping back as its sibling, but is bit wider and heavier. The smartphone is well-designed and quite easy to grip in the hand.
You get front speakers that are located above and below the display, while the requisite sensors are located above it. The camera is on the back, while both Power and Volume buttons are on the right side.
The back cover is swappable, but you cannot remove the battery. Though Moto E comes in white and black colours only, Motorola offers back covers and grip shells in as many as nine colours to give users a bit of customization option.
Hardware
This is where things heat up. Motorola is offering hardware that no other smartphone maker in India offers at this price. Apart from the quality display, you get a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor with 1GB RAM, 4GB internal storage, 32GB microSD expansion, 1,980mAh battery and 5MP rear camera. Connectivity suite of the phone is pretty standard and consists of 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB 2.0.
There is no front camera or LED flash in the smartphone.
Moto E uses a water-repellent coating inside as well as outside, so that the phone does not get damaged as soon as a little water is splashed on it. However, be warned: don't expect this smartphone to work once you drop it in the water.
The display is also covered with Gorilla Glass 3 for added protection against scratches.
Software
Moto E comes with default version of Android 4.4 (KitKat) sans any customized skin. The phone comes with a few Motorola apps pre-loaded, such as Alert and Assist. But the good thing is that there is no bloatware at all and this results in the smartphone being fast and fluid. There is no heavy skin bogging down the speed at which apps are launched and even the most basic functions are performed. This comes as a breath of fresh air for us because we are used to seeing pretty slow 'smart'-phones at the entry-level segment.
Performance
During the short span of time we spent with Moto G, we were pretty pleased with the performance of the smartphone. The touch is responsive, software is uncluttered, tasks are performed quickly and apps open at the slightest touch. This is something we do not encounter very frequently with phones under Rs 10,000. Motorola claims that Moto E can perform common tasks like making calls faster than Samsung Galaxy S4.
Let's take some examples. When we opened the web browser (Chrome), there was no delay at all and pages loaded quickly. Similarly, the Camera app opened very swiftly. Games (Motorola had put on display units with Angry Birds: Star Wars) played smoothly even when we had opened a number of apps just a few minutes ago.
Overall, the combination of dual core Snapdragon 200 processor, 1GB RAM and Android 4.4 works pretty well and gives a smartphone that delivers smooth performance.
Moto E has a 5MP camera on the back, but since the display area at the event was not very well lit, some of the images we took came out a little dark. A few were grainier than we expected them to be, considering the lighting. However, once we changed focus (there is no autofocus and you need to tap the screen), the image quality improved and photos looked better, with decent level of detail.
We will test the performance, camera quality and battery life of Moto E in great detail in our full review.