At the global launch event in New Delhi, Motorola unveiled the Moto E and I’m there to get the first glimpse of the device, played with a demo unit as well & now sharing my first thoughts. It is priced at INR 6,999 ($129) and specifically aimed for those who are still using a feature phone. In terms of specifications, the phone packs some decent internals and it is bit economical smartphones when compared from Samsung, Nokia, Sony, as well as Indian brands like Micromax, Karbonn, Lava etc.
Design and Build Quality
Motorola Moto E made up of polycarbonate and it doesn’t feel cheap & looks sturdy, offers nice build quality. Although it carries the design of Moto G, it has same curved edges & slopping back and it makes easy to grip it into your hand.
The back cover is swappable and it is available black & white colours only but back covers give you bit of customization option. In addition to this, the Motorola Moto E includes anti-splash nano-coating inside which will save your phone from rain & accidental contact with water.
Front speakers located above and below the display, while the requisite sensors located above it. The camera is on the back, while the Power & Volume buttons are on the right side.
Display
Motorola Moto E features a 4.3-inch qHD display with 540 x 960 pixels resolution at 256ppi. The smaller display size works at lower resolution and I noticed that the colours were bright & saturated and above all it was hard to find individual pixels. Viewing angles are decent & the touch-sensitivity is nice and the overall effect is nice & I liked the the display quality. The phone features Gorilla Glass 3 for scratch-resistance.
Hardware
Apart from the quality display, Motorola Moto E powered by 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor with 1GB RAM, 4GB internal storage which can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD card, 1,980mAh battery and 5MP rear-camera. It has usual connectivity options which consists of 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB 2.0. The rear shell can be pried open to reveal the 1,980 mAh battery, which cannot be removed. On the right, you’’ll find a pair of micro-SIM slots, with a microSD slot for expanding memory.
Software
Moto E comes with latest version of Android 4.4 KitKat and few Motorola apps are pre-loaded on it, such as Alert and Assist. The UI of Motorola Moto E is quite clear.
Camera
There is a 5MP camera on-board with no LED flash, which is quite fast, doesn’t give good results. Although, it supports one-tap capture, burst-mode, panorama, Auto HDR and tap-to-focus. Outdoor shots may be decent, as I only got the chance to check out the phone indoors that too in low-lighting condition, then images were pathetic. Overall, it has not-so-great camera but in that price-range it is a great option.
Performance
As I spent a limited time with the phone and I honestly comment that, I m pleased with the performance of the smartphone and it was quite fast for the given dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor. The touch is responsive, runs on latest Android 4.4 Kitkat, tasks are performed quickly and apps open at the touch. Motorola claims that Moto E perform common tasks like making calls much faster than Samsung Galaxy S4.
Overall the combination of dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor, 1GB RAM and Android 4.4.2 works well and delivers a smooth performance.
Moto E has 5MP camera on the back and the photos I clicked after changing the focus, looks better with decent level of details.
All the images shot with Gionee Elife E7
