Motorola Moto G review: Little big G
Having spent the best part of two years cleaning the Motorola pipeline of products conceived before the takeover, Google finally has a shop with its name on it. And it's not afraid to use it to challenge some of the old habits and experienced players in the smartphone game.
The Moto X was the first to set on a crusade to prove that high-end smartphones go beyond the number of cores and pixels. Now we have the Moto G on a mission to let everyone know that affordability doesn't necessarily imply crippled functionality. The Moto X was unusual enough to be reasonably successful despite its hefty price tag. The Moto G, on the other hand, is priced to move quickly and will be keeping the competition on their toes.
Not that it will get complacent because of it, like most of the smartphones priced at around the same level do. The Motorola Moto G will bend over backwards to serve you properly and its list of features stretches far longer than most in this price range.
Key features
- Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE; quad-band UMTS/HSPA support
- 4.5" 16M-color 720p IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with 326ppi pixel density; Gorilla Glass 3
- Android OS v4.3 Jelly Bean with Android 4.4 update reportedly coming as soon as January 2014
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset with quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A7 CPU; Adreno 305 GPU
- 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash
- 720p video recording @ 30fps with HDR, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
- 1.3 MP front-facing camera
- Wi-Fi b/g/n; Wi-Fi Hotspot
- GPS with A-GPS; GLONASS
- 8/16GB of built-in storage; 1GB of RAM
- microUSB port with USB host
- Bluetooth v4.0 LE
- Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
- Ambient light; accelerometer; proximity sensors
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- 50GB of free Google Drive storage
- 2,070 mAh battery
- Excellent speaker loudness
Main disadvantages
- Limited non-expandable storage
- Non user-removable battery
- Questionable camera image quality, limited camera settings
It's abundantly clear that the Motorola Moto G ticks way more boxes than a smartphone of its standing is expected to. Some might argue that it's a luxurious strategy that can only be employed because Google will make profit off software services and not the actual hardware. Well, from a user's perspective (and that's the only one we care about) this point is irrelevant as all that matters is what you are getting for your money. At least on paper, the Moto G is plenty of smartphone for the price.
Some corners needed to be cut of course, but since Motorola could afford to give up immediate profits, the hardware didn't take as bad of a hit as it normally would have. We get a base-level chipset of course, but it's of the latest Qualcomm lineup and it should do just fine paired with a 720p screen. And since it requires less power and there's a smaller screen here, Motorola might easily get away with the smaller battery. The unmatched body customization options of Moto X are gone too, but the (very cheaply) replaceable back covers still let you add your personal touch to the smartphone. A well rounded package indeed.
LG G Flex review: Ahead of the curve
Introduction
With so many flagship "plus ones" out there, it's refreshing to see something truly revolutionary. The LG G Flex is curved like a Beckham free kick and has a flexible screen and battery, along with a unique self-healing coating on the back.
The LG G Flex is curved top to bottom and, as the name suggests, it can flex. It's not bendable like rubber, you have to really put some muscle to it. It's quite impressive all the same, as nothing about phones is flexible, not the screen glass, not the screen itself, nor the motherboard or battery. Oh well, they didn't use to be.
Key features
- Unique curved design
- Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support; CDMA and 1xEV-DO
- Quad-band 3G with HSPA; Penta-band LTE Cat. 4
- 6" 16M-color 720p curved POLED capacitive touchscreen; Gorilla glass
- Android OS v4.2.2 Jelly Bean; LG Optimus UI
- Quad-core 2.26 GHz Krait 400 CPU, 2 GB RAM, Adreno 330 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset
- 13 MP autofocus camera with LED flash, geo-tagging, Intelligent Auto, Time catch shot, smart shutter and VR panoramas
- 1080p video recording @ 60fps with continuous autofocus and stereo sound; HDR mode, Dual recording, optical image stabilization
- 2.1 MP front-facing camera, 1080p video recording
- 32GB of built-in storage, 24GB user-available
- microUSB port, USB host support, USB on-the-go, SlimPort TV-out
- Bluetooth v4.0
- NFC
- Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA
- GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
- Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
- Stereo FM radio with RDS
- Voice commands
- Multi-tasking with Dual Window, mini-apps with optional transparency (QSlide)
- Accelerometer and proximity sensor
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- Non-replaceable 3,500mAh Li-Po battery
- IR emitter for remote control of home appliances
Main disadvantages
- Screen has low ppi, issues
- Rather large device even for a phablet
- No optical image stabilization for the camera
- The hardware controls at the back take some time getting used to
- No microSD slot
- Non-replaceable battery
LG leaned on its component manufacturing skills and created a Plastic OLED (POLED) screen that's flexible (more so than the G Flex itself). The next step is a curved, flexible Lithium Polymer battery (a world first). Despite its odd shape and 8.7mm thickness of the phone, the battery has a respectable 3,500mAh capacity.
The screen measures the massive 6", but the curve of the device helps the ergonomics. While it impresses with size and flexibility, the screen has only 720p resolution (245ppi). Here's hoping that the new technology makes up for the lacking density.
While flexible screens and batteries might become more popular with wearable devices (say a smartwatch that wraps around your wrist), the next trick might become standard for all sorts of devices - the coating on the back can heal itself if scratched. This will put an end to all the silly cases and protectors that just make phones thick and ugly.
Samsung Galaxy S4 in Purple Mirage pictured
Samsung Galaxy S4 in Purple Mirage pictured
Samsung recently announced a few new colors for its flagship smartphone. The Galaxy S4 was initially launched in two color options - Black and White, but the new announce meant it will also be getting Blue Arctic, Purple Mirage, Red Aurora, Brown Autumn and Pink Twilight versions.
The Best Tow Medium Range Mobile Phones In Egypt
The best tow medium range mobile phones in Egypt with the best price with best specs for this prices are
- samsung galaxy s advance with 1 gb dual core processor that gives you a good gaming experience with no lacing frame skipping or not responding with a good price in egypt that is 2400 Egp
- samsung galaxy s 2 with a 1.2 GB dual core processor that is like the s advance gaming experience but with a higher price that is 2700 EGP
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