Motorola Moto G went on sale in late 2013. This is a smaller version of the flagship company "Moto X". If the price of the flagship and its hardware stuffing caused complaints, then with this device the situation has changed dramatically. Low cost and excellent hardware of the budget segment distinguish it from competitors.
Hardware platform
As CPU in Motorola Moto G uses a 4-core chip from Qualkom. More specifically, MSM 8226. It belongs to the Shepdragon 400 family and is built on the basis of A7 architecture. The maximum clock frequency at which it can operate is 1.2 GHz. It is in the segment of entry-level smartphones that its computing power will be enough to solve most problems. This is watching movies, listening to audio tracks, surfing websites, simple games and reading books - he can cope with all this without any problems. In principle, even complex and demanding toys should go on it with certain settings, but the small diagonal of the display will not allow it to fully immerse in the gameplay process. As a graphic adapter, it uses "Adreno 305", which ideally complements the central processor and its computing capabilities.
Display, cameras and everything related to them
The most convenient from the standpoint of use is the screen diagonal of the Motorola Moto G, which is 4 and a half inches. At this size, it is convenient to solve most problems, with the exception, as noted earlier, of the most demanding dynamic toys of the latest generation. The display is based on a high-quality matrix made by the IPS technology. Its resolution is 1280 x 720 pixels. All this allows you to get a high-quality and clear image that really pleases the eye. One of the main disadvantages of this model is the main camera. To be precise, this is the lack of an automatic image stabilization system. Therefore, it is quite problematic to get a really high-quality picture in poor lighting conditions with its help. Of course, there is a backlight, but it does not solve this problem. In general, the quality of the images obtained on this unit is rather mediocre. At the heart of the front camera is a 1.3 megapixel sensor. This is quite enough for making video calls.
Memory
A rather ambiguous situation develops with the memory subsystem of this device. Random access memory has a fixed size of 1 GB. It is built on the basis of the most common DDR3 chips currently. The built-in drive can be either 8 GB or 16 GB. And to increase this volume using an external memory card is impossible. Motorola Moto G is not equipped with a slot for their installation. A definite compensation for this is the allocation of 50 GB on Google Drive for a period of 2 years. And it’s absolutely free. But the trouble is that it’s not always possible to fully upload information to them and upload them. Especially when working in networks of the 2nd generation and with files of a sufficiently large size. So you will have to mostly use the amount of flash memory installed inside the device.
Housing and usability
The sides and back cover of the Motorola Moto G 16GB Black (as in the cheaper version with 8 GB on board) are made of high-quality structured plastic with a matte finish. The build quality of the case is impeccable. And with such a coating, there are practically no traces on it. In turn, the front panel is made of 3rd generation Gorilla Eye glass. It is scratch resistant. But it is not recommended to check for strength using concrete or asphalt. May crack. A microphone is installed on the upper edge of the smartphone to suppress external noise during a call and an audio jack of 3.5 mm. There is nothing on the left side of the device, but on the right there are all control buttons: turn the gadget on and off and the volume swing. Below is a connector format "MicroUSB" and a conversational microphone. Three standard touch buttons are the bottom of the screen. Above the display is a speaker and a front camera. The second loud speaker is displayed, as it should be, on the back of the smartphone, where the main camera and flash are also located. In principle, from the point of view of ergonomics in this smartphone, everything is done so that it can be controlled with only one hand. The only thing that is causing complaints is the execution of touch keys: they can be accidentally pressed during manipulations at the bottom of the screen.
Battery capacity and autonomy
A lot of complaints are caused by the battery of this device. More precisely, its capacity is 2070 mA / h. And the Motorola Moto G Dual Sim has the same value. Reviews owners of any of the gadgets related to this line of devices indicate insufficient battery capacity. With intensive use of the device and the maximum brightness of the screen, its resources last for 8 hours of battery life. Then you need to recharge for 1.5-2 hours. In this case, although the back cover of the smartphone is removed, the battery is soldered into the device and it is quite problematic to remove it yourself. Therefore, when the battery fails, you can not do without the service center specialists.
OS and software
The most popular software platform, Android, has been installed on the Motorola Moto G smartphone. At the same time, at the time of the device’s release, Motorola belonged to Google, that is, a system software developer. This implies a number of advantages and disadvantages of this device. He receives one of the first updates. But the appearance of the version of system software 5.0 for him is not to be expected. Not quite a fresh processor is installed in it. And so - OS version 4.4.2 is quite enough for comfortable work. In this case, problems with compatibility and smooth operation of the interface should not arise. All these are undeniable advantages of this gadget. But the lack of Russified firmware is a significant minus. The only way to solve this problem is to install additional software for the Russification of the device. Otherwise, the set of applications is standard for such a software platform.
Set of interfaces
All important interfaces are supported by Motorola Moto G. A review of the technical documentation on it indicates the presence of the following sensors and sensors:
- “Wi-Fi” - it is with its help that you can download and upload data of any size from Google Drive. Also, this method of transmitting information at speeds up to 150 Mbps is great for surfing Internet resources, communicating in social services and watching videos online.
- This device is able to work in almost all networks that are available today, except for LTE. But this standard has not yet been widely adopted. In turn, 2G allows you to transfer information with it with help at a speed of the order of 0.5 Mbps. This is enough to view news, simple websites or communicate on social networks. But 3ZH already allows, like Wai-Fai, to work with information of almost any volume.
- “Bluetooth” is the best tool that allows you to transfer a small amount of information to similar devices.
- The ZhPS sensor is capable of working immediately with two navigation systems. It supports both the most popular globally ZHPS and domestic GLONASS. So there shouldn’t be any problems with location with such a gadget.
- The classic round jack with a diameter of 3.5 mm is designed to connect an external stereo system. It can be both headphones and speakers.
- Another important interface is MicroUSB. It is used to connect to a computer and to charge the internal battery. It is immediately worth noting that the charger does not come with the smartphone, so you will have to purchase it additionally.
Reviews from experts and owners
Everything that was previously stated can be determined on the basis of technical documentation and description on Motorola Moto G. Reviews the real owners of the device are of much greater value. This section will be dedicated to them. They indicate the following advantages of this model:
- A fairly powerful processor for this class of devices.
- One of the latest versions of the operating system.
- Well-honed software that works with virtually no problems.
- Excellent screen that has excellent color reproduction.
- Adequate RAM and built-in flash drive.
The disadvantages are the following:
- Problems with the Russification of the interface - you need to install additional software.
- There is no automatic stabilization system in the main camera, which makes the quality of images much worse.
- Small capacity of the complete battery. At the same time, it cannot be replaced on its own in the event of a breakdown.
To summarize
The disadvantages indicated in the paragraph are not so significant for the device level Motorola Moto G. This is a budget smartphone, so you can’t expect the presence of an impeccable camera or battery with high capacity. Otherwise, this is the perfect gadget that has a high level of performance and a fairly modest price of $ 200. For this money, you get a device with a good hardware platform and one of the latest OS versions.