Motorola's 2015 Moto G seems to have it all covered at an affordable price.
Motorola has had quite a few hits in the mobile department. With a steady release of great phones for every type of consumer the Moto line has seen much success. With the recent release of the 2015 Moto G (3rd generation), it looks like Motorola will continue offering decent affordable phones.
Moto G 3rd Gen S
pecs
Display: 5 inch (1280 x 720) display
Cameras: 13 Megapixel rear-facing camera / 5 megapixel front-facing camera
Processor / RAM: Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core/ 1 GB / 2GB RAM
Memory: 8GB / 16GB Internal Memory (with expansion slot)
Battery: 2,470 mAh embedded battery / Turbo Charging
Connectivity : Bluetooth / Wi-Fi / NFC /
OS: Android Lollipop 5.1.1
Features: IPX7 Rating (water resistant) / Moto Maker support / Offers 4G LTE
As you can see from the specs, the Moto G seems like a mid-range phone. I say that it is with some powerful standout features. This puts it in the upper mid-range level.
Design and Build
On the front you have a decent 5 inch display. On the top right you have the 5 megapixel selfie cam. The bottom has the front-facing speaker (yes, just one).The bottom border has the micro USB charging port, the right side the power button and volume rocker. The back has a 13 megapixel camera (the same as the Motorola Nexus 6). The back plate is removable, but that’s just for you to be able to insert / remove your sd card and SIM card. The 2,470 mAh battery is embedded.
The Moto G has a simplistic build. While the phone may not look luxurious, it does have a sturdy build. There’s a metal border that runs along the side of the Moto G. The plastic back has patterned ridges that make the phone feel comfortable in hand. The ridges help with grip. It doesn’t feel as slippery as phones with a glass back and you can stretch your fingers around with a bit of confidence.
Experience
Display and Software
The 720p display on the 2015 Moto G was a bit difficult for me to get used to.I’ve been using phones with 4K displays.That’s just me being a bit spoiled. The 720p display gets the job done. With a 5 inch screen the display seems to be just the right size before pixels get noticed (easily at least). The colors seem nice and bright, and while the screen isn’t full HD; it’s sharp enough.
One thing that you can expect from Motorola phones is a near stock-Android experience. If you enjoy simplicity then you will definitely enjoy using Moto phones. This is no different with the Moto G. It helps with smooth navigating between apps and screens. And like with the Droid Turbo, you get Moto Assist features. These features allow you to do simple things quickly and efficiently.
Features
Moto Assist
Based on places and activities the Moto G won’t disturb you unless you ask for notification. For example when you can set up a sleep time. The Moto G will stay quiet and even has the option to keep the screen off for a certain period of time, so you can sleep without distraction.
Water Resistance
I love that more phones are coming with this as a basic feature. For those who do truly use their phone in every environment will feel better knowing the Moto G can take a fee splashes here and there.
Gestures
The Gestures never get old. Turn the Moto G like a doorknob to activate the camera. I use this if the screen is off. If I’m already on the phone, clicking the camera app is faster in most cases.
Double chop your hand to turn the flashlight on and off. I love having the flashlight accessible I use my phone as a flashlight so often.
Camera
The 13mp shooter on the Moto G is nice. It’s not the best Android camera out, but with a bit of focus and steadiness you can click on some decent pics. If you think about it , the Moto G has a camera of a high end model phone from 2014 (Nexus 6). I wish there was a way to click the camera for focusing. But when you click it takes the picture. Same as before, swipe to the right to get the menu, and swipe to the left to get the gallery (when camera is open).
Battery Life
The battery on the 3rd gen Moto 2015 is pretty decent. For the power of the processor and the quality of the screen 2,470 does more than well enough when going through a whole day. You can get a bit of mobile gaming in, listen to your music, do some social media stalking, I mean surfing without a worry. You easily get 9-10 hours on medium use.
Pricing and Availability
One of the best “features” of the Moto G is that you can get it pretty much anywhere, off contract. It starts at $179.99 for the lower end model, which has 1GB RAM and 8GB storage. I think it’s best to go for the 2GB (16Gb storage) model at $219.99 to have a better overall performance. You can get the Moto G on Amazon.com and Motorola.com (customize it with MotoMaker)
Overall
The Moto G is a good phone with the useful features it has. Add pricing and availability and it’s a great phone. Available unlocked and at your fave shopping sites, you have a semi powerful phone at an affordable price, off contract. It may not be luxurious and sleek, but you can customize it to your liking without breaking your wallet.
