Before we start, special thanks to Lazada Malaysia for loaning us this unit for review purpose. Click the image above if you want to get the Moto E.
Introduction
Affordable smartphone, used to be a smartphone with relatively low price tag with the entry-level specifications. However, time has changed everything. There are a lot of smartphones out there have acceptable specifications with low price tag. Motorola continues to enter emergence markets with even lower price tag device than the Moto G. And, here comes the Motorola Moto E.
Specifications
- Dimensions: 124.8 x 64.8 x 12.3 mm
- Weight: 142 g
- Display: 4.3" qHD (540 x 960 pixels) IPS LCD
- Processor: 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200
- RAM: 1 GB
- Memory: 4 GB, microSD card slot
- Camera: 5 MP Camera, 480p video recording
- Battery: 1,980 mAh
- OS: Android 4.4.2 KitKat
Unboxing
The retail package looks familiar, it is similar to the Moto G. Inside the box there's a Moto E, earphones, charger, manual guide and warranty card. Unfortunately, the package does not come with regular USB cable, which means you have to use your own one if you want to transfer anything to the Moto E.
Design
The Moto E packs the same design language as the rest of Moto siblings. The back cover is removable and you can purchase different colors of Motorola Shell too. But, it doesn't mean that the battery is user replaceable.
Looking at the front of it, you will notice that there are two speaker grilles on top and below the display. Nope, it doesn't have dual stereo speakers like HTC One (M8). The top one acts as earpiece while the bottom one acts as loud speaker. What we like about it is the phone pretty compact, plus it has curved back, so handling is good.
Display
Compact size doesn't mean you need to sacrifice the screen size. The Moto E has a 4.3" display with qHD (540 x 960) resolution.
The display is bright and has a wide viewing angle. So far we have no complain on its display even though it has only qHD resolution.
Performance
Powering the device is a 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor with 1 GB of RAM. The entry-level chipset surprisingly able to handle high graphics games well like Real Racing 3 thanks to the Adreno 302 GPU.
It scored 5,289 on Quadrant Standard and 12,501 on AnTuTu Benchmark. Although there's no problem on running apps that requires a lot of processing power, but 4 GB internal storage is not enough if you are a heavy apps user.
Software
The Moto E runs on Android 4.4.2 KitKat out of the box. Fortunately, we have upgraded to Android 4.4.4 after unboxed it.
The user interface is pretty same as Nexus devices, as Motorola previously owned by Google (now Lenovo).
The advantage of Motorola smartphone is it comes with additional useful apps. These apps are only available on Motorola device exclusively.
Motorola Assist is your personal assistant. It will automatically silence your phone when meeting or sleeping mode is activated.
Motorola Alert is an app that lets your family know where you are, and it can send an alert for emergency use.
You can transfer your messages, photos, video and music from other phone to the Moto E through Motorola Migrate. All you need to do is scan the QR code in order to get connected.
Camera
5 MP camera is more than enough for an entry-level device. Unlike Asus ZenFone 4, the Moto E has a fixed focus camera instead of auto focus and it is only able to record 480p video. There's no front-facing shooter too.
Camera samples
Photos taken by Moto E are acceptable, it's not a big problem when you uploaded the photos to your social media like Facebook, Twitter and Google+. However, it's not a big deal as the camera is fixed focus, so don't expect to get sharp detail from the Moto E.
Battery
Motorola has rocked the Moto E with a 1,980 mAh battery. It is not removable but 1,980 mAh capacity is considered huge for an entry-level device.
The battery life is decent, it can easily go through more than a day moderate usage. The battery standby is also impressive as well.
Final Words
The Motorola Moto E is priced at RM 369 and it is available on Lazada Malaysia exclusively. Lazada Malaysia now offering 19% off for the Moto E (RM 299), and the Motorola Shell is priced at RM 39 with different colors to style your Moto E. Who say that an entry-level smartphone won't be having a good experience? The Moto E has changed the entry-level game.
Pros
- Impressive battery life
- Pure Google experience
- Android version is up to date
Cons
- Fixed focus camera
- No front-facing camera
- 4 GB internal storage is very limited
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