Google has a plan, to create the best device in each inches category. Nexus 5 is on the upper side of the 5.0 inches, Moto X is is a bit smaller and covers the 4.7 inches market and the brand new Motorola Moto G is a great 4.5 inches. Moto X is not a winner but, like Nexus 5, Moto G is. People need more smaller devices, it’s hard to go out with a huge 5 or 5.6 inches phone. So Google launched the smaller 4.5 inches Moto G and now we will compare it to other Android smartphones.
SCREEN
Motorola Moto G has a 4.5 inches screen with 326 pixels per inch. The screen is not as big as premium smartphones that have 5 inches screen or more and it hasn’t the quality of premium smartphones either. But compared to other 4.5 inches phones, Moto G has a nice screen. There is no other 4.5 inches phone with better screen but there is a smaller one (HTC One mini with 4.3 inches screen) that has a better screen (341PPI). Huawei Honor 2 (326PPI) , Sony Xperia T (323PPI) and ZTE Blade G (217PPI) have also 4.5 inches screen and less or the same pixels. So it’s a good screen but not something really special.
CAMERA
Google selected a 5MP camera for Moto G that is frustrating. Sony Xperia T has a 13MP camera at 4.5 inches and Huawei Honor 2 has an 8MP camera and 8MP cameras can be found on 4.3 inches phones like Samsung Galaxy S4 mini and HTC Desire 500. It’s a pity to have an old school 5MP camera on Moto G. Of course there are some apps to make the photos even better but they are not enough. When you zoom in, the details are lost. We need bigger photos on newer phones, not smaller.
PROCESSOR
Motorola Moto G has a quad core processor at 1.2GHz with 1GB of RAM. It’s good to have a quad core processor but RAM is also essential to have better speed and open multiple apps at the same time. In the category of4.3 – 4.5 inches devices there are not a lot of quad core phones. Apart from Moto G, Huawei Honor 2 (quad at 1.4GHz) and HTC Desire 500 (quad at 1.2GHz) have a quad core processor. Huawei Honor 2 has 2GB of RAM and HTC Desire 500 has 1GB of RAM so Motorola Moto G is not the fastest device of the category but it’s one of the fastest.
BATTERY
On that size there are few phones with more than 2000mAh batteries. Motorola Moto G has a 2070mAh battery which is smaller than Huawei Honor’s 2 2230mAh battery or Sony Xperia P’s 2370mAh battery. ZTE Blade G has also a 2000mAh battery and LG optimus F5 has a 2150mAh battery fit on a smaller screen (4.3 inches). The most impressive battery is on LG L7ii (2460mAh battery on a 4.3 inches screen). So if you want the best battery on a device, Moto G is not the first option, but it’s one of the best.
SOFTWARE
It’s impressive to see a Google device on the market launched in November, after Android 4.4 is launched and not have the latest Android version. I thought Google would not do the same mystakes as other smartphone companies. But it happens. So officially, Nexus 5 is the only Google device with Android 4.4 right from the start. Moto G is of course updated and will be updated to every next version and that is a reason to buy it compared to other 4.5 inches devices like Sony Xperia SP (Android 4.1), Huawei Honor 2 (Android 4.0) or HTC Desire 500 (Android 4.2) and Samsung Galaxy S4 mini (Android 4.2).
SIZE & DESIGN
Motorola Moto G is not the best designed phone on the market. Too fat and not very light. But you have an option, you can select the back of the device and choose the color you like. And also this device is not afraid of the water. Apart that, the 11.6mm is not slim enough. When the slimmest device is 6.2mm and has a 4.7 inches screen (Huawei Ascend P6). Huawei’s phone weighs 120g at the time Motorola Moto G weighs 143g. Moto G is one of the fattest phones after HTC Desire C (12.3mm) and LG L2ii, Sony Xperia U and Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 (12mm). Diet now!
VIDEO REVIEW
VERDICT – should I buy this device?
Motorola Mot G is another phone from Google and this device will cover the 4.5 inches category (along with the 4.3 and 4.6 inches categories). There are a lot of devices on these categories and not a lot of space for a moderate phone. So Motorola needed to do something special to make the difference. Instead of a great phone, Motorola launched a cheap device with “one of the best” specs is some areas. Of course the design is something to take into consideration. Moto G is a bit “oldie” in the matter of body (it is fat), RAM or even Android version (I know 4.3 is new but it’s a Google phone and Google launched the 4.4 Kit Kat). We love Google phones, we love them more when they have some special.
1. If you are a Google fan and you want a phone with back cover color choices, not afraid of water, buy Motorola Moto G
2. If you want the best 4.5 inches device, get Moto G
3. If you are ready to sacrifice 0.2 inches on your screen, and you can afford it, buy Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
COMPARISON CHART
| Spec | Motorola Moto G | Compared to: | with spec: | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 11.6 | Huawei Ascend P6 | 6.2 | 13% |
| Weight | 143 | HTC Desire C | 100 | 57% |
| Screen PPI | 326 | HTC One | 469 | 70% |
| Camera MP | 5 | Nokia Lumia 1020 | 41 | 12% |
| 2nd Camera | 1.3 | Huawei Ascend P6 | 5 | 26% |
| Processor | 4 * 1.2 | Samsung Galaxy Note 3 | 8 * 1.9 | 32% |
| RAM MB | 1000 | Samsung Galaxy Note 3 | 3000 | 33% |
| Battery mAh | 2070 | Huawei Ascend Mate | 4050 | 51% |
| Android | 4.3 | Google Nexus 5 | 4.5 | 86% |
| Release Date | 2013-11 | - | Today | 100% |
| Our view | 55% | - | 100% | 55% |
| AVC rating method | Rated: 11/14/13 | Best price | Total Rating | 48.6% |