The Moto E is primarily aimed at markets like India, where even an extra 10 dollars MSRP can make or break a purchase.
LTE in such markets make no sense. Most of them don't even have LTE except for in a few token spots in the largest cities if even that.
It's still not even a 720p screen. The Huawei Holly is a whopping $50 dollars cheaper, it has 720p and 3G, which is most relevant. Oh, did I mention it's $50 dollars cheaper? The Moto E 2015 is far too overpriced for its market segment. Even the Xiaomi Redmi Note is on a similar scale.
In Indian currency, the 150 dollars is about 10K rupees, which is where the Mi Note is. Which has 4G(if you really must have it) and a 720p 5.5 inch screen and over 3000 mAh battery life. Why would you get a phone like the Moto E for the same price with less battery life, crappier screen, smaller screen and no distinct advantage?
There are many other examples of low-budget phones which are better. Motorola gotta step it up.
Oh and then there's the Lenovo A6000. It is cheaper by about 30 dollars MSRP. It has LTE(again unnecessary for the budget end, but whatever), 720p, 5 inch screen and same battery.
Cheaper and better specs. Jeff if you think the Moto is a good buy you're only revealing your ignorance.
Or, he actually read the article: "The phone is being released in two versions. The first being the LTE model which primarily targets the US market in its LTE frequency bands. There are also a pair of 3G versions, with one again targeted at the US and the other more globally, with the big difference being the US 3G version's support of the 1700MHz AWS frequency bands for HSPA+."
2 things to note, the 3G version is much slower with it's A7 cores and LTE is not a premium feature in 2015 anymore. When Qualcomm owned the LTE market they milked it hard but now others are pushing LTE and prices are far more reasonable. Since the first post mentions India i'll add that India does have TDD-LTE (a little bit anyway, in India even 3G coverage is poor) so it's easier for the China phone makers to attack that LTE market and something that other phone makers need to factor in.
The 3G version is priced at INR 6,999 (~$113) which is exactly same as the Honor Holly and Lenovo A6000. Yes on paper the Holly and A6000 have a better screen. But check the reviews and you would see that the Moto E(2014) screen had better brightness and color reproduction than these two. Moto has addressed many of the issues of the 2014 issues like FF camera, front cam and very low internal storage. Plus it comes with Lollipop out of box which is a big advantage against other phones that are still on Kitkat. I was slightly disappointed they are still sticking to S200 whereas they could have thrown in a S400 for the 3G version. But overall a good phone and should again sell in millions in India just like the 2014 version. P.S: I have both Moto G(2013) and Moto E (2014). So I have first hand experienced the UX improvement in the handsets with OS upgrade
I don't think this phone is intended for India. The LTE bands are catered towards the US market. Regardless of what markets past Moto E versions targeted, the new LTE one is probably aimed at prepaid US customers buying phones off-contract.
Why would anyone want to carry a reasonable sized phone instead of a 5.5 inch slab that doesn't fit in your pocket unless you use cargo pants? Yeah, those crazies picking the smaller phone they can easily carry around even on tight jeans, I don't get them. /s
Not sure where you got this from. Actually the CPU of the Lumias is pretty lame but display and cameras at least one notch over the E -- they don't compare at all
Moto failed to understand that they need to keep the pace with how specs/price evolve in time.This is a lesser device now than the first E was at launch, same goes for the G. A bigger issue is that 150$ is way too much especially with the recent currency fluctuations. They are not targeting the US with such devices so it's very relevant what the pricing is elsewhere. Even at 100$ this wouldn't be exciting anymore in international markets, at 150$ it's more or less in the price band where Moto G used to be (without even factoring in the evolution for price/specs). In Europe for example with 19 to 25% VAT, pricing would be 177-186$ (156- 164 Euros) so hopefully they adjust prices outside the US.
"This is a lesser device now than the first E was at launch, same goes for the G." Faster processor, more flash, LTE, auto focus rear camera, new front camera, same screen resolution. Just how is this a "lesser" device than the first E?
I'll give you that on the 2nd gen G since the first gen has LTE and expandable flash, but it looks to me like the new E is an upgrade in just about every way.
well, the first moto E packed decently good specs for the price, but this model is just slightly better while the competition got much better. Here in italy you can find a zenfone 5, the 2/16GB model, for 180 bucks, and it totally wrecks this "new" moto E
Unfortunately you failed to understand the meaning of what i was saying, guess it's in part my fault for not being more explicit. It is a lesser device when you put it in context, the specs are better but not by enough to keep up with what the current offering is and keep the device in the same league the previous model was at launch. Parts get better and cheaper and that's how we get better and better specs. Screen prices dropped some 30% or so in the least year. LTE is not a premium feature anymore, it's the norm now that a few SoC makers are offering it. NAND prices are always declining in a decent way, RAM maybe less so lately. In 2014 there have been fierce competition in the camera sensor area so prices got a lot better and so on. Sure they do have a low clocked A53 and for now not that many devices are using A53 but that's only because the SoC are fairly fresh and just starting to take over. Soon enough a lot more devices will use A53 SoCs and many higher clocked. The currency makes things way worse,for example 1 year ago 1 euro was almost 1.4$, now it's about 1.14$. So if they wouldn't adjust pricing and just convert plus add taxes you would have ,lets say in Germany , 1 year ago Moto E at 129$+19% VAT divided by 1.39= 110.4 euros vs now 149+19% divided by 1.14 =155.5 euros so a price increase of about 41%. So they really need to adjust international pricing. And if it matters the old Moto E right now on Amazon Germany is 92 euros since the price declined a bit since launch.
Got to double post here , just checked Moto's site and pricing for the LTE version in a few EU markets. In Germany it is 129 euros, in UK 109 pounds amd in France 139 euros so they adjusted prices lower for international markets. You would think that was important enough to highlight when they released the info.
It's got twice as many cores and twice the storage, a front camera and a better back camera, and now comes in variants (LTE and 3G) depending on your budget. Also it has Lollipop.
And the LTE version *is* targeting the US.
OTOH this doesn't bode well for the 2015 Moto G's pricepoint.
Correction for your comparison table: The Moto G 2014 has Micro SD too. (only the first-gen non-LTE Moto G lacked a card slot; all subsequent Moto Gs have card slots)
This phone is pointless. 1. It is ugly 2. For that price, you can get something better like moto g 1st gen (of course non LTE) but you can even get redmi 2 which support LTE for around that price 3. For developing countries such as India, Indonesia, etc, they have Android One which basically the same spec for 100$ or less and not to forget motorola update is undeniably rubbish after the acquisition compared to google era.
"Finally, the phone is shipping with Android 5.0 Lollipop, making it the first Motorola-branded phone to ship with Android 5.0 out of the factory and joining Motorola’s other phones which recently received the OS as an update. "
So how is the Snapdragon 200 version going to cope with Lollipop's full device encryption, which is always enabled on all new installs? As Anandtech documented with the Nexus 6 (http://www.anandtech.com/show/8725/encryption-and-... the FDE will cripple storage performance unless the device has hardware crypto acceleration like what comes with all 64-bit ARMs.
Not ever device that ships with L is forced to use full device encryption. That was Google's decision with the N6 and N9 and manufacturers can decide for their own devices.
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29 Comments
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jeffkibuule - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
For $150, that's actually not too bad.Mondozai - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
The Moto E is primarily aimed at markets like India, where even an extra 10 dollars MSRP can make or break a purchase.LTE in such markets make no sense. Most of them don't even have LTE except for in a few token spots in the largest cities if even that.
It's still not even a 720p screen. The Huawei Holly is a whopping $50 dollars cheaper, it has 720p and 3G, which is most relevant. Oh, did I mention it's $50 dollars cheaper? The Moto E 2015 is far too overpriced for its market segment. Even the Xiaomi Redmi Note is on a similar scale.
In Indian currency, the 150 dollars is about 10K rupees, which is where the Mi Note is. Which has 4G(if you really must have it) and a 720p 5.5 inch screen and over 3000 mAh battery life. Why would you get a phone like the Moto E for the same price with less battery life, crappier screen, smaller screen and no distinct advantage?
There are many other examples of low-budget phones which are better. Motorola gotta step it up.
Mondozai - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
Oh and then there's the Lenovo A6000. It is cheaper by about 30 dollars MSRP. It has LTE(again unnecessary for the budget end, but whatever), 720p, 5 inch screen and same battery.Cheaper and better specs. Jeff if you think the Moto is a good buy you're only revealing your ignorance.
fic2 - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
Or, he actually read the article:"The phone is being released in two versions. The first being the LTE model which primarily targets the US market in its LTE frequency bands. There are also a pair of 3G versions, with one again targeted at the US and the other more globally, with the big difference being the US 3G version's support of the 1700MHz AWS frequency bands for HSPA+."
jjj - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
2 things to note, the 3G version is much slower with it's A7 cores and LTE is not a premium feature in 2015 anymore.When Qualcomm owned the LTE market they milked it hard but now others are pushing LTE and prices are far more reasonable. Since the first post mentions India i'll add that India does have TDD-LTE (a little bit anyway, in India even 3G coverage is poor) so it's easier for the China phone makers to attack that LTE market and something that other phone makers need to factor in.
ChennaiBoi - Friday, February 27, 2015 - link
The 3G version is priced at INR 6,999 (~$113) which is exactly same as the Honor Holly and Lenovo A6000. Yes on paper the Holly and A6000 have a better screen. But check the reviews and you would see that the Moto E(2014) screen had better brightness and color reproduction than these two.Moto has addressed many of the issues of the 2014 issues like FF camera, front cam and very low internal storage.
Plus it comes with Lollipop out of box which is a big advantage against other phones that are still on Kitkat. I was slightly disappointed they are still sticking to S200 whereas they could have thrown in a S400 for the 3G version.
But overall a good phone and should again sell in millions in India just like the 2014 version.
P.S: I have both Moto G(2013) and Moto E (2014). So I have first hand experienced the UX improvement in the handsets with OS upgrade
icrf - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
I don't think this phone is intended for India. The LTE bands are catered towards the US market. Regardless of what markets past Moto E versions targeted, the new LTE one is probably aimed at prepaid US customers buying phones off-contract.gonchuki - Thursday, February 26, 2015 - link
Why would anyone want to carry a reasonable sized phone instead of a 5.5 inch slab that doesn't fit in your pocket unless you use cargo pants? Yeah, those crazies picking the smaller phone they can easily carry around even on tight jeans, I don't get them. /sMaxpower2727 - Thursday, February 26, 2015 - link
I use a 5.5" phone, I don't wear cargo pants, and yet somehow I have no issues at all fitting the phone in my pocket. Such drama.mkozakewich - Thursday, February 26, 2015 - link
I can comfortably carry my 7" tablet in my jeans pocket. Not all of us are as small as you are.Gunbuster - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
Dear Microsoft,It is time to drop the prices on the Lumia 730 and 830.
Sincerely phones with similar hardware selling for $149
Daniel Egger - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
Not sure where you got this from. Actually the CPU of the Lumias is pretty lame but display and cameras at least one notch over the E -- they don't compare at alljjj - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
Moto failed to understand that they need to keep the pace with how specs/price evolve in time.This is a lesser device now than the first E was at launch, same goes for the G.A bigger issue is that 150$ is way too much especially with the recent currency fluctuations. They are not targeting the US with such devices so it's very relevant what the pricing is elsewhere. Even at 100$ this wouldn't be exciting anymore in international markets, at 150$ it's more or less in the price band where Moto G used to be (without even factoring in the evolution for price/specs). In Europe for example with 19 to 25% VAT, pricing would be 177-186$ (156- 164 Euros) so hopefully they adjust prices outside the US.
fic2 - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
"This is a lesser device now than the first E was at launch, same goes for the G."Faster processor, more flash, LTE, auto focus rear camera, new front camera, same screen resolution.
Just how is this a "lesser" device than the first E?
I'll give you that on the 2nd gen G since the first gen has LTE and expandable flash, but it looks to me like the new E is an upgrade in just about every way.
nikaldro - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
well, the first moto E packed decently good specs for the price, but this model is just slightly better while the competition got much better. Here in italy you can find a zenfone 5, the 2/16GB model, for 180 bucks, and it totally wrecks this "new" moto Ejjj - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
Unfortunately you failed to understand the meaning of what i was saying, guess it's in part my fault for not being more explicit.It is a lesser device when you put it in context, the specs are better but not by enough to keep up with what the current offering is and keep the device in the same league the previous model was at launch.
Parts get better and cheaper and that's how we get better and better specs. Screen prices dropped some 30% or so in the least year. LTE is not a premium feature anymore, it's the norm now that a few SoC makers are offering it. NAND prices are always declining in a decent way, RAM maybe less so lately. In 2014 there have been fierce competition in the camera sensor area so prices got a lot better and so on.
Sure they do have a low clocked A53 and for now not that many devices are using A53 but that's only because the SoC are fairly fresh and just starting to take over. Soon enough a lot more devices will use A53 SoCs and many higher clocked.
The currency makes things way worse,for example 1 year ago 1 euro was almost 1.4$, now it's about 1.14$. So if they wouldn't adjust pricing and just convert plus add taxes you would have ,lets say in Germany , 1 year ago Moto E at 129$+19% VAT divided by 1.39= 110.4 euros vs now 149+19% divided by 1.14 =155.5 euros so a price increase of about 41%. So they really need to adjust international pricing. And if it matters the old Moto E right now on Amazon Germany is 92 euros since the price declined a bit since launch.
jjj - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
Got to double post here , just checked Moto's site and pricing for the LTE version in a few EU markets. In Germany it is 129 euros, in UK 109 pounds amd in France 139 euros so they adjusted prices lower for international markets.You would think that was important enough to highlight when they released the info.
psychobriggsy - Thursday, February 26, 2015 - link
It's got twice as many cores and twice the storage, a front camera and a better back camera, and now comes in variants (LTE and 3G) depending on your budget. Also it has Lollipop.And the LTE version *is* targeting the US.
OTOH this doesn't bode well for the 2015 Moto G's pricepoint.
Maxpower2727 - Thursday, February 26, 2015 - link
Except the article explicitly states that they're targeting the US with this device. So there's that.code65536 - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
Correction for your comparison table: The Moto G 2014 has Micro SD too. (only the first-gen non-LTE Moto G lacked a card slot; all subsequent Moto Gs have card slots)dullard - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
I'm impressed that they could get a 4.5 foot screen into such a small body."enlarging the overall body slightly to house the larger 4.5’ screen"
Maxpower2727 - Thursday, February 26, 2015 - link
Imagine how small it would be if the bezels weren't so gigantic.aggiechase37 - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
So since Lenovo owns Moto now, can we expect that the phone is chock full of spyware?WorldWithoutMadness - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
This phone is pointless.1. It is ugly
2. For that price, you can get something better like moto g 1st gen (of course non LTE) but you can even get redmi 2 which support LTE for around that price
3. For developing countries such as India, Indonesia, etc, they have Android One which basically the same spec for 100$ or less and not to forget motorola update is undeniably rubbish after the acquisition compared to google era.
d4Njv - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
"Finally, the phone is shipping with Android 5.0 Lollipop, making it the first Motorola-branded phone to ship with Android 5.0 out of the factory and joining Motorola’s other phones which recently received the OS as an update. "So how is the Snapdragon 200 version going to cope with Lollipop's full device encryption, which is always enabled on all new installs? As Anandtech documented with the Nexus 6 (http://www.anandtech.com/show/8725/encryption-and-... the FDE will cripple storage performance unless the device has hardware crypto acceleration like what comes with all 64-bit ARMs.
blzd - Friday, February 27, 2015 - link
Not ever device that ships with L is forced to use full device encryption. That was Google's decision with the N6 and N9 and manufacturers can decide for their own devices.NAK - Thursday, February 26, 2015 - link
It seems to me its just a new version of Moto G with only an extra option of external memory.blzd - Friday, February 27, 2015 - link
Some sites are reporting that this is using an OLED display. I find it hard to believe but would be nice to see a confirmation.rknize - Wednesday, March 4, 2015 - link
It was the factory data reset that facilitated the switch from EXT4 to F2FS on the 2014 X.