Moto E (XT1022) Review – Best Budget Android Phone Money Can Buy

It seems as if Motorola has made a point to show consumers what the term “value for money” really means! They did so with Moto X, Moto G earlier and now with Moto E.

I am sure you must have guessed how good the device is after reading the title and the introductory lines. However I would still like to share what this budget android phone has to offer and why does it justify the price tag of Rs. 6,999. Alright so let’s get on with Moto E review.

Design Factor

Clearly the Moto E follows the same design language as seen in Moto X and Moto G barring the fact that Moto E is bit bulky. This being said it doesn’t at all make the device any less appreciable!

Moto E features a removable rear Shell under-which you’ll find the space for inserting a microSD card and (two) SIM card slots. The battery also resided beneath the shell albeit a non-removable one. The good part about here is that you have the option to personalize your Moto E by using rear Shell of your taste, they are available in various colors including Chalk, Cherry, Lemon Lime, Royal Blue, Turquoise and Violet.

Coming to the front you’ll find chrome painted lines at the top and bottom, the one at the tops is the earpiece while the other one is the speaker (for stereo audio output). There’s no front camera though. On the phone’s right edge are its power/screen on-off multi-purpose button and volume rocker. The microUSB port is located on the device’s bottom edge, whereas 3.5mm audio jack resides at the top edge.

One worth mentioning aspect of Moto E is the material used in making it sturdy. The Moto E comes with a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 display and a water-resistant chassis.

Display Quality

Motorola Moto E sports a 4.3″ inch qHD display with resolution of 960 x 540. This is definitely not what majority of devices are flaunting these days however at this resolution the device is more than capable of delivering a decent visual experience. You are less likely to notice any issues while viewing images, videos or game graphics.

Problem arises when you use Moto E under direct sunlight. Even with brightness cranked up to maximum level it gets slightly hard to view the display.

Android Experience

This is one thing I have loved about Motorola. They have offered pure Android experience in their devices (Moto X, Moto G) which means no carrier specific apps, OEM bloatware or custom skinning. Moto E offers what the “real” android has to offer, no strings attached. And believe me pure Android in its latest iteration is beautiful!

Another positive aspect about Moto E is that Motorola says users will also get at-least one major update for the operating system, something which isn’t found in budget android devices. As a matter of fact even premium devices struggle to get timely update. This essentially means you’ll be able to enjoy the next Android version without worrying about after-market firmware flashing 😉

Performance (and Camera)

Moto E comes with a 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor, 1 GB RAM, 4 GB of on-board storage (option to add 32 GB microSD card) and Android 4.4.2. Now these are by no means top of the range specifications but mind you we are talking about a device costing Rs. 6,999 and at this price I must say Motorola is offering plenty.

With these specs you can perform almost any task on Moto E without worrying about it lagging or hanging. The less heavy duty (and played by many) games like Candy Crush, Angry Birds, Temple Run running without any hitch. I was also able to play 720p videos easily (Full HD videos struggled a bit though). All in all a dual core processor and a gig of RAM is sufficient enough to run your daily dose of applications without any problem.

About the camera of Moto E there isn’t much to talk about. The Moto E comes with a 5 MP rear camera without flash and no secondary camera. Absence of a secondary shooter means video calling and selfies are out of the picture. On the other hand lack of accompanying flash for primary camera implies restricted usage of camera for daytime shooting only. As far as image quality is concerned, I wasn’t really impressed with them. The captured images are good enough for casual photography and sharing on social media only. Also you can record video with the Moto E at a resolution of 864×480. Again you’ll get mediocre video quality at best.

Included Motorola Apps

Moto E comes with a handful of Motorola applications including Moto Alert, Moto Assist and Motorola Migrate. Yes, I did say there isn’t any OEM bloatware in Moto E but these applications don’t fall in “bloatware” category since all of them are pretty useful. Worth mentioning are Moto Alert and Motorola Migrate with the former offering you a safety feature whilst the latter helps you to easily switch devices.

Battery Life

Moto E has a 1,980 mAh non-removable battery which, given the size of display and specifications, was expected to last almost a day and it did. I didn’t have to supply additional charge for approximately 16 hours (that covers productive portion of the day for me!) after an overnight full battery charge. During this I used the regular suite of apps including but not limited to WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook (and Messenger), LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter and 5 gmail accounts; I also played a couple of matches in Stick Cricket and listened to music for about half an hour (streaming via bluetooth).

Summing Up

In one word. Buy!

I can’t emphasis more on the value of money Moto E offers. For a device costing Rs. 6,999 a lot of performance is packed into it. Slick design, Sturdy build, Swappable shell cover, Efficient battery, Pure android experience supported well by good underlying hardware. Except for missing flash and front camera, there isn’t much to complain about.

Moto E truly stands up to Motorola’s motto of “Made to last. Priced for all.”. If you are planning to buy a sub 10K INR android mobile phone I’d recommend Moto E all the way.

Moto E In Pictures