Moto G

Moto G

Overview

Good phones do not come on the cheap. The notion has been bandied around with much success apparently but as previously witnessed with the Nexus range of phones, you can indeed deliver premium at much lower costs. While the Moto G can hardly be classified as a flagship or even premium, it does deliver some pretty mid-range features and specs for the price of a budget and could drive up sales in emerging markets.

Out of the box, the Moto G comes in black which however can be customized with a variety of colors (7 to be exact). The form measures 129.9 x 65.9 x 11.6 mm all of which appears to be screen at first glance owing to the absence of any physical keys on the front panel and minimal clutter save for the Motorola logo, LED notification light, motley of sensors, speaker grille and front facing camera. The 4.5 inch LCD screen instantly comes to life when the phone is switched on and manages to knock above its weight pulling in an impressive 326 ppi density at the price range obviously and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for added protection.

Delve deeper into the Moto G and you will find an impressive array of hardware and software features. in keeping with the Google design language of less is more, the Moto G comes with minimal bloatware running near stock Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) which is great for customization and memory efficiency but sadly leaves out some pretty cool software tricks seen on more premium Motorola phones. The software is powered by a Snapdragon 400 Quad core 1.2 GHz processor backed by 1 GB of RAM which enables the phone breeze through most everyday activities but could see it taxed by much more graphics hungry games.

On the media front, the Moto G comes with a standard issue 5 MP primary camera whose picture quality is rather poor and a secondary 1.3 MP camera. The primary camera supports video capture at 720p. the Moto g comes with 8/16 GB of onboard storage which is however not supplemented by the option to expand memory via microSD.. This could be a limiting factor especially if you store plenty of media on your phone as well as limit the number of applications you can logically download.To compensate for the likely reduced music storage capabilities Google throws in an FM radio to keep the listener “busy”. The 1.2 GHz Quadcore processor coupled with the Adreno 305 GPU and 1 GB of RAM should ensure most games play smoothly but again the limited onboard storage severely limits the number of quality games that can be installed. The battery is pretty decent at 2070mAH which should keep the phone running for a while.

The data speeds are pretty decent 2G and 3Gconnectivity but LTE support is lacking. There is Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot support but given the price range NFC is rightly missing. For media transfer and battery charging there is the standard microUSB slot.

At a glance

Network

2G Network                                                        GSM 900/1800-RM-899

               850/1900-RM-900

3G Network                                                        HSPDA 850/900/1900/2100

SIM card                                                               Single SIM

Display

Dimensions                                                        129.9 x 65.9 x 11.6 mm

Weight                                                                 143 g

Display                                                                 LCD capacitative touchscreen

Size                                                                        720 x 1280 pixels4.5 inches

Loudspeaker                                                      Yes

3.5mm jack                                                         Yes

Memory

Memory card slot                                            No microSD support

Internal memory                                             8/16GB,1GB RAM

Data

GPRS                                                                     Yes

EDGE                                                                     Yes

HSDPA, 21Mbps

Wireless                                                              Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot

Bluetooth                                                           Yes

USB                                                                        Yes, microUSB

Camera

Primary                                                                5 MP

Video                                                                    Yes, 720p @30fps

Secondary                                                           Yes, 1.3 MP

Radio                                                                    FM radio

Music player                                                      Yes, MP3, MP4 player

Features

Operating System                                           Android OS v4.3 (Jelly Bean)

Chipset                                                                                Qualcomm Snapdragon 400

CPU                                                                        Quad-Core 1.2 Cortex A7

GPU                                                                       Adreno 305

Battery                                                                 Li-Ion 2070mAH battery

GPS                                                                        Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS

Available colors                                               Black, interchangeable back covers

Nokia Asha 501

Nokia Asha 501

Overview

Nokia keeps redefining the line between pure smartphones and feature phones and with the introduction of the Nokia Asha 501, the line is now thinner than ever. It borrows heavily on the design cues from the Lumia range with bright candy colors and the bold form factor of the now very identifiable Lumia range of phones and introduces the newly minted Nokia Asha Software Platform 1.0 operating system. With it Nokia aims to build on its strong brand presence in emerging markets and the phone is bound to be a hit especially for people looking for a bridge between basic feature-phones and low end smartphones.

Feature phones have come a long way since the early days of the very Kenyan Nokia 3310. With the Asha 501, Nokia manages to produce a featurephone on the borderline between smart and dumb. A cursory glance reveals a presentable 3 inch capacitative touchscreen and although the pixel density is rather low at 133 ppi, it should serve for a budget phone. The screen is encased in a boxy casing and can be customized with a variety of colorful cases (yellow, red, green, blue, black and white). Weighing a lightweight 98g and measuring just 99.2 x 58 x 12.2mm, the phone would feel comfortable even in the smallest of hands.

Under the hood you will find limited internal memory of just 128MB which however can be expanded up to 32 GB and a meager 64MB of RAM which is obviously not meant for multitasking but should keep the Nokia Asha Software Platform 1.0 O.S chugging along happily. The battery is a modest1200mAh but Nokia’s new “low power display” software   trick should be able to keep the phone running without much of a power drain. Battery recharge is via the now almost standard micro-USB port

On the connectivity front the phone comes with a dual-SIM/single SIM setup with the ability to hotswap SIM cards without having to switch off the phone first. There is 2G support, Bluetooth support and Wi-Fi connectivity thrown in for good measure and but sadly no 3G connectivity.

On the media side of things the Asha 501 rocks a 3.15MP primary camera which supports QVGA video capture. There is FM radio support and MP3/MP4 which can be enjoyed via loudspeaker or through the 3.5mm headphones. The OS being still pretty new doesn’t have a rich ecosystem of applications but popular apps such as Whatsapp and Nokia Maps will find an easy home here. The Nokia-EA Sports partnership is also alive with the Asha 501 allowing owners to download up to 40 EA games and applications for free.

At a glance

Network

2G Network                                                        GSM 900/1800-RM-899

                850/1900-RM-900

SIM card                                                              Optional Dual SIM

Dimensions

Dimensions                                                           99.2 x 58 x12.1 mm

Weight                                                                 98.2 g

Display                                                                 TFT capacitative touchscreen

Size                                                                      240 x 320 pixels, 3.0 inches

Multitouch                                                            Up to 2 fingers

Loudspeaker                                                        Yes

3.5mm jack                                                           Yes

Memory

Memory card slot                                                 microSD expandable up to 32 GB,4GB included

Internal memory                                                   128MB, 64MB RAM

Data

GPRS                                                                   Up to 85.6kbps

EDGE                                                                   Up to 236.8kbps

Wireless                                                               Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n

Bluetooth                                                              Yes

USB                                                                     Yes, microUSB

Camera

Primary                                                                 3.2MP

Video                                                                   Yes, QVGA

Radio                                                                    FM radio

Music player                                                         Yes,MP3, MP4 player

Features

Operating System                                                 Nokia Asha Software Platform 1.0

Battery                                                                 Li-Ion 1200mAH battery

Available colors                                                   Red, Green, Yellow, White, Black