The New Moto E - Best Budget Smartphone Around?

The New Moto E (Right) With it's Dual-Speaker-ed Older Brother

Recently Motorola released their latest addition to the Moto E line-up of devices, these being the smallest, cheapest and lowest spec models. These are aimed at those who still want the Moto Android 5.0 experience, but don’t want the hefty price-tag that a costly Moto X brings with it. The device features a similar shape to the other Moto devices, being rectangular with curved corners and a bulging curved rear. The device, however lacks the metal frame that the Moto X bears so proudly, and the hardware specs the Moto X brags. The device is also not nearly as powerful as the Moto G, which is definitely a competitive mid-range smartphone.

The device sports a 4.5” qHD display (Don’t  be fooled, the device isn’t quad HD) – it has a resolution of just 540x960 pixels and sports only 245 pixels per inch. The device is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3, so should withstand simple drops and bumps, but wouldn’t appreciate being dropped screen-down.

The rear facing camera records 720p HD video at 30 Frames per second, with a 5MP lens, making the camera fairly high up in the low-range market, but the front facing lens is only capable of VGA, which is Standard definition, not HD – so selfie photographers might be put off this device.

The device features many of the same software features as the 2014 Moto X, such as Moto voice – allowing you to customise what you have to say to activate voice control, instead of a being “Ok, Google.” You can now, finally say “Hal, sing me a song.” And your phone will respond with a ping. Not quite a Space Odyssey, but we’re nearly there – only 14 years late.

The Moto E won’t be exciting anybody who’s waiting to get their hands on a Samsung Galaxy S6, but for those who are new to the world of smartphones and android alike, this is a good place to start.

Don’t make the mistake of buying this as a comparison to an iPhone. If you’re coming to Android because you’re fed up of iOS, spend the same amount of money and you’ll get a much better experience, but buy a budget android phone and that isn’t a fair comparison. However, the Moto E certainly competes with the iPhone in many ways.

Its screen is much larger than the iPhone 5 and previous generations, and 0.3” larger than the iPhone 6. It comes into the market at a very respectable £107, or free with a £13 contract each month.

The device performs simple tasks adequately and allows for a very smooth Android experience. If you need to multitask, however, this isn’t the place to look – the Moto E is very good at doing one thing at once, but not so great at trying to run hundreds of apps in the background!

So, is this the Moto for you? Are you new to smartphones, or just want to revert back to simpler times? Do you not want a second mortgage to get the Moto X? Let us know in the comments below!