New Delhi: Riding high on the success of the Moto G, Motorola today introduced the successor to its affordable smartphone. Named the '2nd Gen Moto G', the Android smartphone comes with improved specs and at a price, which is Rs 1000 cheaper than its predecessor.
The new Moto G (16GB) carries a price tag of Rs 12,999; the original 16GB Moto G, however, was priced at Rs 13,999. Unlike the old Moto G, the new model does not come in a 8GB variant (The phone will be exclusively available in India via Flipkart starting from midnight of September 5).
While the original Moto G managed to impress us, does the Gen 2 edition live up to the expectations set by its illustrious predecessor? For that you will need to wait for our full review. Here are the initial impressions left behind by the new Moto G in the little time we experienced it at the New Delhi launch event.
The new Moto G looks a replica of the old Moto G - minus the size. But on a close look, other changes are also noticeable. For instance, the speaker from the back (on the old Moto G) has been brought to the front on the new Moto G. The new Moto G has dual speakers at the front that produce fairly loud sound in an average room environment, but in a noisy atmosphere, it may not sound powerful. But with earphones plugged in, the phone produces excellent audio results.
What is evident on the new Moto G is the larger display. The new model has a display bigger than the old model by 0.5 inches but with the same screen resolution. Motorola's new Moto G has a 5-inch 720p display that produces good colours and has satisfactory viewing angles. Besides the size, and consequently, the slightly lower pixel density, there are barely any changes, in terms of detailing and sharpness, for a naked eye to observe.
The phone is ergonomically designed with a curved rubbery-finished back. Its rounded corners add more to the comfortable handling.
A significant improvement in the new phone is that it offers expandable storage. The addition of a microSD card slot in the second-gen Moto G indicates that Motorola took the feedback seriously. The original Moto G was criticised for not offering additional storage. The company recommends to use a microSD card not more than 32GB.
The new Moto G comes with enhanced cameras - both in terms of quality and resolution. The megapixel count on the new Moto G has been upped from 5 megapixel to 8 megapixel for the primary camera, and 1.3 to 2 megapixel for the front camera. I remember telling people in my Moto G review early this year that the front camera is okay for video calling, but not for selfies. But Motorola has filled that gap with the new model.
The rear camera also captures quality and satisfactory pictures, but not detailed. Motorola doesn't give many options to customise the frame. The camera feature includes HDR, Panorama, slow-motion video, and tap to focus. Both the front and rear camera are claimed to capture 720p videos.
The phone has an internal storage space of 16GB, of which user-accessible is 12.90GB.
In terms of software improvements, Motorola has enhanced its Moto Alert, Assist and Migrate apps with new features. The Moto Assist now has driving and home modes. The phone, in the driving mode, detects that you are driving - based on the movements, sound of engine and other relevant factors and behaves accordingly. So, meanwhile, if you get a message, it speaks out loud that you have received a message and do you want the phone to read it aloud. You can then choose yes or No. This was what explained by a couple of Motorola executives but we are yet to test its efficiency.
Motorola's migrate app now supports phones other Android phones, including iPhones and other old phones. The app lets you move your stuff from your old phone to your new Motorola phone.
Also, the company has added the Intelligent Voice calling feature - which was first introduced on the Moto E - in the new Moto G. It learns your usage pattern to determine the best SIM for an outgoing call - which is actually based on your past behaviour.
The company claims the new Moto G, on a single charge, can last for a day. This is something which only an extensive test can validate.
Quite like the old Moto G, the new model also doesn't come with a modular charger. i.e., the charger doesn't have a detachable USB cable to transfer files.
The new Moto G will be available in two colours - black and white, and the phones looks smart in both colours.
Other features include FM Radio, Android 4.4 KitKat, Bluetooth version 4.0 LE. Beating under its hood is a 1.2GHz quad-core processor coupled with 1GB of RAM.
In brief, the new Moto G comes with a larger display, enhanced cameras, better speakers, microSD card support for additional storage - all at Rs 1000 less than the predecessor.
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