Affordable Phones Get Cooler As Motorola Announces The Second Generation Moto E

Lenovo-owned Motorola has announced its newest low-cost entrant into the mobile phones arena with the debut of the second-generation Moto E. In its first iteration, the Moto E enjoyed considerable success in markets like India and the Asia-Pacific, where low cost phones are high on the priority list of first-time smartphone users. Considering the kind of success the Moto E received in those markets, it was only a matter of time before Motorola came up with a revamped, better-specced Moto E. And that is exactly what they have done earlier today. Wondering what’s new with the Moto E? Let us find out straight away! Before we begin, I should remind you that the Moto E in its new avatar would come in two variants — one with LTE compatibility and the other being a 3G-only variant. There are slight differences in the hardware between these two phones. Anyway, let’s check the specifications out first!

While both the versions of the Moto E look similar from outside, the key difference between the LTE and the 3G version is the chip found inside either of them. While the LTE version packs in a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor with a 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU, Adreno 306 with 400 MHz GPU, the 3G Moto E is powered by the Snapdragon 200 processor with 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU mated to the Adreno 302 with 400 MHz GPU. How much of a difference these two phones might have in the real world is something we would find in due course.

The new Moto E features a 4.5 inch QHD (540×960 pixel) 245 ppi IPS display. It comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and also boasts an anti-smudge coating. Both the devices get 8 GB of internal memory, which can thankfully be expanded using micro SD cards. Currently, the official spec page lists support of up to 32 GB cards, which should be sufficient for most people. There is 1 GB of RAM as well — which is sufficient for newer versions of Android.

Talking about Android versions bring me perhaps to the best part of the phone. The Moto E would be preloaded with Android 5.0 Lollipop at launch. This — even at a time several high end handsets are yet to receive an official update to the latest version of Android!

Moving on to the imaging department, the second generation Moto E features a 5 megapixel camera with several features including quick capture, tap anywhere to capture, slow motion video, burst mode, auto HDR, panorama, and tap to focus. There is a front VGA camera as well for video calling purposes. The rear camera can also capture videos in 720p at 30 frames a second.

Connectivity wise, Motorola has all the essential boxes ticked with support for Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Micro USB, 3.5mm headset jack, GPS, AGPS, and GLONASS. Motorola promises 24 hours of battery life with the new Moto E thanks to its 2390 mAH battery.

In case you are wondering what GSM and LTE bands are supported by the Moto E, here’s the detailed data for the two versions (One is a U.S. specific, GSM version)

Now for the most important bit — the pricing! According to Motorola, the Moto E would be sold unlocked in the U.S. for $120 (3G) and for $150 (LTE) — which seems to be great value for money considering the prices at which a couple of new flagship handsets are rumored to be announced for. For our Indian readers, while we do not have a final pricing, we expect Motorola to price the Moto E near the Rs. 7,000 mark.

[Images Via Motorola]