Motorola is now selling the two variants of its second-generation Moto E in the U.S., with the 3G version available for $119 and the 4G LTE version costing $149.
For over a hundred dollars, buyers don't get anything close to an iPhone 6 or the Samsung Galaxy S6, but anyone who wants a phone they can use simply to send texts and make calls, browse the web a little, take videos and photos for documentation, and play games every once in a while, the Moto E is one of the best smartphones to purchase.
The 4.5-inch display has an okay screen resolution of 960 x 540 with a pixel density of 256 ppi, which is the same as the display on the first-generation Moto E. However, that is where the similarities on both devices pretty much end. Design-wise, the Moto E is clean, simple, and basically everything Motorola is. It has a gently curved back with a dimple for the logo and the 5-megapixel camera in the rear center. Instead of the removable back casing in the first-generation Moto E, this one uses colorful bands and Grip Shell cases to customize the phone and add protection.
Under the hood, the 2015 Moto E runs on a 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 410 and 1 GB of RAM for the LTE model. It's not close to the Snapdragon 800 line of high-end CPUs or the mid-range Snapdragon 600 series, but it's a significant improvement over the Snapdragon 200 used in the older Moto E and even beats the Nexus 5's aging Snapdragon 800 processor in some benchmark tests. This year's 3G version, however, still retains the same Snapdragon 200 CPU.
The 2,390mAh battery, an improvement over the previous generation's 1,980mAh, is one of the phone's better features, even producing the same results as the Samsung Galaxy S5 and beating other high-end devices such as the iPhone 6, Nexus 5, and the Moto X in some benchmark tests.
The Moto E runs on Android Lollipop 5.0.2 out of the box, which isn't surprising since Motorola has tried to keep its smartphones running on the latest updates. Unfortunately, the phone's IPS display does not allow its user to use Motorola's Active Display, a feature in its flagship Moto X that briefly flashes notifications on the screen even when it is locked. However, users can take advantage of Android Lollipop's native Ambient Display feature for that.
Other signature Motorola features that found their way to the Moto E include Assist, which pulls information from the user's calendar so that notifications do not disturb the user during times when he doesn't want them coming, such as when he is at a meeting or when he is asleep. Migrate, which is a feature that allows users to easily transfer their files and contacts from an old phone to the Moto E, is also included.
And for parents who are looking to buy the Moto E is a starter phone for their kids, they can enable Alert, which sends them occasional location alerts and tweaks the phone's settings when it senses it is in certain locations, such as at school or home.
Photo: Motorola
