Review: Motorola Moto E
May 30, 2014, 3:45 PM by Eric M. Zeman
Motorola takes a shot across the bow of other entry-level device makers with the Moto E, its low-cost leviathan. The Moto E redefines what inexpensive Android smartphones can offer.
Form
Is It Your Type?
If you thought Motorola was aiming low with last year's Moto G, think again. With its $130 price tag, the Moto E targets the true entry-level segment of the smartphone market. It may lack the appealing technology in today's mid-range and high-end handsets, but it delivers solid performance and value that can't be matched. If you're contract-averse and on a budget, find out why the Moto E might be the best choice for you.
Body
The Moto E takes the idea of low-cost smartphones to a whole new level. As it did with the Moto G, Motorola has redefined once again just what an inexpensive handset can offer.
Motorola's newer smartphones - the X, G, and now the E - share the same basic look and feel. They have soft, comfortable plastics, compact footprints, and easy one-handed use. From a distance it would be hard to tell the three apart. The E is the smallest, and that's something in its favor. The E doesn't use the best materials on earth, but it manages to avoid feeling or looking too cheap.
The footprint is great. The E has the same contoured shape of the Moto X/G. Motorola said the sculpted shape of the back surface helps the phone fit better in the hand. It's not terribly thick or atrociously heavy, but it's not slender, either. The silky smoothness of the battery cover is pleasant against the skin. Though our review unit is black, the E also comes in white.
The front of the E is rather plain. The black model's face is entirely black, save for two chrome-colored strips of plastic: one above the screen and one below it. They house the earpiece speaker and speakerphone, respectively. The white model at least breaks up the appearance a bit. The 4.3-inch display fills up a significant portion of the front face. Motorola did a good job minimizing the bezel, but there's still some visible. There are no physical buttons, as the E uses Android's on-screen controls.
There's a slight plastic rim surrounding the glass to keep it protected when placed face down. The lip is the only thing about the E that isn't smooth. Otherwise, there are no hard edges or corners. The sides are rounded to meet the glass panel on the front. There's no denying that it's a comfortable device to hold and use. It's very easy to reach any part of the screen with your thumb. It will easily fit into any pocket.
There are only two physical controls on the E, both are on the right edge. The screen lock key is nearest the top and the volume toggle is below it. Both buttons have an excellent profile, making them easy to find. The travel and feedback is also quite good. The stereo headphone jack is on top and the microUSB port is on the bottom. There is no dedicated camera button.
The E's back can be removed, but you're not swapping out the battery; it is, sadly, sealed in. The cover is quite difficult to peel off. Motorola is offering 20 different rear shells that allow people to customize the look of their phone. The shells come in a variety of colors and will cost about $20. The SIM card is tucked into the right edge of the phone and can be removed by pressing it inward with your thumbnail. Ditto for the microSD card slot, which is a nice addition and improvement when compared with the original Moto G.
It may not set the world afire with its everyday design, but the Moto E is a fine little phone.
Performance
Screen
The Moto E's screen is impressive for this class of device. It measures 4.3 inches and rates qHD (960 x 540) resolution. Most other devices in this class are still rocking 800 x 480 or even 480 x 320 screens, so the Moto E outclasses the competition in this regard. The LCD panel looks very good when viewed straight-on. Text and images are mostly sharp, colors are bright, and there are no visible pixels. If you move the phone close to your eyes (we're talking inches, not feet), things start to lose a little definition. I was able to use it outdoors without problem. Tilting it side-to-side reveals noticeable brightness drop-off, which means viewing angles aren't all that great. Still, for what it is, the E's screen is very good. (Interestingly, the screen reflects a noticeable grid-like pattern under certain light. According to Motorola, the grid is the touch-screen layer. It's mostly only visible with the screen off, but can still be spied at certain angles with the screen on. It's not terribly noticeable, but we thought it was worth mentioning.)
Signal
We tested the Moto E on AT&T's network, though the E is not yet officially being sold by any U.S. carrier yet. One major feature the E lacks is LTE 4G. The E is limited to HSPA+ at 21 Mbps, which, on AT&T's network, registers as "H" in the signal bar on the top of the screen. That said, the E connected to AT&T's network just fine. I didn't have any trouble making phone calls no matter where I took the phone. The phone didn't drop any calls, nor did it miss any. Data speeds were OK, but definitely not great for anyone accustomed to LTE. Downloads were generally under 3 Mbps, with uploads in the sub-1 Mbps range. Data sessions truly slowed to a crawl in poor coverage areas. I found the E adequate for social networking and light browsing, but stick to Wi-Fi if you have app updates waiting in the Play Store or want to watch some YouTube videos.
Sound
I was mostly pleased with the Moto E's call quality. Calls made through the earpiece sounded warm and were loud enough to hear most of the time. I noticed some scratchiness here and there, but it was never enough to be bothersome. The speakerphone loses some quality and was more apt to let interference through. Voices coming through the speaker sound more scratchy. Volume is acceptable via the speakerphone, but it could be better. People I spoke to through the E said I sounded pretty good. The ringers and alerts are almost always loud enough to get your attention, and the vibrate alert provides a good buzz.
Battery
The smaller, lower-resolution display and the lack of LTE give the Moto E an edge in the battery department. Standby times are flat-out ridiculous, and even on days during which I used the E heavily, it managed to last until bedtime. The Moto E should get all but the most intense users through a full day with no problem. Charging once daily is sufficient.
Basics
Menus
Like the X and G, the E runs a near-to-stock version of Android 4.4.2 Jelly Bean. Unfortunately, the E doesn't include the innovative voice-controlled and active display features of the X (the G didn't, either). The E still includes Google Now, but users have to open that manually to interact with it.
Those major differences aside, the E offers all the Android basics. The lock screen can be set to show your email/SMS inbox, and also offers access to the notification shade. Users can choose to protect their phone with passwords, PINs, patterns, and so on. The only shortcut available from the lock screen takes you to the camera.
The E has five home screen panels out of the box for customization. Since we're testing an unlocked version of the phone, there is no carrier junk gumming up the home screens. Everything is a blank canvas. The home screen includes a dock at the bottom for four apps and the main app menu. It also supports widgets and folders for arranging apps and content.
The settings menu is stock Android, which means white text on a black background. It is straightforward and simple to use.
If you take a peek under the E's proverbial hood, you'll find a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor from Qualcomm. This is a value chip from Qualcomm and I'd rate the E's performance as acceptable, but not great. It's not as slow as the molasses-like performance of pre-Gingerbread Android devices, but it doesn't hold a candle to the Moto G, let alone the Moto X and other high-end phones. The processor provides just enough power to run the Moto E's basic apps. Don't be surprised if you see things get bogged down here and there.
Calls and Contacts
The phone and People apps are stock Android and offer no surprises. Pressing the phone button on the home screen brings you to your list of favorites (if you have any designated.) You can access an actual dialpad if you want, but Android at this point assumes you'd rather search for your contacts via name. Hence the search bar at the top of the phone app. There's a little clock icon in the lower-left corner that, when pressed, takes you to your recent call history.
Contacts are automatically synced with your Google accounts and whatever other contact databases you might wish. Contact shortcuts or direct dial / direct message shortcuts can be placed on the home screens, which give you instant access to your besties.
Messaging
You know the drill here. Only the stock Google messaging tools are on board. The E includes the handy Gmail app as well as a generic email client; Hangouts and Messages for texting and IM; and Google+ for your insta-social networking needs. You can select either the Hangouts app or Messages app for SMS. The Messages app is set by default. The E doesn't have anything such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram on board. If you want 'em, go get 'em yourself.
Extras
Media
Again, only the stock Android media apps are present and accounted for. You can take advantage of the Google Play Store to shop for music, movies, TV shows, books, and magazines. The E comes with all the ancillary apps that are used to interact with each type of content (Play Music, Play Movies, Play Games, Play Newsstand, Play Books). The E also includes YouTube and an FM radio (headphones required.) There are no other installed music nor video services, but naturally the app store has plenty from which to pick.
Camera
The E uses the Motorola-made camera application. It has a bit of a learning curve; it isn't as easy to use as the camera apps designed by HTC or Samsung.
The general camera user interface is little more than a blank canvas. There is but a single button on the screen for the video camera. There's no shutter button. Just press the screen and the E will quickly focus and fire off a shot. Press the video camera button to capture video.
All the settings and controls can only be accessed by swiping from the left side of the viewfinder towards the center. This opens the control wheel that has all the options. The Moto E includes HDR (which can be set to come on automatically, a rare and handy feature) and panorama shooting modes. Users can set exposure by dragging a bracket around the screen, but the only other camera features are geo-tagging and switching the aspect ratio between 16:9 and 4:3.
I dislike the E's zooming tool. Most phones employ the time-honored pinch-to-zoom function. With the E, you drag your finger from the top of the screen down to zoom in, and drag your finger from the bottom to the top to zoom out. The E carries over the X and G's burst shot function. Press the screen and hold, and the E will focus and then fire off about one shot per second until you take your finger off the screen.
The camera is one app that suffers from the slower processor. It isn't quick to open, and everything about it just feels slow. There is a noticeable pause between when you press the screen to capture an image and when it actually clicks the shutter. Further, there are no scene modes, nor control over ISO, and white balance. It's rather limiting if you like to take creative control over the camera. That said, it is worth mentioning there are alternative camera apps in the Play Store.
Photos
The Moto E's 5-megapixel sensor surprised me. Bereft of features the E may be, but the camera often takes good pictures. Focus, exposure, and white balance were nearly always accurate. The default setting is for the HDR tool to work automatically, and I think this is the key behind some of the shots below. The picture that looks down my stone wall toward the trees is a hard one for most cameras because the wall is bright and the trees are dark. The Moto E balanced it out perfectly the first try. Indoor shots were surprisingly clean (i.e., no grain), but you're limited by the E's lack of flash.
Video
The E can capture video at a max resolution of 480p. I found that focus was often good, and exposure and white balance accurate, but the results are grainy has heck. Worse, the E overreacts to motion, meaning most results are a jittery mess. As good as the camera is, the video camera stinks. It might be acceptable for basic stuff, but if you really value video you'll need to use something else.
Gallery
The gallery app is the same one that comes with most Android devices. It doesn't offer anything new or different compared to other Android Jelly Bean phones. It's acceptable for managing photo albums and sharing photos with social networks. It also has a some simple editing features, such as crop, rotate, red-eye reduction, and filters that help correct color, exposure, and other issues.
The E also has the newer Photos+ app, which interacts only with photos that you've shared on Google+. It has its own editing features and can employ the "Auto Awesome" tool to improve photos and create animated GIFs from your burst shots. I'm tempted to say use the Photos+ app instead of the aging gallery app, if only because it can be used to automatically back-up your photos.
Moto Alert
Moto Alert is a new app from Motorola that does pretty much what its name suggests. It is targeted more at seniors than anyone else. The app serves two functions. First, it can be used to send emergency alerts or make emergency calls. These need to be set up ahead of time. For example, if I've been in an accident or need help - but I can't speak - Moto Alert can be used to send a "please send help" text message to trusted contact or to call local 911 services. Moto Alert can also be used to leave a trail of digital bread crumbs for others to follow. For example, the owner can set the app to send a quick "I'm still OK!" text message to family members every 30 minutes to let them know your drive across state is proceeding without issue.
I found the menus to be a bit confusing during the set-up stages. There are perhaps too many options, and the really small fonts won't be helpful to those with poor vision.
Moto Assist
Moto Assist is a tool meant to help prevent distractions from bothering you in several different scenarios. On the Moto X and Moto G, the app monitors driving, meetings, and sleeping. The E drops the driving feature, however.
The meeting and sleeping functions are essentially the same and are meant to help prevent interruptions. They both need to be turned on manually (i.e., setup and turned on / scheduled), and don't start automatically. During meetings, for example, the E can be set to silent, allow favorites to ring the phone, or to ring when the same number calls multiple times. It can also send auto-replies.
The sleeping mode is a bit less feature-rich and only silences the device between set hours. Again, though, it will ring if a predetermined favorite calls, or when the same number calls multiple times.
Migrate
The E has a feature called Migrate that is meant to help you transfer all your content from another device to the E. It works with media, call and text history, as well as SIM contacts. The tool makes use of a QR code scanner to pair the two devices and then uses Google's servers to migrate the data between the phones. It makes it pretty easy to send data to your new device.
Bluetooth
The E's Bluetooth radio worked as it should. I was able to connect to other devices - including PCs, phones, headsets, and my car - without trouble. Quality of calls sent to Bluetooth headsets was below average in terms of quality and volume. Music sounded decent through my favorite Bluetooth speaker.
Browser
The E includes only Google's Chrome browser. I find Chrome to be the best choice for Android handsets, but there are plenty of alternatives in the Google Play Store. Chrome worked perfectly at rendering web sites over AT&T's network, but they were pretty slow to load even under the best signal conditions.
Clock
The E has a thin digital clock that's positioned near the top of the screen. As I've said in other reviews, you need to choose your wallpaper carefully. The clock is readily visible on dark backgrounds, but can become lost in light wallpapers. It can't be customized.
GPS
Google Maps is the only navigation software included with the E. The app itself is a known entity and offers a wide range of useful features for navigation and search. The GPS radio interacted with Maps well enough, but was slower than I would like. The E often took about 20 seconds to find me and was never more accurate than about 25 - 50 feet.
Wrap-Up
The Motorola Moto E is by no means perfect, but it is a smartphone any person could carry with pride. In exchange for top-of-the-line features, it offers solid performance at just about the lowest price possible without a contract.
The Moto E covers the basics in spades with a class-leading screen, above-average battery life, and good-enough call quality. I wish data performance were a bit speedier, but Motorola had to trim costs somewhere. The Android operating system works quite well even with the bargain-basement processor. It offers all the same tools as runs most of the same apps as the big boys, and does so in a comfortable, portable device that's a cinch to carry around and use. The biggest surprise is the camera. It takes great photos for a $130 phone. It's a shame, then, that video quality is so shabby.
Few smartphones offer the value contained in the Moto E. It may not be sexy, but it is surely the one of the best smartphones for the dollar.
About the author, Eric M. Zeman:Eric has been covering the mobile telecommunications industry for 17 years at various print and online publications. He studied at Rutgers Newark and University of Kentucky, and has a degree in writing. He likes playing guitar, attending concerts, listening to music, and driving sports cars.
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Comments
What is with this
It's not like I'm going to buy it anyway. Though it may show up as someone's xmas present, you know, because of the budget....
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And yet the screen and main camera are pretty decent; that's impressive. IMHO, if they ...
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