The Moto G Phone, £135 yet decent smart phone.

[ohmyliver]

Except that Samsung cheat on the benchmark tests and Motorola don't (as far as i'm aware). Also the GPU is older/slower in at least some models of the SIII. It's not a huge difference and no way on earth worth changing phone for.

No, you're right. I forgot to factor in the samsung cheatyness.

 

[ohmyliver]

None. Apple don't want to compete at this end of the market.

Yes, that's why I wrote 'if any'. It's interesting how the mac vs pc 90s thing has been replicated with iOS vs Android.

 

[FaradayCaged]

Anyone know how to unlock one of these phones that is on tesco mobile so I can get it to work with my orange sim card?

 

[hiccup]

Anyone know how to unlock one of these phones that is on tesco mobile so I can get it to work with my orange sim card?

I bought an unlock code on ebay for about £2, which worked fine. Can pm you a link to the seller if you like?

 

[FaradayCaged]

I bought an unlock code on ebay for about £2, which worked fine. Can pm you a link to the seller if you like?

Yes please

 

[ddraig]

haven't tried yet but phones4u where i bought it said their phones are unlocked to all networks
don't know if true

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Hey Hey

any users of this phone able to report on the camera? Read a few reviews that talk of it in less than glowing terms. They all mention 'noise' in the photos

 

[mack]

The phone is cheap for a reason - the camera component being one area where they have cut corners.

 

[editor]

The camera has recently been updated via software update. It's never going to compete with high end phones but it still represents truly remarkable value for money.

You knew we were eventually going to come across something that reminds us of the handset's price, right? Well, here it is: there's no double-digit monsterpixel sensor here, nor any trademarked imaging technology. Nope, the G's main shooter is a modest 5 megapixels. The good news is: What the main camera lacks in resolution, it makes up for in versatility. It'll take some really nice shots in fairly unforgiving conditions. You probably know what we have to say about the 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, as you've heard it all before: It's just fine for the odd, well-lit selfie or Skype call.

As we mentioned, the G comes loaded with Motorola's own camera app, and it's incredibly simple. The menu panel, easily accessed with an inward swipe from the left bezel, is sparse. It contains HDR, flash, focus control, geotag and sound recording (in video) toggles, as well as switches for the aspect ratio, and panoramic or slow-mo video recording modes. Not having the power to tinker with ISO, white balance et al is quite refreshing, as you can happily snap away without that inkling you might get better results with appropriate investment in the settings panel. And, better yet, you can actually trust the Moto G's automated settings to deliver.

The images the G spits out might not have the clarity of 10-megapixel pictures from the Moto X, but they're certainly comparable in quality. HDR mode has a notable impact, and we found ourselves using this setting quite often. It gives that extra "pop" to colors HDR should, turning some otherwise mundane landscapes into dramatic scenes. The auto light metering and exposure can be a tad off the mark occasionally, but we found it easy to compensate by turning the focus control on or off, depending on the circumstances.

We were extremely surprised by the low-light performance. The sensor sucked up every bit of ambient light it could manage, and didn't falter even when faced with brutally dark challenges. The end result often looks way better in the gallery than it does in the viewfinder, too. Shutter response is almost instant under normal conditions, but HDR or low-light shots can extend that to more than a second. Burst-capture mode, which is triggered by holding down on the screen as opposed to tapping for single shots, also takes a second to start up; it'll snap three to four shots per second thereafter.

As good as the camera is, it sometimes struggles to focus in macro shots, or when pushed to its low-light limit. The LED companion flash washes images out with its power, and the guide light creates similar problems for the autofocus. Video recording (720p) is a little disappointing, too. The sensor still gobbles up a lot of light, but clips are noisy when stationary and significantly worse with motion. Focus and light metering are inconsistent, and audio quality is average. On the up side, recording begins as quickly as you hit the video icon, and the quarter-speed slow-mo feature is pretty neat. Well, when you're viewing clips on the 4.5-inch display, anyway.


http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/26/moto-g-review/

 

[Throbbing Angel]

cheers ed

 

[ddraig]

i think it is quite good (but then i would after a San Francisco)
good sound on the video has been noticed by a couple of people

 

[FaradayCaged]

Finally bought the phone today from Tesco (on tesco mobile), and got it unlocked for only £2 thanks to hiccup

Great phone, the loud speaker is mucher louder than my previous Huawei Y300 which is great, camera is decent for the price, but the best thing about the phone that I have noticed so far is the screen - amazing quality with bright deep colours. Only minor issue is I find that the surface the back of the phone is made out of makes it easy for the phone to slip out of my hand if not gripped properly.

 

[veracity]

I bought an unlock code on ebay for about £2, which worked fine. Can pm you a link to the seller if you like?

Just bought one of the phones, which is arriving Friday, would you be so kind as to pm me the sellers info too? I've found a few alternatives but that betters all the prices I've found!

 

[Part 2]

Still waiting for Tesco to get the 16gb back in here. Where you got it from veracity ?

 

[veracity]

Still waiting for Tesco to get the 16gb back in here. Where you got it from veracity ?

I bought the 8gb from tesco, too bloody impatient to wait for the 16gb to come back in stock, as my current phone is complete bobbins.

 

[Part 2]

Be interested to hear how you get on with it then. This'll be my first smartphone, had my current brick for about 6 years so I want to make sure I don't have to replace it too quick.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

I'm considering one of these to replace my Nokia brick & ipod touch combo.

How's the mp3 playing & getting podcasts onto the device?

 

[veracity]

Be interested to hear how you get on with it then. This'll be my first smartphone, had my current brick for about 6 years so I want to make sure I don't have to replace it too quick.

I'll report back when I'm up and running, really looking forward to having a functional smartphone again. I bought my mum, susie12 , one of these for Xmas, it's her first smartphone and she seems to be really liking it so far.

 

[veracity]

I bought an unlock code on ebay for about £2, which worked fine. Can pm you a link to the seller if you like?

Cheers hiccup

 

[susie12]

I'll report back when I'm up and running, really looking forward to having a functional smartphone again. I bought my mum, susie12 , one of these for Xmas, it's her first smartphone and she seems to be really liking it so far.

Yes love it

 

[Part 2]

Bit the bullet and bought one on the way home from work. I need to sort out a new SIM, £10/month to Tesco seems reasonable for the time being.

 

[editor]

I'm considering one of these to replace my Nokia brick & ipod touch combo.

How's the mp3 playing & getting podcasts onto the device?

Easy peasy: plug in the USB lead to your PC/laptop and drag and drop the files over. There's loads of excellent podcast apps too.

 

[Redeyes]

Bought the 8GB version for my wife the other day. Managed to get it for 69.99 as we had £10 worth of club card vouchers which they doubled to £20 because there was a promotion on plus we got another tenner off with her staff discount. It's a cracking phone, the missus loves it.

 

[de_dog]

Had mine a few weeks now and finally got my number switched to the new sim. Turns out you can do it on a webpage with a couple of clicks (!).
Still remains a joy to use, fits my hand nicely and the screen still amazes me for the price.

I find the wireless aerial is a bit weak and doesn't seem to switch to an alternative WAP (we have two in the house).
This has left me unwittingly downloading on the 3G connection.

The buttons feel a bit flimsy too, but they don't seem to be getting worse so maybe they are meant to be a bit floppy.

On the whole, very pleased.

 

[veracity]

My phone is now fully functioning, the unlock code from the eBay seller worked perfectly.

It is a real pleasure to use, fast, and a great display, I'm really chuffed with it!

 

[ddraig]

still liking mine too!
haven't managed to answer a call yet tho and have had to ring them back

 

[gentlegreen]

.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Can anyone who has bought one from Tesco please confirm/deny whether the Moto has any Tesco crapware installed on it?

Just wondering where best to buy from. I've heard a few mention rumblings about this phone having to wait longer for updates if you buy it fae Tesco.

 

[Bonfirelight]

Can anyone who has bought one from Tesco please confirm/deny whether the Moto has any Tesco crapware installed on it?

Just wondering where best to buy from. I've heard a few mention rumblings about this phone having to wait longer for updates if you buy it fae Tesco.

I got one from tesco today and there wasn't really any tesco stuff on it that I've noticed.

I got the 8gb version, but I'm gonna take it back and try to swap it for a 16 (which I wanted anyway but they were out of stock), because the 8 turns out to be more like 5 and a bit of useable space..

it's a pretty decent phone otherwise

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Thanks for that