Until a few months ago, we would not have many recommendations when someone inquired about a sub-10k Android smartphone. Nothing was durable, had good performance rating or simply made for decent value-for-money. However, the situation has changed with the new Moto E. We’ve spent some quality time with the device and here’s why we love the Moto E so much.

Design and build

At first, the Moto E just looks like a smaller Moto G. But with a 4.3-inch screen it offers ample screen space. The back is curved, rubber-coated, and because of the compact form-factor, the Moto E is very well-suited for single-handed usage. The impressive bit about the build quality is that Moto E comes with a fascia made of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 – one of the toughest and best glass panels for smartphones around (even the most premium smartphones still use Gorilla Glass). Also, you can get a splash-resistant coating around the phone so that if you’re caught out when it’s pouring, you don’t have much to worry about. Like the bigger Moto G and Moto X, Moto E also comes with a back cover that can be swapped for a different coloured back panel. If black isn’t your colour, you have a lot of options to choose from.

Specs and performance

Motorola has done a good job in keeping some differences alive between the Moto G and the Moto E. The latter is powered by a dual-core Snapdragon 200 chip that clocks in at 1.2 GHz (Moto G has a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400, which is a quad-core unit). But the impressive part is that the device has a 1GB RAM, which is quite rare at this price point.

The processor and the RAM offer a very clean and lag-free performance for basic smartphone usage – we could alternate between checking our mails, posting and reading stuff on Facebook and Twitter, sending and receiving IMs on WhatsApp and listening to music without any glitches or freezes.

Being a sub-10k smartphone, the Moto E comes with only one primary camera at the back. But that’s acceptable for its price. The only letdown was that the 5-megapixel camera comes with fixed focus. We feel that an Auto-Focus system could have been squeezed in. Otherwise, the camera quality is quite decent – you’ve only got to make sure that there’s decent lighting and that the subject isn’t too close to the camera. Moto E easily gives a full-day battery life, over Wi-Fi usage (with spots of data usage). The display, being a 540 x 960 pixels one, is decent enough for basic apps, and doesn’t consume much power either.

Verdict

For its price, the Moto E offers a bunch of things that most entry-level Android smartphone don’t – good battery life, solid performance and robust build. It also runs on the latest version of Android KitKat. The Moto E has definitely raised the bar for entry-level smartphone quality, and it is the one phone we would recommend if you want a smartphone on a super-tight budget.

₹6,999

Love – Value for money; solid build

Hate – Camera does not have autofocus

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