The Moto E (2015) Review
by Brandon Chester on April 21, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Motorola
- Mobile
- Moto E (2015)
WiFi
When building devices to meet a low price, WiFi always seems to be one of the first things on the chopping block. The assumption is most likely that the people in the market for inexpensive smartphones don't require speeds beyond what is offered by 802.11n. What disappoints me is when 5GHz support is also omitted, which leaves the device operating on the increasing crowded 2.4GHz band.
The Moto E's results are in line with other 2.4GHz 802.11n devices. With an absolute max theoretical speed of 72Mbps, 58.1Mbps over UDP is actually a pretty good result. That being said, the improved speed and reduced interference of 5GHz networks would still be appreciated. At $149 cuts have to be made somewhere though, and I would prefer that they be made to WiFi rather than the display or build quality.
GNSS
Like most devices which use Qualcomm's Gobi modems, the Moto E uses Qualcomm's GNSS solution. In Airplane mode with no assistance information the Moto E was able to achieve a lock in 32 seconds, with it taking another few seconds to bring the accuracy to within 10 feet. Both these times will vary greatly depending on the surrounding environment and weather conditions. With assistance info locks take only a matter of seconds.
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personne - Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - link
Charge time does not really compensate at all for short battery life if one wants to be free and about for an average day without constantly scanning for charging opportunities. Having gone from the lousy S3 to the great Note 4 I know this very well, it makes a gigantic difference in the quality of experience. With the S3 the battery low noise was a constant presence and many days of the year I had no battery at inopportune times. Carrying a spare battery is an awkward solution compared to base strong battery life.personne - Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - link
(I get the feeling people who think fast charging is a replacement for battery life spend their days in short trips between their desk and car.)Taylenism - Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - link
Does the phone support DC-HSPA+?Taylenism - Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - link
(The LTE version I mean)Brandon Chester - Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - link
Yes it does.chizow - Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - link
I guess all the memes about how all smartphones look the same isn't true; Motorola gives us proof it is still possible to make an ugly smartphone.LukaP - Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - link
Subjective, so a moot point. I think the HTC One is ugly. So what. Different tasteschizow - Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - link
Sure its subjective, but relative to other options on the market, I think a lot will agree this is an ugly smartphone.But yes let's focus on the minority that thinks its a good looking phone and ignore the overwhelming majority that don't and call it a moot point, I'm sure there's plenty of Walter Whites out there that loved the look of the Aztek as well...
http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a6357/bob-...
kmmatney - Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - link
Looks just about like any other phone to me...chizow - Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - link
I guess to some, it's rectangular like every smartphone right? Didn't Apple try to patent the rectangular phone? :)