NEW DELHI: Motorola renovated its Moto G smartphone in 2014 with a larger 5-inch display, an improved camera and expandable storage. Oddly, however, the company removed a critical feature that had been present in the preceding model: 4G LTE.
The 2015 version of the Moto G sees a welcome return of 4G LTE. This fourth generation is visually identical to last year’s model, with the same 5-inch, 720p display and 1.2GHz quad-core processor slumbering beneath. It’s updated to the latest version of Android 5.0 Lollipop and there’s an 8-megapixel camera slapped on the back too.
The 4G-enabled version of the phone is currently only available in Europe, China and Brazil, and Motorola has yet to announce plans to bring it to the US or Australia. In the UK, the phone is available SIM-free directly from Motorola for £159.
You can still get the non-4G Moto G in the UK, which will set you back £149.99. That’s only a £9 price difference, which is a tiny sum to pay to add 4G to your phone. If you’ve avoided 4G tariffs so far due to the cost, they’re becoming cheaper all the time (Three in fact doesn’t charge any extra for 4G) so it’s certainly worth future-proofing yourself with a 4G phone now, rather than having an incompatible phone if you do wish to upgrade in six months time.
The addition of 4G LTE to the Moto G hasn’t changed its design one jot, so if you’re upgrading from the latest non-4G model, expect no design surprises. Its flat sides and rounded back are every bit as comfortable to hold and the rubberised back case provides a secure grip. As with previous generations, there are many back plate colours available to let you put your own stamp on the phone.
It’s 141mm long, 70.7mm wide and 11mm thick making it a sizable phone, but no bigger than a lot of today’s smartphones. If you’re after a small phone to slide unnoticed into your jeans then look instead toward the 4.3-inch Motorola Moto E. No, it’s not the slickest-looking phone around, but it’s far from ugly and the silver ring around the camera lens, the curving back and the silvery Moto logo all go some way to helping it look a touch more inviting than the majority of budget smartphones.
