Is Motorola Moto G the best Android under Rs 20,000? Take a look at its pros and cons

After a **series of delays** , the highly anticipated Moto G has finally reached the Indian shores. It went up for sale **exclusively via Flipkart** , who has claimed to have witnessed **more traffic during the Moto G launch than peak Diwali rush** . The online retailer sold 20,000 units in mere two hours while the 16GB model flew off the shelves in the first fifteen minutes itself. Interestingly, Motorola has introduced the dual SIM variant for the Indian market, given our fondness towards multiple SIM cards. The 8GB and 16GB models are priced at Rs 12,499 and Rs 13,999 respectively. The device has already been receiving rave reviews and from the amount of time we’ve spent with it, **we feel its a cracker of a device** at this price. While there’s little to complain, there are a couple of sore points we wished Motorola had addressed. If you plan to buy the Moto G, then here’s a quick low down on the pros and cons of the Moto G.   The highlights Specs and after sales support: As soon as the Moto G was announced, it received rave reviews for its specs, build and price. The hardware and specs could simply put any budget Android device to shame. While we’ve seen local brands like Micromax, Karbonn and others trying to abridge the gap between superior specs and affordable price tag, Motorola–then Google owned - turned out to be the first Tier–1 company to break the barrier.   [caption id=“attachment_218022” align=“aligncenter” width=“768”]  An attractive specs sheet and price tag[/caption]   The Moto G sports a 4.5-inch 720p display and comes powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor that clocks at 1.2Ghz. The device also has a 2070 mAh battery, with Motorola promising up to 24 hours battery life on mixed usage. It is available with 8Gb and 16Gb storage capacity options and buyers will also get 50 GB storage free on Google Drive for two years. It gets a 5MP rear camera and 1.3MP front-facing camera. Motorola has also promised complete after sales support for the phone in India, and the Google-Lenovo deal won’t be a hindrance to any future support for the device.   Price: For emerging markets like India, price is one of the crucial factors. The price tag starting at Rs 12,499 makes the Moto G worth every penny you spend. Moreover, difference of prices of the Moto G in the US and the Indian market is quite low, roughly around Rs 1,200.   In the US, the starting price is $179 which amounts to approximately Rs 10,900 for an 8GB off-contract unit. We’ve also learned last that Motorola is taking a thin-margin approach to the Moto G, which costs Google $123 in terms of component and assembly costs. This means Motorola has an operating profit margin of about 5 percent for each Moto G sold. So the company is not afraid of making sacrifices to get its phone to more corners of the globe.   Native Android experience: A budget smartphone usually runs on an older Android version, and it’s quite unlikely to get the latest updates of the mobile OS. At least that’s been the case with most of the Chinese clones operating in this price bracket. The Moto G however, offers a native Android experience along with a promise of 4.4 KitKat on the cards. This means, you will not find layers of customised UI from Motorola. Though it is launched running Android 4.3, the company has already started rolling out the latest version 4.4 KitKat.   The compromises Rear camera: The biggest let-down with the Moto G is the camera - 5 megapixel (only in 4:3 resolution) and 3.8 megapixel at 16:9 (wide-screen resolution). While the camera has an LED flash, 4X digital zoom, and allows slow motion video, burst mode, AUTO HDR (for better lighting) and Panorama view, the resolution is a disappointment. There are several cheaper phones with 13 and 8 megapixels camera that are available in the market. From Karbonn to Micromax to Intex, smartphones with an 8 megapixel camera are now standard, so a five megapixel camera might not appeal to a lot of Indian customers.   No expandable memory: Yet another sore point of the Moto G is the lack of a microSD card slot. This limits the storage capacities to 8GB and 16GB. This is something, we usually do not expect in budget phones as even phones priced under Rs 10,000 feature expandable memory slots.   [caption id=“attachment_218023” align=“aligncenter” width=“768”]  Lacks expandable memory slots[/caption]   Non-removable battery: The Moto G is fueled by 2,070mAh battery and Motorola had earlier stressed on how the device outperformed premium smartphones like iPhone 5s. While all that sounds good, Motorola has fitted the device with a non-removable battery. This could be a hindrance while dealing with battery-related issues. This isn’t a major setback as many of today’s phones feature non-removable batteries.   The bottom line Yes, the Moto G isn’t without faults but then again, which phone is? There will never be a perfect smartphone since everyone’s needs and wants will always vary. The Moto G is more than just a budget offering. It’s a statement, a wake up call to other Tier 1 OEMs on the new face of mainstream smartphones. For a long time now, OEMs like Samsung, HTC, LG and Sony have gotten away by passing off poorly spec’d devices at a premium price, because they had the brand name to fall back on. Well, not anymore. The Moto G has set a benchmark which other companies will have to either match or face imminent doom for any new product that launches at this price. It’s time to see what the competition has to offer in answer to Motorola’s Moto G and you can count on the upcoming MWC 2014 for a slew of new budget devices.   Don’t forget to check out our **first impressions** and **unboxing of the Moto G** .