Why Google's Moto G may just be the perfect phone for India

Google’s Motorola yesterday showed off the new low-cost Moto G smartphone, which has a quad-core processor, a 4.5-inch HD screen. The smartphone will also get an update to Android 4.4 in the coming weeks. The Moto G smartphone is priced at $179 for 8GB version, while the 16 GB version is priced at $199.

For Android fans in India,the good news is that the smartphone will be available in India in early January at the same when it launches in the US. If one were to go by current pricing and include taxes, the 8 GB version could cost Rs 15,000 (or a little above) while the 16 GB could be in the Rs 18,000 and higher range. Remember this is if one were to take taxes, etc into account, even though under the current exchange rate, the phones are priced at Rs 11,300 and Rs 12,600 for the 8 and 16 GB versions.

Google launched the phone with the aim of reaching out to emerging markets and given the price it is a steal since the smartphone comes with the pure Google experience.

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In a price sensitive market like India,the phone appears to be quite the deal. Key specs of the Moto G include: Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor quad-core CPU clocked at 1.2 Ghz, a 4.5-inch display with 720 p resolution(pixel density is 329 ppi.) The device also has a 2070 mAh battery, with Motorola promising up to 24 hours battery life on mixed usage. Moto G will also get Android 4.4 KitKat by January 2014.

Buyers will also get 50 GB storage free on Google Drive for two years.

While the screen is not full HD and is under 5-inches, the battery life and the processor ensure that the phone offers something new. Most low-cost smartphones in India by Karbonn, Gionee, etc are using a Mediatek chip and not a Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core CPU. Add the promise of 24 battery by Motorola, and many might just be tempted to try out this smartphone. Motorola has also promised a dual-SIM version in select markets.

[caption id=“attachment_1228317” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Moto G smartphone is seen in this product launch photo from Google.[/caption]

The biggest let-down with this is perhaps the camera, which is 5 megapixel camera (only in 4:3 resolution) and 3.8 megapixel at 16:9 (wide-screen resolution). While the camera has LED flash, 4X digital zoom, and allows slow motion video, burst mode, AUTO HDR (for better lighting) and Panorama view, the resolution might be a disappointment to India fans. They are several cheaper phones with 13 and 8 megapixels camera that are available in the market. From Karbonn to Micromax to Intex, smartphones with a 8 megapixel camera are now standard, so a five megapixel camera might not appeal to a lot of Indian customers.

The front camera is 1.3 megapixel. The cameras can record and playback video in 720p HD mode at a rate of 30 frames per second. The smartphone supports GSM and HSPA+, WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.0.

Perhaps the biggest feature that favours the Moto G smartphone is the pure Google OS. This is important from a security perspective as it ensures faster bug fixes which are available as and when Google rolls them out. Some of the features of the Android KitKat are an improved caller app, emoji emoticons in messages and a new immersive mode whichautomatically hides everything else when you’re reading, playing a game or watching a movie. You can get more details on the features here.

It waits to be seen whether the Moto G will also support the ‘OK Google’ command feature like the Nexus 5 and the Moto X smartphone, after the KitKat update.

The Moto G is clearly a smartphone that is aimed at the lower-price segment but Motorola also tried to show that this doesn’t mean phone comprises on quality or performance.

In fact during the launch presentation, Motorola stressed on how the Moto G outperformed premium smartphones like iPhone 5s (on battery and talk time) and that it was faster than Samsung’s Galaxy S4 when it came to booting up a phone, answering a call, launching a browser, etc. Motorola also took at dig at Samsung’s TouchWiz UI during the launch presentation.

For Moto G, the three key selling points appear to be price, battery and the pure Google OS. Given that Micromax and Karbonn are the number two and three smartphone manufacturers in India, there’s no denying that price is the biggest factor for Indian consumers when they make a purchase.

While there are a number of cheaper Android phones available in the market, none of these come with the pure Google OS or even a great battery life.Also the recent premium smartphone launches in India from Galaxy Note III to Nokia Lumia 1020 are priced over Rs 45,000, etc and not everyone has the budget to buy these phones.

Enter Moto G as an option. Of course, how the Indian consumer reacts to the phone will depend on how Google and Motorola market it in India, and yes the final price.