back to article Is it all up for LANDFILL ANDROID? BEHOLD, the Moto G

The Moto G smartphone from Motorola has finally landed, as if you didn't know it already with its arrival leaking all over the web from reseller promo materials to Amazon product pages. Still, this sort of thing is guaranteed to get attention. Considering it's all for an Android 4.3 Jelly Bean handset that's a mere £135 ($179 …

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  1. Cliff

    >>...for another £25 ($20) or so.<<

    >>Yes, you can buy it today and there's a 16GB option for another £25 ($20) or so.<<

    The pound is fucked! Quick, everyone, move into BTC as a safe haven!

    1. dillonlawrence97
      Windows

      Re: >>...for another £25 ($20) or so.<<

      Forgotten your medication?

      1. Shane McCarrick

        Re: >>...for another £25 ($20) or so.<<

        Errr- £25 is worth $40 you know? Who's forgotten their medication now?!!

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: >>...for another £25 ($20) or so.<<

          Don't say "errr". It's dumb. And grow a sense of humor.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Nice but

    I won't even think of getting one until the folks at Cyanogen do their stuff. Nice as it is, I've had enough of Google slurping data on me to last a lifetime. Sorta takes the shine off an otherwise pretty nice device.

    I don't want no effing adverts. I am adult enough to make up my own mind about what I want to buy.****

    I don't weant you profiling me

    I don't want you tracking where I go.

    Ok Mr Google?

    Nah, thought not.

    **** Actually, the more adverts I see for something, the less likely that I am going to buy it.

    1. Big_Ted
      Devil

      Re: Nice but

      OK so don't buy it. To be honest most of us couldn't care less,

      Why not get an iphone or Fox OS phone,or one of those Chinese jobs.....

      Better yet get a nokia feature phone instead, I'm sure you would be happy then.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Nice but

      @AC 19:28 -

      Did you try turning off location tracking in your settings?

      Using AdBlock?

      Turning off WiFi when you aren't using it? Turning off GPS when you aren't using it? These two will save you battery life also.

      Not saying I disagree with you there - Cyanogen offers something that neither Google nor Apple care to offer to their customers. It's a tremendously valuable project.

  3. ratfox
    Paris Hilton

    I'm confused

    The second paragraph talks of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, and the second-to-last paragraph talks of Android 4.4 KitKat. I assume it's the latter that is correct?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I'm confused

      Guaranteed upgrade to Kit Kat for the new year.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh, this looks nice

    Definitely not your run of the mill landfill, and a great phone for those lamenting the lower price point of the dearly departed Nexus 4. No mention of LTE on UK frequencies?

    1. Tom 35

      Re: Oh, this looks nice

      No LTE (like Nexus 4)

      Networks: GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz); UMTS (850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz); CDMA (850/1900 MHz).

  5. Anomalous Cowshed

    Confusing

    Isn't it confusing having a spokesman for Motorola who is called Soni?

    Imagine a spokeswoman for CocaCola called Miss Pepsy

    Or a spokesperson for Microsoft called Apul

    Or a spokesman for North Korea called An Kol Sam...

    1. jonathanb Silver badge

      Re: Confusing

      Or an Apple Store employee called Sam Sung - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/21/sam_sung_the_apple_store_employee/

    2. Frumious Bandersnatch

      Re: Confusing

      Well actually, there was a rumour going around a while back that a certain Sam Sung was working for Apple. I don't know if it was ever properly confirmed/denied.

  6. Mikel

    This just in

    Newest mobile device has better features at a lower price. Company spokesman lauds own product. More on these shocking developments at 11.

    1. thesykes

      Re: This just in

      There are certain companies that wouldn't dream of doing such a thing as lowering the price.

      1. Tapeador

        @thesykes Re: This just in

        "There are certain companies that wouldn't dream of doing such a thing as lowering the price."

        Indeed quite right - this product seems to be deliberately aimed at forcing other Android manufacturers into proper price-competition with good handsets at the lower end, probably as a push to get half a billion or so more users using the OS. They've really avoided competing in recent years, except on the high-end.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: This just in

      I was interested, so shove off please @Mikel.

      1. Mikel
        Coat

        Re: This just in

        I am interrsted too. I wasn't criticizing the phone. Obviously it is a great phone and the price is fantastic. Just thought the editorial slant of the article, viz moto attacking Google partners by making a good product at a decent price was overwrought. Of course this is ElReg, and that is their special sauce.

        Sigh. I'll get my coat.

    3. Tapeador

      Re: This just in

      Very good phone which other people clearly with considerably less money than me can afford and therefore which can have no interest for anybody who matters to me i.e. me.

      There, fixed that for you.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Budget Lumia, or this?

    Lol good luck Microsoft! Nokia were wise to bail.

    1. Nate Amsden

      Re: Budget Lumia, or this?

      motorola mobility was even wiser to sell itself to google

  8. Chris G

    Get nothing for free

    Putting the price point so low is almost a guarantee that the damn thing has so much data slurping tech locked in that if you tried to remove it the phone would die/blow up/stop working.

    Bad enough with all the Google crap on my Android from China but at least with a little help and forethought there are workarounds. I never used my main email to register with the phone but made the dumb mistake of accessing it using the phone, now I am getting Google spam about 3 or 4 times a day!

    What a bunch of arseholes!!!

    1. frank ly

      Re: Get nothing for free

      I've been using gmail for about 7 years and used that account to sign in to Android for 3 years (2 x HTC phones and now a Nexus 4) and have that account as my google wallet. I've never had any spam from Google. I use AdBlock on my browser and on my Android phone. Is any of this significant or useful to you? You did say it was an Android phone from China?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Get nothing for free

        @frank ly - " I use AdBlock on my browser and on my Android phone."

        Yup - if some of these posters would learn about AdBlock, 75% of their complaints would have already been resolved.

        I haven't seen an ad in Gmail in years. I wouldn't even know what ads in Android they are referring to.

      2. Chris G

        Re: Get nothing for free

        Okay. I guess I should be more accurate, the messages are from Google plus telling me I should start to use it and treat it like Farcebook and complete my profile etc, this to my outlook account that I have not registered only accessed since it is unsolicited from someone I have not directly contacted I class it as spam.

        So you see I am not whining about ads for Viagra,casinos etc.

        As for Ad block, I don't care, I never see the ads because I am not looking for them, it is just non functional space on the page as far as I am concerned.

        Aren't all Android smartphones from China? Or at least 90% f them.

        1. Tapeador

          Re: Get nothing for free

          You can turn off the Google Plus spams. I used to get one a day or one a week but as a reputable company they do have an optout link. Haven't had one in a very long time.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Onwards to upwards towards 2bn Android phones.

    Whilst Microsoft boast about huge growth by selling 120 more Windows Phones than last year.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Onwards to upwards towards 2bn Android phones.

      Laugh now. They laughed at Xbox years ago. MS doesn't care - they just keep learning (slowly) and coming after you.

      1. Andres

        Re: Onwards to upwards towards 2bn Android phones.

        "MS doesn't care - they just keep learning (slowly) and coming after you."

        I think you mean they keep bankrolling failed products with Office/server money until they get it right. Throw enough money at any problem and you will get it right eventually. Money is a powerful tool that MS are very comfortable using.

        1. Hungry Sean

          Re: Onwards to upwards towards 2bn Android phones.

          true, but in Google, I think Microsoft have an adversary with equally bountiful pools of cash and engineers. Commiting to burning money and playing creeping death I think mainly works when you're bigger than anyone in the market you're trying to enter. I just can't see MS enticing much of anyone to their platform.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Onwards to upwards towards 2bn Android phones.

        They still laugh at Xbox today.

        I mean 80m consoles sold (less than the PS3, which launched 16 months later, at a higher price).

        With a 50% failure rate, that's only 40m (braindead) users.

  10. ecofeco Silver badge

    Big phone, little price

    This is definitely a Galaxy killer.

    And they are right about buyers: $200+ phones are not affordable for most people.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Big phone, little price

      "...$200+ phones are not affordable for most people. "

      That implies that a mobile data plan including any non-insignificant quantity (>GB) of data is not affordable for most people. So we have another generation of poor folks with their affordable Androids wandering around looking for free wifi. They end up a StarBucks every day and pay $12 for a cup of coffee.

      Let's review the relative costs using a graphic covering 2 years, each $ = $100 (linear):

      An affordable Phone $$

      An 'unaffordable' Phone $$$ to $$$$$$$$

      Data Service $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

      Daily coffee at Starbucks to access free wifi

      $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

      I'm not saying that the average (or mean) person is really bad with numbers, but if they were really bad with numbers then what would be different?

  11. Andy

    not a galaxy killer at all

    The fact it has no micro sd slot is a fail for me. Shame really. ..

    1. Rob

      Re: not a galaxy killer at all

      In the Android world that's what budget is, no microSD slot, could be worse, could be Apple where no microSD slot is standard.

      1. CAPS LOCK

        Re: not a galaxy killer at all

        I think you'll find no-sd-slot is the standard in the Googorola world. We all know why they do it, but it's a deal breaker for so many you would think they would have done a quiet u-turn by now.

        1. phuzz Silver badge

          Re: not a galaxy killer at all

          Not everyone knows, why don't they have an SD card slot?

          I'd guess cost myself, which might be the case with this phone, but that wouldn't explain the Nexus 5 not having one.

          I'd guess the iPhone doesn't have one because Apple prefer to keep things as simple as possible, after all, selling smartphones that the average person could use is how they got such a big chunk of the market in the first place.

          1. Mikel

            Re: not a galaxy killer at all

            @phuzz It is patent licensing. Apparently they can't find a volunteer at Moto to sign the check to Microsoft for an exFAT license. There will be no more Moto phones with SD. Nor Nexus either. Something about funding patent terrorism sticks in their craw.

        2. Rob

          Re: not a galaxy killer at all

          @CAPS LOCK

          The Googorola and Android worlds are 2 different things in my book.

          @phuzz

          From what I've heard the space needed for an microSD card slot and chippery to go with it (even though they are incredibly small) are valuable space on the circuit board that some manufacturers would rather not take up.

      2. Soruk
        Coat

        Re: not a galaxy killer at all

        Even Huawei managed to get a MicroSD slot in their budget phones.

        Mine's the one with the G300 and Y300 in the pockets.

    2. Andy Gates

      Re: not a galaxy killer at all

      I would have thought no SD was a killer, but apparently I've only got 11 Gb on my 32 Gb card in this ol' stuck-at-Gingerbread Defy+, so maybe it's not such a big deal after all. The 16Gb versoin looks very tempting.

  12. Schultz

    A bit fishy...

    The claimed speed advantage versus the Galaxy S4 looks very fishy. My S3 (yes, I am a cheap bastard) starts the browser about ... instantaneously (newly booted phone, so it was not cached). How you can shave off half a second from that is hard to imagine.

    Or is the S4 so much slower than the S3?

  13. Robredz
    Meh

    OK for some but.......

    No SD Card and non replaceable battery kills it for me, over to JiyaYu or Faea, or Oppo I go. You can see where the corners are cut 5 Mp camera, etc. Still it will suit many who would otherwise have had to go for a Galaxy Ace or something with 256 Mb RAM from Carpphone Warehouse sim free for £150

  14. Alan Denman

    Useful landfill though..

    .. yet the iPhone has near enough made it into the science museum.

    Ones with IOS 6 are well prized

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    There are a handful of phones using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 series of processors, but the Moto G appears to be a rarity in that it thrusts a quad-core chipset at the masses

    If you look at the Snapdragon 400 specs that the dual core versions come with dual Kraits @ ~1.7GHz while the quads are quad A7 @ ~1.2GHz. Given that the Krait is A15 class then I'd say the dual Krait version would be preferrable to a quad A7 ... though for the masses the "my phone has more cores than your phone" argument probably wins

  16. RyokuMas
    Big Brother

    Location, location, location...

    Brazil, Mexico and the UK, huh? Makes perfect choice to a Windows Phone developer, assuming their stats are similar to mine: for most of my games these three regions are in the top five download locations.

    Now, I don't know what market shares are like for each of the ecosystems in South America, but from what I recall, WinPhone was up around the 10% mark in the UK, according to some.

    Google's acquisition of Motorola makes perfect sense: by having a hardware manufacturer under their control, they can directly target places where their competitors are starting to gain traction.

    Good business practice or anti-competitive behaviour? That's just a matter of opinion.

  17. John Hughes

    This guy has never been to China.

    "As Dennis Woodside, CEO Motorola Mobility, said: “Most people in the world can’t afford a $500, $600 phone. In fact, the average price of a smartphone today, in the world, is close to $200. The problem is that experience that smartphones in this class provide is really, really bad… they’re slow, they’re buggy, their screens are too small.”"

    Just a random example: http://www.fastcardtech.com/ZTE%20N986

    $150 for a quad core phone with a 5 inch screen.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Same grab blackberry tried to make in their last hours, so this phone from Moto will launch in 2014 and have a 720p screen, quad core and single sim no sd storage, 8GB storage, 1GB of ram.

    "In fact, the average price of a smartphone today, in the world, is close to $200. The problem is that experience that smartphones in this class provide is really, really bad… they’re slow, they’re buggy, their screens are too small.”"

    So I can buy a 4.7 inch screen 720p, quad core 1.2Ghz, with 8GB storage, 1GB of ram,.2 sim slots and sd card for about $200 4 months ago. on the street in China, yet somehow that is a slow buggy phone with a small screen, it even has a GPU that runs stress tests at 30fps. Why is this worse than Moto phone, why would I buy it in 2014 for the same price.

    I would buy a moto phone in mid 2013 for $200, in 2014 i'd want 1080 screen, 1Gb ram and 16GB storage , sd card 64GB , 6290 MTk chipeset

    The MTK MT6290 is really the 28nm Cortex-A7 architecture with LTE and once again the idea people abroad are using slow buggy phones is, just , stupid. So I can get a better screen, better data, more storage, sd slot, dual sims, and even FM radio and I will buy a Moto. lol

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