Motorola had promised its upcoming smartphone to come with a price for all, and here it is. The Moto E has finally arrived in India for Rs 6,999 and will be available exclusively via Flipkart starting midnight tonight. It sports a 4.3-inch qHD display, 1GB RAM, 1850mAh battery and Android 4.4 KitKat with future updates guaranteed. The customizable covers and waterproof capabilities make the package even more lucrative.
The Moto E hitting stores means there’s some stiff competition ahead for the sub-Rs 7,000 segment here. Now, we don’t see many phones with 1GB RAM or running the latest Android OS in the low-price segment, but there are some contenders which do fulfill at least one of these criteria. Let’s take a quick look at them.
Lava Iris 406Q – Rs 6,999
The Lava Iris 406Q is one of the few devices priced under Rs 7,000 to run Android 4.4 KitKat. As promised, Lava recently began rolling out KitKat for the device. Moreover, it is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core MediaTek processor with 1GB of RAM. The smartphone features a 4-inch display with WVGA 480×800 pixels resolution, which is smaller and lower in resolution than the Moto E. Some other features include 5-megapixel rear camera, 0.3-megapixel front-camera (missing in the Moto E), 4GB onboard storage, microSD card slot, dual SIM support and a 1700mAh battery.
Karbonn Titanium S1 Plus – Rs 5,800
Karbonn’s Titanium S1 Plus is one of the latest contenders in the budget segment. Though the S1 Plus isn’t listed on the company’s official site, it is now up for grabs online via retailers for as low as Rs 5,800. The Titanium S1 Plus gets a 4-inch display with 480×800 pixels of resolution. It is dual SIM smartphone that runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, with an update to KitKat supposedly on the way. Under the hood, the device is powered by a quad-core processor, clocked at 1.2GHz and coupled with 1GB RAM. It gets a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera. On the storage front, it gets 4GB internal memory that is expandable up to 32GB via microSD card slot. All of this is fuelled by a 1500mAh battery.
Micromax Canvas 2 Colors A120 – Rs 9,999
This Micromax budget device sports a much larger 5-inch display with 720p resolution, but runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean out of the box. The Canvas 2 Colors A120 comes powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core MediaTek (MT6582) processor, along with 1GB of RAM. Micromax has gone for an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and HD recording capability. The phone also has a 2MP front camera. It also has swappable back covers such as red, blue, yellow and green, depending upon the colour of the unit. The dual SIM smartphone gets 4GB of on-board storage that can be expanded up to 32GB. Powering the phone is a 2000 mAh battery. In terms of specs, the Micromax phone gets the better of the Moto E and has peppy colours to match the Motorola offering.
Xolo Q800 X-Edition – Rs 9,000
The Xolo Q800 is fitted with a larger 4.5-inch qHD IPS display. It gets an 8MP rear snapper and a VGA front-facing camera, so it beats the Moto E in both these aspects. The dual-SIM smartphone is powered by a Mediatek processor that clocks at 1.2GHz, coupled with 1GB of RAM. The 4GB memory is expandable up to 32GB via microSD card slot. It runs the rather older Android Jelly Bean OS and we are not very hopeful of it getting an update to KitKat. The Q800 X-Edition is fuelled by a 2100 mAh battery.
Lenovo A680 – Rs 9,000
The Moto E will also be competing with some devices from the new Motorola owner, Lenovo. Just like most budget smartphones in India, the Lenovo A680 also comes with dual SIM support. Powered by a quad-core 1.3Ghz Mediatek processor with 1GB RAM, it runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. It supports microSD, which allows expanding its 4GB storage up to 32GB. On the camera front, Lenovo has fitted a 5MP rear camera and a VGA front-facing camera. Completing the package is a 2000mAh battery. The processor and the extra camera set this one apart, but the Moto E is a better bargain.
Besides, you can also check out other smartphones priced under Rs 10,000, but with a full gigabyte of RAM such as the ZTE Grand X Quad Lite, Karbonn Titanium S5 Plus, Lenovo A680, Micromax Canvas Elanza, Xolo Q1000 Opus. So while the Moto E may be making headlines for its superb combination of specs and price, it does have some competition to tackle before it can reign king in the entry-level segment.
