Gadgetory

so the same thing always happens when a new device launches the media gets review units ahead of the official launch and we get to use them while we write our review then the press embargo lifts every outlet posts their reviews and videos at the same time writers and commenters go back and forth and it's a huge frenzy of opinion and buzz for about a day and then it all goes away sure there's some follow-up coverage but after that initial blast almost no one revisits the device to see how well it's aged because we're all on to the next big thing already so let's do something about it let's take a look at a phone several months after its release when it's not shiny and new anymore I'm Taylor Martin with pocket now this is the Moto G and this is episode 33 of after the buzz when we first reviewed the Moto G the $180 smartphone was a lot better than we ever imagined it would be in fact how great it was and how much it favored the Moto X both in performance and user experience surprised us but how has it handled the test of time is the phone still such a great deal five months later on the outside the Moto G was never exactly beautiful or mind-blowing of course nothing on that front has changed it's always been a plain-jane phone with an understated design and a very stark appearance it bears a strong resemblance to the Moto X but it's thicker heavier and a little less refined and that's okay because it's also a fraction of the price starting at just 180 dollars and it has the much-loved dimple around the back to boot considering that ultra low price point the specifications aren't all that bad either it comes with a Snapdragon 400 SOC which is made of a 1.2 gigahertz quad-core cortex a7 CPU and Adreno 305 GPU it has one gigabyte of RAM 8 or 16 gigabytes of storage with no option to expand and a 2070 million power battery the connectivity options are pretty basic as well Bluetooth 4.0 Wi-Fi b/g/n and HSPA+ connectivity here in the States no LTE all things considered the display is nice as well it's a 4.5 inch 720p IPS LCD which lacks some contrast and has some pretty milky black levels but the colors are relatively vibrant and the text and icons are pretty crisp thanks to the approximate density of 3 hundred and twenty six pixels per inch in the hand the phone feels pretty sturdy and the build quality is exceptional especially for a budget smartphone in the last five months the hardware of the Moto G is no more or less impressive than it was from the start and that's a good thing it was always a nice piece of kit from the very beginning and it hasn't aged a bit it's still a little bit chunky but it doesn't feel like a 180 or smartphone instead it still feels like a foam worth twice that much even today the software situation has actually improved originally the Moto G launched with a mostly stock version of jellybean Android version 4.3 within just a few short weeks it was updated to KitKat as promised there have been a few minor updates to fix bugs ever since but the software is only getting better over time the Moto G comes with minimal bloat and only a few useful features from Motorola such as the watered-down version of the assist application which can toggle the phone to silent based on your calendar appointments moto care and one of our favorite motorola features trusted devices which can suspend your device security requirements while connected to chosen Bluetooth devices outside these minor differences the Moto G is practically running pure stock Android it comes with the stock Android launcher and untouched notification shade and settings application the Google keyboard and a pure stock app drawer it is for all intents and purposes stock and that's particularly helpful when it comes to user experience it's almost as vanilla as it gets which means the mid Ranger isn't bogged down by unnecessary software tweaks or bloat it purrs along just fine performance is still a high point on this tiny modest smartphone you wouldn't think it could handle a heavy workload and it certainly can't quite handle tasks like its high-end counterparts can but what this little phone that could can handle may surprise you jumping down to the Moto G from a device like the One m8 the difference in clock speed is noticeable but that's no reason to completely write it off it can power through most mundane daily tasks with ease you can even take care of gaming though we wouldn't necessarily say it's the best experience ever we experienced some lag and framerate drops and some more graphically intensive games after all this phone isn't for the hardcore gamer but instead for the minimalist who doesn't need a lot overall horsepower if you approach this phone from the right distractive it's an impressive little device and the Snapdragon 400 is not to be underestimated the one gigabyte of RAM does lead to some aggressive app closing meaning it isn't the best for multitasking but basic users should have no problem here in the States the Moto G will be fixed a t-mobile or AT&T 3G and HSPA+ the speeds won't wowed you but they shouldn't disappoint either call quality is also passable though nothing particularly noteworthy when we first reviewed the Moto G battery life was pretty modest we could typically manage a full day of usage through pretty normal usage patterns frequent social media updates taking lots of pictures syncing three Gmail accounts streaming music and web browsing in the short time we've been using the Moto G this time around things seem comparable to before the camera still isn't the best the five megapixel shooter around back is capable of taking some decent photos from time to time but the vast majority of pictures will prove to be bland and lacking important detail photos tend to be low in contrast even in great lighting making colors pop less and making the images look pretty dull overall all things considered it's not the worst camera possible but you definitely get what you pay for in this phone's camera experience in all we're still just as impressed by the Moto G as we were the first time we looked at it a humble meagre phone it may be but it's a valuable smartphone for not a lot of cash and even as more and more viable budget Android smartphones emerge the Moto G manages to remain the best deal around it may not be the best value or the best specifications for not a lot of money but the Moto G is the best bang for your buck period and the last five months have had virtually no effect on this phone at all we still recommend it the first time and returning smartphone buyers who want to save money without sacrificing too much performance and polished if you enjoyed this video and want to help us out be sure to click the thumbs up button below and of course hit the subscribe button to see more videos like this one in the future follow us in all the usual places twitter facebook and google+ at pocket now I'm Taylor Martin you can find me on twitter at casper tech and i will see you next time