Motorola Moto E review

TECHNICAL SPECS:

Android 4.4 KitKat OS
4.3in qHD display (540x960), 256 ppi
1.2GHz Dual-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 CPU
Adreno 302 GPU
1GB RAM
4GB internal storage
microSD up to 32GB
5Mp rear camera
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0 LE
GPS
GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
CDMA 850/900/1900MHz 7.3Wh (1980mAh) non-removable battery
65x125x12.3mm
142g

Motorola Moto E review: Hardware and specs:

At that mega low price, it's no surprise that the Moto E has a less impressive spec than the Moto G. However, you might be surprised at just the kind of spec you get for your money.
It's got a slightly smaller screen than the Moto G at 4.3in compared to 4.5 and a slightly lower resolution too. But qHD (540x960) on a phone this cheap is a rather impressive feature and means a pixel density of 256ppi.
Motorola Moto E screen
Under the covers is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 chip, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor which is coupled with 1GB of RAM. Handling graphics is an Adreno 302, a 400MHz single-core GPU according to Motorola's spec sheet.
Once again going back to the price, this is impressive and the performance of the phone is generally very good. You do get the occasional sign of lag, but most of the time the Moto E is smooth and can switch between apps quickly. Part of the performance is down to the fact Motorola keeps things as simple as possible on the software front with stock Android (see software below).
Our benchmark result from Geekbench 3 and SunSpider don't make for very impressive reading at 608 (multi-core) – the kind of single-core score we expect from top-end smartphone – and 1877ms. Web browsing is quite jerky and the phone takes a couple of seconds to zoom in when you double tap.
Moving onto graphics and the Moto E surprised us with 11fps in the T-Rex GFXBench test which is just shy of the far more expensive Huawei Ascend P7 and the same result as the Moto G. In the extremely demanding Manhattan test, the Moto E managed to match last year's flagship HTC One with 5fps.
There's just 4GB of internal storage which isn't much at all but pretty standard for a really cheap phone. When you consider the operating system, there's about 1.5GB free for apps, games and media. However, Motorola has made sure that users can add more by way of a microSD card slot which can handle up to 32GB. It would be wise to order a memory card with the phone.
Motorola Moto E rear camera
There's little else to talk about in terms of hardware because, unsurprisingly, the Moto E is a fairly basic smartphone. It has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (4.0 Low Energy) and GPS but nothing fancier. The device is limited to 3G mobile networks so if you want 4G on a budget, take a look at the new Moto G 4G or EE Kestrel.


Motorola Moto E review: Camera::

There's no front facing camera but at the rear is a 5Mp which is the same resolution as the Moto G but the LED flash is no more. The Moto E takes reasonable photos and videos but only in good conditions and even then, they're nothing special. See our test images below and click to see them full-size.
It's impressive that the phone has an HDR mode – which is on auto by default. There's also a panorama mode but little else to mention of in the basic camera app which takes a photo when you touch the screen. However, you can switch on a mode which gives you a bracket which can be dragged around the screen to choose the focus point. Unfortunately, it's not really capable of getting anything close to it in focus so no macro shots here.



Motorola Moto E review: Battery life::

The Moto E has a 7.3Wh (1980mAh) battery which is only marginally smaller in capacity to the Moto G's. Once again it's non-removable despite the rear cover being the opposite.
Motorola says the smartphone will last a day and we can vouch that it does. Most users will have to charge the device every night unless they are a particularly light user – ie someone not playing games and checking social networks regularly.
There's just the basic Android battery saver which will restrict background data when the juice is running low.