Hello Moto, it's you again

The Moto G is back - bigger and louder, but the core remains unchanged

Upgrades and updates are two words you will always find meandering in the smartphone arena. There are updates to operating systems, applications and so on. And then there are upgrades to smartphones. Instances can be found aplenty - Apple iPhone 6; the Nexus 5, Samsung's Galaxy S5; LG's G3; and many more additions to many more smartphone brands. All of them aim for one thing - a fitting successor to their phones.

And now Motorola has thrown its hat into the ring as well. It recently launched the new Moto G, Moto X and Moto 360, a smartwatch. While the Moto X and Moto 360 will hit the markets later this month, the new Moto G is already up and running in India - all these products will again be available exclusively on Flipkart.

The new version of the Moto G has been given many names: The Moto G 2, Gen 2, Moto G 2014 and so on. We will just settle at the "new Moto G".

Fresh design
Motorola has made considerable changes to the new Moto G. It's bigger now with a 5-inch display. Users of the old Moto G will see the difference straight away. The new Moto G features two front-facing stereo speakers and two microphones. The front camera has now moved to the top right of the screen. The two stereo speakers mean that there is no speaker outlet on the back cover, giving it a neat and spacious look. The bigger screen also means that the new Moto G weighs 149g, a tad heavier than its predecessor (143g).

Display and camera
The 4.5-inch screen in the old Moto G makes way for a more crisp and bigger 5-inch display. It has excellent viewing angles, and the stereo speakers - above and below the display - add to the video-watching experience. The rear camera is now an 8 megapixel one with a front-facing 2 megapixel snapper (5 megapixel and 1.3 megapixel, respectively, in the old Moto G). The rear camera on the new Moto G performed nicely in well-lit conditions. But the colours appeared a bit dull in low light conditions. The front camera performed well on all fronts.

What's new, what's old?
Earlier this year, we mentioned how the Moto G was "easily the best buy under Rs 15K" and that a "memory card slot and a slightly better camera" would have made the phone irresistible. The new Moto G makes amends for all that was missing in its old avatar. As of now, the new Moto G has been introduced in the 16 GB variant. And, yes, it does come with a memory card slot which supports cards up to 32 GB. It runs on Android KitKat 4.4.4, with a promised update to the next version of Android. The phone has two microSIM slots.

Then there are a few things that remain unchanged. The new Moto G runs on the same 1.2 GHz quad core processor and comes with 1 GB RAM only. The battery, too, stays the same - a 2,070 mAh non-removable unit. This raises a pertinent query: Why weren't all these features introduced in the Moto G's initial version?

Perhaps the old Moto G was used first as a learning curve to see how the market and users reacted, and then as a platform to launch a new device that could be dubbed a "worthy" successor. Fair enough, but the jury is still out on how owners of the old Moto G will take to its successor.

In with the new?
It's a 10 out of 10 on entertainment for the new Moto G. The new stereo speakers not only make the phone sound better, but also make it look better. One thing that will enthuse prospective buyers is that despite the upgrade, the new Moto G will still be available for less than Rs 15,000. In fact, the price is Rs ,1000 cheaper than the Old Moto G's original price. So, at Rs 12,999, the new Moto G is a good buy. There's no word on the new Moto X's price yet, but both these devices could probably replace their predecessors in due course.