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Google’s $179 Moto G puts every single cheap Android phone to shame

arstechnica.com

211–220 of 265 posts

Re: Google’s $179 Moto G puts every single cheap Android phone to shame

#211
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Moto X and Google's own Nexus series appear to be pretty high end. I don't think this is their plan at all.

the moto x and Nexus line has always been considered mid tier, not the latest everything and many compromises made but not low end.

Every Nexus except the S and Galaxy had the best SOC available at the time (The one and 4 had them before any other android phone). The Galaxy was the first 720p smartphone. They are high end, just not at all costs.

Re: Google’s $179 Moto G puts every single cheap Android phone to shame

#212
post #5

If Google's plan is to leave the high-end of smartphones to its Android "partners" and stake out the low end with Motorola, that seems pretty smart. Its partners get to keep the high-margin hardware business that Google doesn't need anyway, Google puts a floor on how bad the low-end phones can be and still make it to market. And yeah, Google isn't in the position of competing with companies that it needs.

A floor, at $179? I bet companies will find a cellar or two below that price point, at lower quality. $179 is a lot of money to many people, even inside the USA.

Re: Google’s $179 Moto G puts every single cheap Android phone to shame

#213
post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like you are confused. This is a tech site in which we're discussing technology, pros/cons of devices, etc. Not some religious forum promoting humbleness and gratitude.

Yes, but GP's comparison is moot, IMO: I'm sure the GGP knows that his $179 phone isn't going to blow anyone away in terms of camera potential. It came across as exactly like that typical "my phone is better than your phone" crap, even if it might not have been. Also, I don't get his point about travel. It's got Quad-band HSDPA... honestly, that covers pretty much anywhere most people travel, or at least anywhere I'v…

And the North American version of the Moto G actually does support '1700mhz' AWS HSPA+ too (so it's 100% T-Mobile USA compatible everywhere they offer HSPA+)

Re: Google’s $179 Moto G puts every single cheap Android phone to shame

#214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where's that? I can only find $50, $60 and $70 plans: http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans/individual.html

I wrote about how to get it. http://ngokevin.com/blog/tmobile/

You have a typo, "100 minutes of text".

Re: Google’s $179 Moto G puts every single cheap Android phone to shame

#215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple used to cover all bases. There was iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, all the way up to the biggest iPod. So in the early 2000s, people at every level of the MP3 player market could be part of Apple's universe (which led to more PC sales and further MP3 sales and upgrading). They've still not done this with phones, so they've left a giant hole for Android to fill, which in turn makes the platform more attractive to devel…

Apple wasn't really covering all price ranges with those products — they were covering all use-cases. For example, the shuffle seemed more aimed at people who wanted something easy and light to clip on while exercising. The nano seemed to cross-over slightly with that market, and also attract people who wanted something tiny but full-featured. (I.e., it was the size that differentiated it, not price.) I don't think m…

I got a little sweat near a shuffle and the headphone port sucked it in and something shorted out. There was a big scorch mark visible.

Re: Google’s $179 Moto G puts every single cheap Android phone to shame

#216

Google is making a big play on smartphone for everyone model. Now if they could get carriers to agree to cheaper data model, their hand would be really strong. To some extent this favors T-Mobile and other no-discount/cheaper plans carriers.

Google's play is to bypass the carrier altogether, which they will do as soon they get broadband in many homes and use their own souped up wifi routers to create a network that will allow you to be forever internet-connected. And when you are not, they will roam.

I think this is Google's long term plan, and its a pretty great one. You will literally be connected anywhere on the globe with Google Fiber based HetNet wireless, and wifi beamed down on the rest of the earth from Balloons.

Re: Google’s $179 Moto G puts every single cheap Android phone to shame

#217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why people in America are so keen to pay for expensive monthly plans. I pay $5-$10 dollars per month on average for my cellphone on prepay. It doesn't make sense all to buy a phone on plan.

Your problem is that you believe sensible plans are offered in the American market at all. Look at all the love people express for t-mobile's $30 / month plan. That's because it is leaps and bounds ahead of anything else you can get. In China, I pay about US$15 every 3-4 months for a level of texting and voice talk that would easily cost $30 / month by itself in the US. (I don't have a data plan.) I've tried going pr…

I pay T-mobile $100 for 1000 minutes that last 365 days (in U.S.).

The minutes are expensive and no data, but for light usage it's great. AT&T Go phone has the same $100 for 1000 minutes that last a year.

Re: Google’s $179 Moto G puts every single cheap Android phone to shame

#218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why people in America are so keen to pay for expensive monthly plans. I pay $5-$10 dollars per month on average for my cellphone on prepay. It doesn't make sense all to buy a phone on plan.

Have you found a prepaid carrier in the US with adequate roaming coverage? Prepaid coverage maps are typically (always?) much, much weaker than contract coverage maps.

For voice, my T-mobile prepaid roams on at least some of AT&T.

Re: Google’s $179 Moto G puts every single cheap Android phone to shame

#219

I don't get it. If you're using a smart phone for all the things that smart phones do (audio, photo albums, video), 16GB just isn't enough. Even my 32GB iPhone requires active file management to avoid hitting the limit.

I stream music and browse the web (including FB) almost every day of the week and I've never hit my 2GB data cap. My 16 GB hard drive is more than enough.

Re: Google’s $179 Moto G puts every single cheap Android phone to shame

#220
post #146
post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a daily Windows Phone user, android user, and former iOS user, I'm curious to hear what apps you think are missing? I moved from my iPhone to Lumia and am only missing a google hangouts app (due to google choosing not to support the platform).

Last time I used it there were no podcast apps that would update/download in the background. That's an entire category.

The built in Podcast app does that.
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