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

arstechnica.com

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

#221

Post by vidarh »

KVFinn wrote: post #102
vidarh wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are jumping to (wrong) conclusions. My $200 phone was without contract. . Here's a few examples of current Chinese phones in the Moto G's price range or below: 2GB RAM, Quad Core MTK CPU, 5" screen, 12.8 megapixel camera down to $121: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Full-1-1-i9500-MTK6589-S4-Pho... MTK based Galaxy S4 clone for http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Mtk6589t-S4-1-1-Perfect-Galax... Note 3 clone for ~$190:…

Those do look pretty good. How's your battery life?

To be honest, I don't know - I never go long enough without being near a charger to really notice.

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

#222

Post by bookwormAT »

minalecs wrote: post #194
naner wrote: 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.

"has always been considered"

by whom? "mid tier" is a very generic term. Most critiques and opinions I know of consider these devices best in class.

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

#223

Post by ttflee »

vidarh wrote: post #76
linux_devil wrote: post #22

Right move to target market in India and China , its way affordable than Iphone 5C and comes with the brand name too.

China is overflowing with cheaper, better spec'ed phones than the Moto G. And their own homegrown high end phones that compete for the Iphone end of the market, like e.g. Xiaomi and Huawei phones priced in the same price range as the iPhone.

Xiaomi competes for the consumers who are jealous of the UX of iOS but could not afford a real iPhone. Also Xiaomi fails to match the demands to its flagship products time and time and always runs into shortages.

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

#224

Post by derekp7 »

lostlogin wrote: post #159
derekp7 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Part of it is just change. One day, I needed to pull up the map on my Nexus phone -- and it had a completely different interface to it. I had to sit in a parking lot for an extra 15 minutes to get it to do what I wanted. Now I've got KitKat, and the phone dialer has changed -- I have to hit an extra button to get all my contacts, and I don't like the "premium" spots being automatically populated (there are only 3 lar…

Depending on what flashlight app that is, crashing might actually improve it. http://m.fastcompany.com/3023042/fast-feed/this-popular-flas...

In this case, it was the free/free one from F-droid -- I always go there first for utility-type apps, before hitting one of the app stores. I think this is actually why I was so upset, is I don't want to have to resort to a flashlight app (or any utility for that matter) that may be doing other things behind the scenes.

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

#225

Post by fidotron »

I think questions need to begin to be asked about Google getting close to giving the hardware away in return for user information. It gets dangerously close to the kind of practices that got MS in trouble, especially the way it ends up poisoning the market for anyone else.

The problem is competition is good, and if users want their privacy they probably should be going to pay for it, but I'm profoundly uncomfortable with essentially condemning those that can't afford it to having to surrender their rights to privacy.

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

#226

Post by DCKing »

fidotron wrote: post #225

I think questions need to begin to be asked about Google getting close to giving the hardware away in return for user information. It gets dangerously close to the kind of practices that got MS in trouble, especially the way it ends up poisoning the market for anyone else. The problem is competition is good, and if users want their privacy they probably should be going to pay for it, but I'm profoundly uncomfortable…

"I'm profoundly uncomfortable with essentially condemning those that can't afford it to having to surrender their rights to privacy."

You appear to be implying that you can get extra privacy by buying a more expensive phone. However, the Moto G does not actually seem to be any more or any less invading of privacy compared to any other Android phone out there (and arguably not moreso even compared to Windows Phones and iPhones). Even if those phones are much more expensive than it.

Furthermore, the inevitable popularity of the Moto G only means that you will be able to load it with a custom ROM that gives you as much control as you want, like Cyanogenmod/OmniROM without Google apps.

Google rightly gets flak for privacy issues, but I think you're going too far by getting the privacy debate into hardware pricing as well.

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

#227

Post by raldi »

fidotron wrote: post #225

I think questions need to begin to be asked about Google getting close to giving the hardware away in return for user information. It gets dangerously close to the kind of practices that got MS in trouble, especially the way it ends up poisoning the market for anyone else. The problem is competition is good, and if users want their privacy they probably should be going to pay for it, but I'm profoundly uncomfortable…

The laws Microsoft ran afoul of were under the general category of, "Things you're not allowed to do if you have a monopoly", and the court found that Windows was a monopoly, primarily because the switching costs were so high.

Do you feel Google has a monopoly (i.e., tremendous market share, high switching costs)?

If so, in what?

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

#228

Post by ForHackernews »

rokhayakebe wrote: post #201
TrainedMonkey wrote: post #2

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.

That's what Republic Wireless does now, and they just launched with the Moto X at a surprisingly low price: https://republicwireless.com/

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

#229

Post by ForHackernews »

Zigurd wrote: post #95

Moto G is a great balance of price and performance. It is also much more sensible for a Google-owned OEM to pursue a distinctive niche in the market than to compete with Google's partners across their whole product line. BUT that's just one handset. Nobody knows what Motorola will do next. Is Google shining it up to sell? That would be sensible. Motorola is a huge addition to Google's headcount that produces far less…

My understanding is Google bought Motorola primarily for their patent portfolio, so they'd have some weapons to aim at Apple and ward off lawsuits through mutually-assured destruction.

Is it possible for them to sell off Motorola's hardware operations while retaining their IP?

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

#230

Post by ForHackernews »

aarkling wrote: post #123
skelsey wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They don't need to. You can get an unlimited data + 100 minute no contract plan from t-mobile for $30/month.

It's not 4G though... If you want 4G, it's at least $50, $60 or more for more data.

Republic Wireless has a $40/month 4G plan with the Moto X: https://republicwireless.com/plans
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