Android lollipop is now seeding to Moto G (1st Generation) in India

Image Credit : Google Images

 Android 5.0 Lollipop is Google's biggest mobile update in years.

There's something magical about the idea that, in the space of a few minutes, your smartphone or tablet can look dramatically different and do some cool new things, to boot. That's why operating system updates can be oddly exciting, and Android's latest upgrade, version 5.0 or Lollipop is the firmware equivalent of opening presents on your birthday. The upcoming release, which is now available for selected Motorola devices heading to dozens of mobile devices in the coming months, brings a fresh design and no shortage of new features.

If you've been using Android over the past few months, you may have noticed that several Google apps have been updated with a fresh design and they all look the same. This is no coincidence: Google's putting its three-year-old "Hollow" design language out to move toward a look known as "Material Design." This new aesthetic is featured distinctly in Android 5.0 Lollipop.

This consistency between apps and OS is a good thing, especially since Material Design is cleaner and more colorful than Hollow. Google says this kind of cohesiveness appeals visual harmony, and yu have to agree, whether you're using Google apps and services or a third-party option, a universal design language can ease your frustration of not knowing where functions really are. Since most apps look similar to each other and the rest of Lollipop, it should be less difficult for people to understand what to look for and how to find what they need.

Image Credit : Google Images

And now, the new Android build arrives on Moto G devices in India, and a tad over two weeks after the initial soak test. The software version of the Android 5.0 update is 220.21.16.en.03. Android 5.0 Lollipop brings a host of improvements to the budget friendly smartphone, headed by fresh material design for the UI, as well as brand new ART runtime. The latter will almost certainly make last year’s Moto G feel a lot snappier. 

Moto 360 Smartwatch - Specifications

Image Credit : moto360.motorola.com

Detailed specifications of the Moto 360 smartwatch finally revealed.

Technical Specs:-

Available models

1. Light stainless steel case + gray Horween® leather band
2. Dark stainless steel case + black Horween® leather band
3. Light stainless steel case + stone Horween® leather band

Compatibility-

Smartphones running Android 4.3 or higher

Operating system-

Android Wear™

Display-

1.56" 320 x 290, 205ppi
Backlit LCD
Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3

Watch case dimensions-

46mm diameter by 11.5mm high

Weight-

Leather band model: 49g

Battery-

320mAh
All day (mixed use)
Wireless charging with charging dock included

Processor-

TI OMAP™ 3

Memory-

4GB internal storage + 512MB RAM

Connectivity-

Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy

Sensors-

Pedometer
Optical heart rate monitor (PPG)
On-body detection

Water resistance

IP67

Other-

Single physical button
Vibration motor
Dual microphones

Moto 360 smartwatch appears at Google I/O

Image Credit: Google Images

Samsung´s galaxy gear series has already been manhandled for a while now and now its time to do the same with the latest device running google´s operating system Android Wear, the Motorola Moto 360. Android Wear is the OS launched by Google to with wearable devices like the Motorola Moto 360, the LG G watch and Samsung´s Gear Live. This the first smartwatch to have a circular design which in itself is drool worthy. I may sound a bit rude here but Samsung´s Gear smart watches look ugly when you compare them with this beautiful smartwatch. The first round round-faced Android Wear is just great looking. The Moto 360 looks just like a regular watch.

Image Credit: Google Images

It is a bit on the thick side but is lightweight and comfortable to wear. It will be available in a soft genuine leather straps and also in metal bands. The Moto 360 strikes a stunning pose on your wrist and, particularly in stainless steel garb. The fit and finish of the device is top notch. 

The chamfered edges of both the glass covering the screen and that metal housing give it a luxurious look and feel, and the thick, split leather strap is premium, too. A bit of design flair has the added benefit of showing off the circular display to the fullest -- looking closely reveals that pixels are packed from edge to edge, no cutting corners or bezels.

The Moto 360 has almost the same UI as we usually see in Google Now. Swiping around the UI (up/down to change cards, right/left to dive deeper into them) is super fast and smooth.

Image Credit: Google Images

By default, the screen is off, but when you raise your wrist in the standard check-the-time gesture, the screen lights up. Hopefully that will result in some battery-saving. The screen looked very nice and was easy to read. We're assuming that it too was an AMOLED screen because the blacks were super-deep, and that would make sense for power-savings.

One can make the UI look like a real watch, with multiple dial options to choose from, It seems the watch may be monitor fitness amongst other features like, weather updates, GPS navigation, reminders, reading a Hangout message, watching the caller ID or even accepting or declining calls from the watch itself. From the hardware it looks like this smartwatch will only support wireless charging as there is not input source to plug in a wire into the watch. It only has one hardware button to its right.

Image Credit: Google Images

For now, that's really all we can tell you about the Moto 360 -- that it's a beautiful and sizable smartwatch. Motorola currently had the 360 running a demo mode of Android Wear, so one could not get a feel for how the watch actually will work. That said, Motorola's on its way to proving that sometimes, it's not hip to be a square.

GIF Credit: Google

Hopefully the price—the biggest open question— will be as appealing as the looks. Meanwhile, you may have a look at this video.

Disclaimer: This Video belongs to Motorola Mobility and is embedded here just for informative purpose.

Moto G Versus Moto X

 

Image Courtesy - Google Images

The Moto X has finally come to India and the Moto G is already available so you might be trying to decide which to buy. Well that's where GUIthing comes in because we've compared the two Android smartphones in various categories to highlight how they differ.

Price

Motorola smashed it in terms of value for money with the Moto G, offering users a mid-range smartphone for a budget price. There's little to argue about with a price of just INR 12,499/- to buy it outright.

Things are a little different when it comes to the Moto X. It's Motorola's current flagship smartphone so it's bound to cost more than the Moto G and as such has a INR 23,999/- price tag.

This means you can buy nearly 2 Moto Gs for the price of one Moto X. So it is worth the extra money?

Both of Motorola's phones look very similar. Even though the screen sizes are a little different, the devices themselves are about the same size. In fact, the Moto G with is smaller screen is a little bigger than the Moto X. It's also understandably thicker and heavier than its more expensive brother.

Each is well made but feels quite plasticky so there's little in it. With no Moto Maker in India just yet, the Moto X doesn't have a big advantage over the Moto G here.

Moto G vs Moto X: Screen

Screen size is a great way to choose between two smartphones – you'll want to pick a size that's comfortable for you personally. There's only a small difference between the Moto G and Moto X here. The former is rocking a 4.5in display while the latter give you a little extra at 4.7in.

They both use a 720p resolution so it's in fact the Moto G which has a better pixel density but there's not much in it so it's better to go on the size.

The Moto X uses AMOLED technology. Colours are more vibrant and punchy but some users may prefer the more natural look of the Moto G's display.

Image Courtesy - Google Images

Moto G vs Moto X: Processor

Despite its bargain basement price, the Moto G has a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM. Meanwhile, the Moto X has a dual-core Snapdragon Pro chip clocked a bit higher at 1.7GHz. It's got 2GB of RAM.

This might seem a little confusing but the bottom line is that both offer decent performance so you needn't worry. The Moto X has a software optimised chip with a natural language processor and a contextual computing processor. Just bear in mind that the Moto G is punching way above its weight here.

Moto G vs Moto X: Storage

With no expandable storage available on the Moto G or Moto X, storage is another area to consider closely. The Moto G is available in 8- or 16GB models while the Moto X has double these capacities. However, it appears that the 32GB Moto X missed its flight to India.

Moto G vs Moto X: Cameras

The Moto G has a mid-range 5Mp main camera which takes surprisingly good photos. It's even got an HDR shooting mode. Although the 10Mp camera on the Moto X isn't quite as good as we'd hoped, it still offers more details and video in 1080p compare to 720p. It's front camera is also better at 2Mp against 1.3Mp.

Image Courtesy - Google Images

Moto G vs Moto X: Software

If you can't find a Moto G or Moto X which ships with Android 4.4 Kitkat, you'll be able to upgrade to the latest software once you're up and running – an advantage of being a Google-owned (Now Lenovo) company.

Although both phones run pretty vanilla versions of Android, there are differences which you should be aware of.  On top of things like Moto Assist, the Moto X has unique features like Active display and Quick Capture. It's also got voice recognition which can learn your voice so there are a few reasons to opt for the Moto X over the Moto G here.

Moto G vs Moto X: Battery life

It's worth noting that neither the Moto X nor Moto G has a removable battery. Each phone offers typical smartphone battery performance of one day with an average usage. Only light users will get more than a day.

Tech Specs - moto x

OS: Android 4.4 KitKat
CPU: 1.7 GHz dual-core Krait Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon Pro
GPU: Adreno 320
Nano-SIM
65.3x129.3x10.4mm, 130g
Display: 4.7in AMOLED 720x1280, 312 ppi
Internal storage: 16GB, 2 years 50GB of Google Drive free
Memory: 2GB RAM
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 4.0 LE
NFC
Main Camera: 10Mp, autofocus, LED flash
Camera Features 1.4µm pixel size, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, panorama, HDR
Front Camera: 2Mp
Battery: 2200mAh

Verdict

The Moto G punches so far above its price tag that the large difference in price between it and the Moto X and the small difference in hardware and software mean the Moto X isn't worth the extra money. 

Moto G gets Android 4.4 KitKat in India

Image Courtesy : Google Images

Motorola has started rolling out the Android 4.4.2 KitKat update to the Indian variant of Moto G, the company's budget Android smartphone

The 230.7MB update (on the 16GB version of the phone) brings Google's latest mobile operating system to Moto G which was launched on February 6 in India. The update includes a new phone dialer application and integrates SMS/ MMS capabilities with the Google Hangouts apps. 

The update also adds new photo editing options to the Gallery app, including new filter effects, the ability to draw on photos, advanced cropping and adjustments to colour, exposure, and contrast among others. 

Image Copyright - GUIthing

It also adds support for printing photos, Google Docs, Gmail messages and other content via WiFi, Bluetooth and hosted services such as Google Cloud Print and HP ePrinters. 

Moto G owners who don't receive a notification about the update can check for it through the phone's Settings. After tapping the "Settings" icon, they need to tap on "About phone" and tap on "System updates." They can then select "Download" after receiving a prompt to download and install the update. 

Image copyright - GUIthing

Moto G, which was launched last week in India, is being sold exclusively by e-commerce retailer Flipkart. The phone sports a 4.5-inch screen with a 720p resolution. It is powered by a Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor running at 1.2GHz. The device comes with 8GB and 16GB storage options and has 1GB RAM. The primary camera can shoot images in 5MP, while the secondary camera is 1.3MP.

Motorola Moto G - GUITHING review!

Image Courtesy: Google Images

                                                                 

The American telecommunication major, Motorola has finally launched the much awaited feature mid-range Moto G in India.

The device was launched exclusively on a leading online store in India. The 16GB model of Moto G went out of stock within 15 minutes after its release. Moto G's launch is certainly going to affect the popular local mid-range phones of brands like Micromax, Karbonn & Lava. 

Display and Design:

Image Courtesy: Google Images

                                    

Motorola Moto G has got soft finish matte on the back and has innumerable interchangeable colorful cases. It features 4.5-inch HD (1280x720p) screen with a pixel density of 329 ppi (pixel per inch), best among the smartphones in mid-range segment.

Processor, RAM and Storage:

Moto G powers a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor. Motorola's phone houses a processor made from the industry leader Qualcomm. In terms of storage, Motorola loses points as it fails to plant a microSD card slot in the Moto G limiting its memory capacity.

It is also packed with 1GB RAM.

Camera:

Motorola Moto G, ships with 5.0-megapixel camera and according to few hands on reviews, it is one of the best camera among the smartphones in its class.

Mobile Operating System:

It is to be noted that the Motorola's Moto G is running on the latest Jelly Bean version 4.3 and is also slated to receive the new v4.4.2 KitKat in few days time.

Price:

In India, Moto G (8GB) is priced at Rs. 12,499, whereas 16GB is available for Rs. 13,999.

Pros: affordable, immediate availability of KitKat update

Cons: no microSD card slots

Here's an Unboxing Video for our readers.