The Motorola Moto G, which launched last year, was a game-changing phone. A blend of great features, up-to-date Android build and low price point saw the phone sell in the bucketloads. The phone offered great value and could easily compete with phones for twice the price.
The Motorola Moto G is still one of the most compelling purchases at the budget end and can be bought in the UK around the £100 price point. However, recently Motorola announced two new phones the Moto E, which sits below the Moto G, and the Moto G 4G (adding LTE and a microSD slot). For those wondering how the specs of these handsets compare with Sony’s budget offering we’ve created the table below.
We’ve included the latest UK price points, which is obviously a key consideration when choosing between them. When looking at the Xperia E1, it’s a difficult sell when compared to the Moto E, let alone the Moto G, especially considering a paltry 512MB of RAM. Compared to the Moto E, the Xperia E1 comes off worse when it comes to display, RAM, camera and battery.
The Xperia M2 versus the Moto G 4G is a slightly different story, although ultimately the Moto still wins in our view considering the price points. The Xperia M2 is more expensive, which can be justified with the better design, camera (8MP vs 5MP), inclusion of NFC and battery (2300mAh vs 2070 mAh).
However, the Moto G 4G has a higher resolution display (4.5” 720p vs 4.8” qHD), is armed with KitKat out of the box and comes with the same chipset and RAM as the Xperia M2 despite being cheaper.
It shows just how much Motorola has disrupted the market and that Sony will need to offer much better value for money if it wants to seriously compete on the budget end. Would you choose any of the Sony models over the Moto G and Moto E? If so what are your reasons? Would you like to see a Moto G-killer from Sony? If so what specs and price point would you like to see? We’d love to hear your thoughts below.
Sony’s budget Xperia models versus Motorola Moto G and Moto E
| Phone | Moto G 4G | Moto G | Moto E | Xperia M2 | Xperia E1 | Xperia SP | Xperia L | Xperia M | Xperia E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display size (inches) | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 4 | 4.55 | 4.3 | 4 | 3.5 |
| Screen Resolution | 720 x 1280 | 720 x 1280 | 540 x 960 | 540 x 960 | 480 x 800 | 720 x 1280 | 480 x 854 | 480 x 854 | 320 x 480 |
| PPI | 329 | 329 | 256 | 229 | 233 | 319 | 228 | 244 | 165 |
| Water Resistant | Water repellent coating | Water repellent coating | Water-resistant splash guard | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Notification light | Yes (one colour) | Yes (one colour) | Yes (one colour) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Price (£) - May 2014 | £149 | £100 (8GB), £138 (16GB) | £79 | £220 | £109 | £190 | £149 | £125 | £75 |
| Chipset | Qualcomm MSM8X26 | Qualcomm MSM8X26 | Qualcomm MSM8210 | Qualcomm MSM8X26 | Qualcomm MSM8210 | Qualcomm MSM8960T | Qualcomm MSM8230 | Qualcomm MSM8227 | Qualcomm MSM7227A |
| Processor | 1.2GHz Quad-core | 1.2GHz Quad-core | 1.2GHz Dual-core | 1.2GHz Quad-core | 1.2GHz Dual-core | 1.7 GHz Dual-core | 1 GHz Dual-core | 1.0 GHz Dual-core | 1 GHz Single-core |
| GPU | Adreno 305 | Adreno 305 | Adreno 302 | Adreno 305 | Adreno 302 | Adreno 320 | Adreno 305 | Adreno 305 | Adreno 200 (enhanced) |
| RAM | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB | 512MB | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB | 512 MB |
| Android version | KitKat (4.4.2) | KitKat (4.4.2) | KitKat (4.4.2) | Jelly Bean (4.3) | Jelly Bean (4.3) | 4.1.2 | 4.1.2 | 4.1.2 | 4.1.2 |
| Storage | 8GB | 8GB / 16GB | 4GB | 8GB | 4GB | 8GB | 8GB | 4GB | 4GB |
| Expandable storage | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LTE | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Size (mm) | 129.9 x 65.9 x 11.6 | 129.9 x 65.9 x 11.6 | 124.8 x 64.8 x 12.3 | 139.65 x 71.14 x 8.64 | 118 x 62.4 x 12 | 130.6 x 67.1 x 9.98 | 128.7 x 65 x 9.7 mm | 124 x 62 x 9.3 | 113.5 x 61.8 x 11.0 |
| Weight (g) | 143 | 143 | 142 | 148 | 120 | 155 | 137 | 115 | 115.7 |
| SIM | micro SIM | micro SIM | micro SIM | Normal SIM | Normal SIM | micro SIM | Normal SIM | Normal SIM | Normal SIM |
| Colours | Interchangeable back covers | Interchangeable back covers | Interchangeable back covers | Black, Purple, White | Black, Purple, White | Black, Red, White Silver | Black, Red, White | Black, Purple, White, Yellow | Black, Pink, White, Gold |
| Rear Camera sensor | 5MP | 5MP | 5MP | 8MP | 3MP | 8MP Exmor RS | 8MP Exmor RS | 5MP | 3.2MP |
| LED Flash | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HDR | Yes (photo only) | Yes (photo only) | Yes (photo only) | Yes (photo only) | Yes (photo only) | Yes (photo only) | Yes (photo/video) | Yes (photo only) | No |
| Video Recording | 720p 30fps | 720p 30fps | FWVGA 30fps | 1080p | WVGA | 1080p Full HD | 720p HD | 720p HD | VGA |
| Front camera sensor | 1.3MP | 1.3MP | No | VGA | No | VGA | VGA | VGA | No |
| Dedicated camera button | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11 b/g/n | 802.11 b/g/n | 802.11 b/g/n | 802.11a/b/g/n [2.4 GHz/5 GHz] | 802.11a/b/g/n | 802.11a/b/g/n | 802.11a/b/g/n | 802.11a/b/g/n | 802.11 b/g/n |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.0 | Bluetooth 4.0 | Bluetooth 4.0 | Bluetooth 4.0 | Bluetooth 4.0 | Bluetooth 4.0 | Bluetooth 4.0 | Bluetooth 4.0 | Bluetooth 2.1 |
| Location | GPS, GLONASS | GPS, GLONASS | GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou | GPS, GLONASS | GPS, GLONASS | GPS, GLONASS | GPS | GPS | GPS |
| Battery capacity (min) | 2070 mAh | 2070 mAh | 1980 mAh | 2300 mAh | 1750 mAH | 2300 mAh | 1700 mAh | 1700 mAh | 1500 mAh |
| Sealed Battery | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| MHL/Miracast | No | No | No | No | No | MHL | No | No | No |
| NFC | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| PlayStation Certified | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Proximity sensor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ambient light sensor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Magnetometer | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Gyroscope | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
