[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

Why not, you had a Toyota, you have been happy with it and you bought another Toyota. Why not Motorola then?

I don't say that only buy Moto G, but please don't skip the phone just because its a Motorola which you already have or you think Motorola is also like any other cheap Chinese company because of their pricing.

Ouch. I had no idea that my post could manage to extract such an outburst.

We keep our cars for years and hence reliability and other things score very high. Plus a huge sum is involved making one less inclined to indulge in risk taking behaviour.

Motorola almost exited our market and hence does suffer from an image point of view. But my experience with the Moto G has been great so far and its an excellent VFM device. That is the reason why I narrowed down on another Moto G buddy. My post was to ask about any other alternatives that I can consider since it doesn't hurt to experience a little different flavour this time since these phones are anyways replaced in 2 years maximum. The new Moto G will carry almost the same looks and interface as the existing Moto G I have.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Need to buy a new phone for my dad preferably a dual sim.

I got a Android One phone (the Micromax variant) for my daughter and am mighty pleased. Same features as my son's Moto G at half the price. The battery is marginally lesser (1700 mAh vs 2070 mAh) comparatively, that's all.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Ouch. I had no idea that my post could manage to extract such an outburst.

Well Motorla didn't exit from our market only, rather it exited from all over the world due to heavy losses. So they can't be blamed as careless particularly about us.

About reliability, almost all the phones are good to serve for a year two. But Motorola are cheapest amongst known branded phones. Then biggest advantage you are overlooking is pure Android and guaranteed Android updates for quite sometimes atleast. No need to fiddle with custom ROMs which mostly result into one or two non working things in the phone.

If you want to take chances with Chinese phones then its different matter.

Xiaomi are not offering Mi3 right now and its not clear when Mi4 will arrive. One plus is another brand worth to consider but I am not aware about their development in India. Then Oppo, Huwai etc which can be considered, there are lot of choices.

But IMO Android-One will be better and safer choice compared to above here, low price, no regenerate if phone turns out a wrong choice or lost out or wrecks.

HTC have also introduced some good phones recently under 20K segment, you can look at them as well.

But all of these are Androids basically. If you really want to try out something different then why not take chances with Jolla which runs on Sailfish OS. Don't worry, it supports Android apps : http://www.snapdeal.com/offers/jolla

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by dkaile

I got a Android One phone (the Micromax variant) for my daughter and am mighty pleased. Same features as my son's Moto G at half the price. The battery is marginally lesser (1700 mAh vs 2070 mAh) comparatively, that's all.

I am also planning to buy one for my wife.

How is the overall experience - especially network strength, call clarity etc.

Any issues - heating problems, battery drain etc ?

How do you find the stock Android UI ? (We are currently using Samsung devices with TouchWiz interface)

How to decide between Micromax vs Spice vs Karbonn ? Which one has the best after sales network ?

Thanks in advance.

Rohan

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

How is the overall experience

It is surprisingly good in fact. Wasn't expecting this from 6k'ish phone. Though I am not using it personally but what limited interaction I had with my daughter's phone shows that the build quality is good. Network and 3G speeds are comparable to Motorola etc. Speakerphone volume is slightly less than my HTC One on Beats audio. Latest KitKat operations are very smooth. Camera is very decent. Battery life lasts a day on her usage. No heating issues. I went for Micromax over Redmi/others due to proximity of a good service setup in my city. Google has taken personal interest in the hardware, as per my internal knowledge, and hence a great package at this price point has been given.

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

How to decide between Micromax vs Spice vs Karbonn ? Which one has the best after sales network ?
Rohan

Spice has some network signal strength issues. You can check out the reviews on flipkart. I was looking for my sister and finally opted for lumia series.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by dkaile

I got a Android One phone (the Micromax variant) for my daughter and am mighty pleased. Same features as my son's Moto G at half the price. The battery is marginally lesser (1700 mAh vs 2070 mAh) comparatively, that's all.

Very interesting phone. Just checked it out. Any idea vs this and the other regular Micromax phones out there in the same price range?

What is the difference between this Android and Android one?

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

What is the difference between this Android and Android one?

This is my first Micromax phone and I always held them in low esteem. But this thing is different. The hardware is finalized by Google directly so quality can be assured. Android One is just a moniker for keeping the hardware in sync with Google's latest software to achieve maximum efficiency at lowest costs. It is also assured all updates for the next 2 years directly by Google.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

What is the difference between this Android and Android one?

Other Micromax phones are heavily bloated whereas the AndroidOne has got pure Aadroid which will constantly be upgraded by Google for next two years atleast.

Now coming to comparison with MotoG, Android one has got MediaTek compared to Snapdragon of Motorola. Then screen size, quality and resolution, battery etc. So you actually get half at the half paid price. Even MotoE is better if quality of internal components is in the comparison. Your call.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

Now coming to comparison with MotoG, Android one has got MediaTek compared to Snapdragon of Motorola. Then screen size, quality and resolution, battery etc. So you actually get half at the half paid price. Even MotoE is better if quality of internal components is in the comparison. Your call.

I was actually going to ask you this next. How does this Micromax Andoid one fare with respect to the Moto E? Even the Moto E brings the pure android experience.

Personally I feel that I liked Samsung's Touchwiz on the Galaxy S2 more than pure Android on my Nexus 5.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

I was actually going to ask you this next. How does this Micromax Andoid one fare with respect to the Moto E? Even the Moto E brings the pure android experience.

Personally I feel that I liked Samsung's Touchwiz on the Galaxy S2 more than pure Android on my Nexus 5.

Well let me put myself as a customer who has got budget of 6-7K.

Both phones have got what a normal joy is looking from a smartphone. But one major difference is there in the camera. I can live without flash or auto focus which is missing in the Moto E but I occasionally use Hangouts for video calls with few of my relatives and known people. So I will have to compromise on quality of the rest of internals and will have to pick Android one. If front camera is not important for me then I will not have any second thought and will pick Moto E, which is arguably one of the best Android smartphone in terms of battery efficiency in this budget.

But you are looking for a phone which will be used by an elderly person. Believe me, your father will thank you for the big screen of the MotoG. then there are stereo speakers, playing games, listening music, watching good quality videos which have stereo sound will be totally different experience on the new MotoG. I am afraid you may end up invading the new MotoG and hand over your older one to your father.

And about TouchWiz vs plain Android, what is so special in the touchwiz which you love that much that you can compromise the performance you get with plain Android? You can always customize Android with third party launchers, icons and tools. There are many eye candy launchers available on Google Play.

[Speed.Demon]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Personally I feel that I liked Samsung's Touchwiz on the Galaxy S2 more than pure Android on my Nexus 5.

While I too am a huge fan of stock android and I own a Moto G, my dad says exactly the same thing.

He says that his S4 is easier to use and he squints at my phone with suspicious eyes.

Regarding your question regarding what Android One is, think of it basically as a poor man's Nexus.

Google decides the hardware to be used in these phones, and the software is put in by Google themselves. And the best thing is, that these cheap phones will get their updates directly from Google, a la Nexus.

I think it's a brilliant idea. (and a rather shrewd business move from the big G).

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

How does this Micromax Andoid one fare with respect to the Moto E?

Great misconception about this roaming around. I am comparing the phone with Moto G and not Moto E which is a lower variant. It is comparable to the Moto G and even has removable battery and sd card slot which the G lacks in its previous iteration. It's performance levels are quite high and camera is quite good comparable to Moto G, and that is at half the cost. Peace of mind is assured by Google keeping track of the hardware and software directly. I would go for A1 any day over Moto G when I am saving half the moolah.

[bluevolt]

Been using HTC Desire 816 for almost a month now. Overall very happy with the phone. Battery life is also respectable considering its 5.5" screen. Best part is camera and stereo speakers. HTC Sense 6.0 adds to the premium UI experience. My detailed review is posted here

Will recommend it for anyone who is looking for a smartphone which offers good screen, camera and phablet experience in budget of 20-22k.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Been using HTC Desire 816...in budget of 20-22k.

Sirje...Lenovo P780...comes with same 5.5 inch screen, costs 15K max & a whooping battery life of 4 days if you don't switch off your data connection along with wireless due its strongest 4000 mA battery