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Motorola Moto G (Dual-SIM) in the flesh, first impressions

We chanced upon the Motorola Moto G during our side trip in Singapore this week and got one for about Php9,000. Was surprised it turned out the unit was the dual-SIM version.

When the Moto G was announced in the US, it created a lot of buzz due to the customization option and the price of about $179 (8GB) and $199 (16GB). The idea seemed to have caught in the US but other countries that imported it like HK and Singapore only gets the basic black color.

While Google has also announced the Play Edition with Kitkat, the original Moto G already runs 4.3 with a guaranteed upgrade to Kitkat this January.

The unit that we bought in Singapore also happens to be the dual-SIM version which was launched in Australia and Malaysia barely a week ago. Fortunately, that’s also the version that we got.

Nonetheless, we were as excited to check out the device right out of the box. The unit came with a basic charger, USB charging cable, earphones and the unit in black version with 8GB internal storage.

The unit feels very solid on the hands, looks like it has a unibody design but the back cover can actually be removed to access the battery and the two (2) micro-SIm card slots. There’s no micro-SD card slot inside (we initially thought the other SIM card slot was a micro SD card slot).

The handset feels a bit thick on the side but since it has a curved back, the hold is comfortable and the grip is just right. The power button and the volume rocker is found ont he right side, the 3.5mm audio jack is at the top end and the microUSB port is at the bottom.

The back panel has a smooth matte finish, slightly curved towards the corners. The 5MP camera is right in the center with the LED flash just below it. The Motorola logo is further down while the speaker grills are on the left side of the camera.

To open up the cover, one needs a little bit of effort in prying open the gap along the sides. Again, there’s no microSD card slot here so if you have the 8GB version, you are stuck with very little room for installing apps and games.

The unit runs on Android 4.3 Jellybean out fo the box and Google/Motorola has promised a guaranteed upgrade to 4.4 Kitkat this month. It also uses the Vanilla UI with a few native apps pre-installed by Motorola.

Motorola Moto G XT1033 specs:
4.5-inch 720 x 1280 display, 329ppi
Qualcomm MSM8226 Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz quad-core CPU
Adreno 305 Graphics
1GB RAM
8GB, 16GB internal memory
3G/HSPA+, dual-SIM, dual-standby
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
FM Radio tuner
5 megapixel camera with LED flash
720p HD video
1.3MP front-facing camera
Android 4.3 Jellybean, upgradable to 4.4 KitKat
Li-Ion 2,070mAh battery

We ran a few tests and benchmarks and got these scores.

Moto G benchmark scores:
Quadrant Standard – 8,663
Antutu Benchmark – 17,366
Nenamark 2 – 58.0fps
Vellamo HTML 5 – 1,949
Vellamo Metal – 540
Sun Spider – 1,435.4ms

The numbers are actually pretty decent and, on average, is higher than the scores we’d see from Mediatek quad-core chips we’ve tested before.

The device is smooth and snappy, the display is bright and crisp, the body is comfortable and easy to hold. We also like the idea that it supports two SIM card at the same time. All that in under $200 and we’re sold.

Check back again in a week for our full review of the Moto G.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

25 Responses

  1. Avatar for metre9dmt metre9dmt says:

    I was excited for the release of the Moto G dual-sim as everybody. Based from what I read, Moto G Dual Sim only comes with 8GB RAM. The most recent version is the Moto G LTE, is the same Moto G, but with LTE and micro-SD support, 8/16 GB RAM. Sana makinig na ang Lenovo and make this Moto G LTE 16 GB version available in the Philippines. Now Na!

  2. Avatar for Ralph Ralph says:

    Sa dbgadgets.net po. 11,800 for the 16gb :)

  3. Avatar for Ralph Ralph says:

    I bought this phone yesterday and damn! Sulit ang pera ko. Kaso walang usb cable ang nabili ko. Di ko lang alam kung meron ba talaga..

  4. Avatar for pytz pytz says:

    Gsto ko to..:)

  5. Avatar for say whut? say whut? says:

    “The unit feels very solid on the hands, looks like it has a unibody design but the back cover can actually be removed to access the battery and the two (2) micro-SIm card slots.”

    Ha? “UNI” body pero natatanggal yung back part? edi hindi na UNI yun? labo…

    • Avatar for wew wew says:

      “blah blah blah…….looks like…blah blah blah”……. “blah blah blah…….looks LIKE…blah blah blah”…”LOOKS LIKE”. basahin mo uli ung article, anlinaw oh.kaw ang malabo e.

  6. Avatar for anonymouse anonymouse says:

    Sir abe pwede bang malaman where exactly sa singapore mo nabili yung unit nato? Thanks!

  7. Avatar for ian ian says:

    Wait for ZenFone 5 and 6 =)

  8. Avatar for abuzalzal abuzalzal says:

    Anlakas naman maka-patong ni KimStore…Online pa yan ha, walang lease at kung anu anong fee at ang binabayaran..Php10.5k?

    mahal yata

    If it’s Php9k sa Singapore it should be at least roughly Php9k din dito, this ain’t Europe!

    • Avatar for Abudakdak Abudakdak says:

      Wag ka na magreklamo wala ka naman pambili ng gadgets. Tama na ung panonood mo lng ng unboxing videos sa youtube at pagbasa ng review. Ok?!

    • Avatar for kuya kim kuya kim says:

      Sa extortionist ba naman na presyo ng customs taxes dito eh nagtaka ka pa. Try mo bumili online galing sa ibang bansa; mura nga pero pag deliver, patay ka sa taxes! Na-trauma ako eh.

  9. Avatar for cgcastillo19 cgcastillo19 says:

    Sir, sa anong shop sa singapore niyo nabili yung unit? Thanks.

  10. Avatar for jen jen says:

    Meron yan sa kimstore, 8gb 10,400 ung price then ung 16gd ai 11,800

  11. Avatar for wew wew says:

    wow.that price.

  12. Avatar for maide maide says:

    Available na to sa kimstore amd widgetcity.. Dual sim version.. Search niyo nlng.. 11+k ata yung 16gb model

  13. Avatar for alan cuarto alan cuarto says:

    tingnan ko to next week, dito ko now sa malaysia… pero parang makukulangan akp sa battery… ill just wait for the full review, how the battery performs…

  14. Avatar for Bong Nabogbog Bong Nabogbog says:

    bakit lagi late tayo sa mga cp at gadget release..pero sa news mabilis headline agad yung pagkabugbog sa akin.

  15. Avatar for JC Sales JC Sales says:

    nice ok to ha. budget phone ^_^

  16. Avatar for Alan Cuarto Alan Cuarto says:

    sir.. this seems nice… im planning to buy a Lenovo P780 with a 4000mah battery.. but this one, i think is a great deal…pero ang battery nya na 2070, kaya ba 1 whole day niito?

    • Avatar for Bong Navarro Jr. Bong Navarro Jr. says:

      I’m using a Lenovo P780 and battery life is 5/5 stars! but after reading this, I think I want to sell my phone and get a decent stock android like this one Motorola G

      iniisip ko rin na great deal ito, kung lumabas ito dito sa Pinas with a Price Range of 9,000 di na ako mag dalawang isip at benta ko yung P780 ko

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