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YugaTech Asks: Moto G or high end local smartphones?

The Motorola Moto G is yet to arrive here in the Philippines, and surely a lot of people are waiting for it – mainly because of its high-end internals paired with the affordable price tag of just $179 to $199. We managed to nab one in Singapore for just Php9,000, a price that is a lot lower than the prices of the local brands’ flagship phones – usually slightly above the Php10k mark (first impressions here).

MOTO G LOCAL

Local flagship phones on the other hand are spec monsters. They come at prices up to Php13,000 and they pack 1080p displays, 18 megapixel rear cameras & 8 megapixel front-facing cameras, quad-core CPUs to octa-core ones and they have attracted quite a number of loyal fans. However, there are certainly a lot of people not ready to jump into the local smartphone bandwagon.

Since the Moto G has a similar price point with the Nexus 7 (not to mention they’re both Google products), then it might be safe to assume that when it arrives here, it’s going to be at most Php13,000 also for the 16GB variant. That one packs a 720p display, a Snapdragon 400 CPU, 1GB RAM, the latest version of Android, a 5MP camera and a good 2,070mAh battery. Hypothetically, if you get a local flagship phone, you’re getting a 1080p display, an octa-core MediaTek CPU, 2GB RAM, 18MP+8MP shooters, a decent battery & a slightly outdated version of Android.

That leaves us with a question. YugaTech asks – if you had Php13k in hand only for a brand new smartphone, which one would you get?

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Avatar for Bob Freking

Bob Freking occasionally contributes articles to the website. He is a UST Graduate of Commerce & Business Administration, Major in Marketing Management, and a full-time Sith Lord with three dragons.

65 Responses

  1. Avatar for Carlo Carlo says:

    The Moto G will have Kitkat and future updates guaranteed. I doubt any local smartphone does that without flashing roms or rooting the heck out of it.

  2. Avatar for LeoVicente LeoVicente says:

    I’d rather go for Motorola being the more reputable brand. However, while Lenovos, Cherrys, Myphones or Starmobiles may strike you as less reliable, they appear to be better supported here in the country.

  3. Avatar for john john says:

    may dalawa akong kaklaseng may Cherry Mobile smartphones. yung flare 2x at flare s. nung una impressed ako kasi nga smooth na din ang performance at ok na din ang screen. kaso after ilang weeks lang yung dalawang units nila may defects agad. may defects sa screen. yung flare 2x may dead pixels tas yung isa may problema din sa screen, di na nag po produce ng black colors. parang nagiging rainbow ang screen kapag may black yung images sa screen. tas yung multitouch ng flare S, parang buggy din. nagiging single touch ang screen niya kapag mag tetext ka in potrait mode. kaya madaming typos kapag mageedit ka or magtete text ka. disappoited talaga ako kasi balak kong bumili ng flare S. that said, mas ok pa rin talaga na branded nalang yung bibilhin niyong mga smartphones. kulang pa din talaga sa build quality yung mga local branded smartphones :) i suggest Huawei at Lenovo smartphones. ok na din ang build quality nila tas mas mura kesa Samsung at LG :)

  4. Avatar for wew wew says:

    aba xempre moto g angganda na ng specs plus premium image cgurado mo pa ung build quality at aftersales support =)

  5. Avatar for Jonel Marlo Fidelson Jonel Marlo Fidelson says:

    mas ok sana ang moto x kc amoled pero moto g should be fine mas trusted mas up to date mas reliable ang internal and external mejo di nga lang uubra ang phone na to sakin dahil alang card slot awkward naman ang may OTG lagi for added storage mas ok nadin ang note 3 ko ngayun.. dabest.. lol..

  6. Avatar for Yusuf Yusuf says:

    Moto G! Guaranteed support for the phone and software updates. And, Motorola’s quality >

  7. Avatar for Eroz18 Eroz18 says:

    I’ll go for Motorola because its been in mobile industry for a long time and proved to have a good research team behind their products.

  8. Avatar for JC Sales JC Sales says:

    Moto G :)

  9. Avatar for Wayne Wayne says:

    I read before na hindi porket madami sya core masmabilis na daw siya. Totoo ba ito?
    If I’m going to buy, I dont want the local brand anymore. Ilang bwan lang nasira na and Cherry Mobile Flare ko. Papa ayos ko sana sa center nila kaso napakahaba ng pila.. Naiisip ko tuloy na malamang sirain talaga ang Cherry Mobile kasi dami tao dun.

  10. Avatar for TechyGeek TechyGeek says:

    I will go for Motolite G! Superb battery life!!

  11. Avatar for jabroni jabroni says:

    with 13k ..ill rather get a sony xperia sp (from an online store) …established brand+good quality+LTE+good after sales support+kitkat update(though still in plan)

    but to the question b/w moto g or local handset,ill get moto g bec of same reasons ill get an xperia sp (except for LTE of course)

    • Avatar for eric eric says:

      my thoughts too.

    • Avatar for mak mak says:

      Same here bro. If 13k yung budget. Xperia SP na lang kukunin ko. LTE and better camera and expendable memory.

    • Avatar for Some chap Some chap says:

      @jabroni

      You’ll trade a critically acclaimed Php9k to Php10k quad core phone for a middle-of-the-road Php12k dual core phone? Sure, it has LTE, but it’s not like LTE here is that good anyway.

      If you really want a good phone with LTE, go for the LG Optimus G (E975) instead. It has a quad core 1.5GHz CPU, has 2GB of RAM, has LTE, and is selling for Php14k.

    • Avatar for evollove evollove says:

      I’m pretty sure that Snapdragon dual-core on the SP can smoke a Mediatek quad any day of the week. But I do agree with the Optimus G suggestion. It’s a better buy than the SP IMO.

    • Avatar for Some chap Some chap says:

      @evollove

      The critically acclaimed Php9k smartphone I was referring to was the Moto G, not a local Mediatek-powered local device. You’re preaching to the choir. ;)

  12. Avatar for cyanide_juice cyanide_juice says:

    Moto G hands down to compliment my OT Idol. 13K (give or take) for a device with 16GB, 2,070mAh battery and with Google written all over it is more than enough reason to choose the G over some of the local brands with the same specifications and price tag. Sana nga lang 2GB yung RAM :)

  13. Avatar for Benchmark Benchmark says:

    I will go for moto g…to my opinion, para kasing sirain yung mga local phones na pumapasok dito…chambahan ba kung baga (not all naman ganun). Plus some bad after sales (base sa mga complaints ng iba).

    After all, kung text, call, little games and surfing lng naman ang ginagawa, whats the specs for di ba? Well idea ko lang yun.

  14. Avatar for Easy E Easy E says:

    I’ll go for Moto G. trust issues. hehe

  15. Avatar for hellomoto hellomoto says:

    Moto G FTW!

  16. Avatar for evollove evollove says:

    Since the Moto G doesn’t have LTE, I think I’ll go with a local gadget. Just not the ones currently out. When and if Motorola makes the G locally available, that’s when I’d get a local phone. Who knows, 2-3 months from now we’ll see a decent local flagship. As long as CM keeps saturating the market with decently specced phones, there ought to be a diamond in the rough amongst them.

  17. Avatar for Joey G Joey G says:

    Been wanting to try a local smartphone but question the build quality. Another thing, is it easy to upgrade to the latest Android OS if you buy a local smartphone? Will it be pushed to you? Do a lot of local smartphones have a skin above stock Android?

    • Avatar for yui yui says:

      a straight no, it’s tough to find custom roms for MediaTek processors, (unless there are other ways to get updates from android that I haven’t heard of).

  18. Avatar for RJ RJ says:

    I’d rather buy Moto G! Kahit may Nexus 5 na ako. Hahaha! :D

    • Avatar for ra ra says:

      be2nta mo b nexus 5 mo kung ganun? haha :3
      on-topic: probably get the thl t100 or diamond x1, for the sake of the octa-core cpu thingy. ma-test lang performance kumbaga haha :D

    • Avatar for RJ RJ says:

      ay hindi ko ibebenta yung Nexus 5 ko. Gustung-gusto ko yun e. Bale yung Moto G backup/second phone ko lang. ;) Hahaha

  19. Avatar for Arjay T. Arjay T. says:

    Im a battery conscious user that why I still use and prefers Lenovo P770 and Lenovo P780 for my business phones.

    I can go on to a 2-3 days out of town business trip without the need to find a spot to charge my phone.

  20. Avatar for abuzalzal abuzalzal says:

    None of the above.

    I’d rather buy a CM Life (Php 3k) + Nexus 7 (11k)

    Talking about getting the most out of your hard earned cash

    • Avatar for titi titi says:

      titi mo tangina ka.

      bawat device na nirereview dito kung laitin mo ganun ganun na lang e sa cherry mobile pala bagsak mo.

      dami mong katangahan sa katawan.

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