Moto M, An All Metal Phone From Motorola
M is for ‘Metal And More’
Just the other day, a few of us at Chip-Monks were discussing how boring, predictable and 2013-remniscent Motorola’s devices were becoming. It seemed that all of Motorola’s focus, energy and creativity were going into upping devices’ internals and they were too tired to care about appearances.
Almost a week to the day, Motorola announced the launch of their glimmering brand-new, all-metal Moto M which will be available exclusively on Flipkart, December 15 onwards.
This is exciting news! The Moto M stand out from all of its predecessors thanks to its departures from all Motorola’s erstwhile standard design philosophy.
A full metal unibody design with rounded edges and antenna bands on the top and bottom, much like the iPhone 7. You could even be forgiven for thinking of it as an HTC or LeEco device on first glance
Another interesting departure on the Moto M, is that the fingerprint sensor now moves to a far more accessible spot at the rear of the phone, just below the camera module.
The jury is still out on the verdict — does the sensor make logical sense at the back or at the front of the device? Well, I can only say, it depends on user-comfort. From a workflow standpoint, I personally think Sony has found the best spot for it — right on the Sleep/Wake button itself (as it is used on the Sony Xperia X Performance).
Anyway, back to the Moto M. This shift of the fingerprint sensor has caused the Moto logo to shift from just below the camera, to the bottom of the device, which definitely lends the Moto M a unique look when compared to its predecessors like Moto G4 and Moto Z.
In terms of hardware, the Moto M seems like a classic mid-range device with a 5.5-inch full HD display, a MediaTek Helio P15 octa-core processor that packs 3 or 4 GB of RAM coupled with 32 GB or 64 GB (respectively) of internal storage (expandable up to 128 GB).
The dual-nano-SIM, Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow powered phablet is driven by a 3,050 mAh battery which supports fast charging. The Moto M even carries Dolby ATMOS so it ticks all the major boxes.
What makes the Moto M even more attractive as a mid-range device is the fact that it is splash proof and comes coated with a double layer nano-coating to protect it from basic water exposure.
To appease shutterbugs and even the regular users (since cameras have become a primary consideration on smartphones these days), the Moto M sports a 16 megapixel rear camera with dual-LED flash and phase detection auto-focus. The front camera, on the other hand, is an 8 megapixel camera that ought to suffice for most folks’ selfie needs.
The Moto M has been launched at INR 15,999 for the 3 GB/32 GB (RAM and internal storage respectively) version, and at INR 17,999 for the 4 GB/64 GB. But that’s not all.
A lot of lucrative early bird and exclusive offers are also available on the purchase of Moto M. There’s a flat INR 1,000 discount for Citibank credit card holders and an additional INR 2,000 discount on exchange of old smartphones.
The EMI plans for the device begin at as low as INR 779. Not just that, early buyers can also get Moto Pulse 2 headset with a discount of INR 1,000 (it normally retails at a price of INR 1,499). Pretty festive.
2016 can be seen as a great year for Lenovo (Motorola’s parent company) in terms of shipments. If International Data Corporation’s (IDC) data for Q3, 2016 is to be believed then, Lenovo as a smartphone brand (including Motorola brand) is currently the second highest in India in terms of shipments!
As per IDC, Lenovo has approximately 10% share of the Indian smartphone market leaving behind smartphone brands like Micromax and Xiaomi that hold a little over 7% share each.
Originally published at Chip-Monks.
