First of all, I would like to thank all the terrific people doing development and support for the Optimus V & S - what a wonderful group of people! You guys have made the Optimus so much more useful than they were when we got them.
So, I've been trying out these two new phones - the new Moto G LTE (amazon: $219.99) and Moto E(amazon: $129.99) both with memory card slot. They both have Gorilla Glass and similar features with the G having twice the processor speed and storage compared to the E. I've got to tell you that these are terrific devices, especially coming from the Optimus V. Both are now running 4.4.3.
The phones are fast and smooth and have the very latest android from google. The stuff that motorola added to the phones is actually useful, not bloatware. The ability to move things to sdcard is controlled by both android and the application, so some you can move and some you can't. Memory cards up to 32 GB are supported.
I have been using them on the $30 t-mobile unlimited data (throttled after 5 GB), unlimited text, and 100 minutes of talk. On this prepaid plan, if you have multiple phones you are allowed to move your T-Mobile sim from phone to phone and it just works!
Virgin Mobile has always had a very slow, lousy data connection for me on the Optimus V here in Silicon Valley. How much of this is due to the phone and how much of it is due to VM's cdma network, I'm not sure. T-Mobile has LTE and HSPA in my area.
For the Moto G while connected with LTE, I got the following numbers from the Speedtest app (average of 4 tests):
12.94 Mbps download
5.74 Mbps upload (seems to vary quite a lot - just ran it again and got 11.66 Mbs!)
ping 46-50
For the Moto E while connected with HSPA, I got the following numbers from the Speedtest app (average of 3 tests):
3.50 Mbps download
2.28 Mbps upload
For the Optimus V running kitkat from here:
0.12-0.70 download
0.30-0.45 upload
ping 143-564
For me, LTE is about 4 times faster and the monthly price is the same no matter which I use!
I ran the AnTuTu Benchmark X Mar,2014:
Moto G LTE: 17000
Description: CPU General, Supports most apps, RAM: Good, 2D graphics: Good, 3D grahics: Excellent, Fluently support large mobile games.
Moto E 12865
Description: CPU: Poor, Can not run large apps smoothly. RAM: General, 2D graphics: General, 3D graphics: Good, Fluently support most games.
Of course, this benchmark won't run on the Optimus. It looks like the G has about a 50% performance increase over the E.
Now, about those 100 minutes - that's the big limiting factor, isn't it? Well, maybe not any more! I tried to use Groove IP on the Optimus V, but the data connection was always too bad. Not to mention, google has recently disallowed third-part apps like Groove IP from using google voice.
But Groove IP did a very smart thing - they partnered with another company RingTo which provides VOIP services for many other products, including skype. For Groove IP users, the RingTo service is currently free as is the Groove IP app. The only difference I can find is the ad support. And on these phones with the t-mobile connections this app works very well for me. They even provide a free local phone number in my area code. This was offered the first time I connected to RingTo via Groove IP when it asked me to set up an account. I am not sure how will it would work if you only had a 3G connection but with LTE and HSPA it seems to work just fine for me.
But the biggest difference between the Optimus and the Motorolas is the responsiveness, the feel, of the phone. Buttery smooth and really responsive. I understand why: "The Moto G has been the most successful, highest-selling smartphone in Motorola's history". And adding a memory card and LTE has made it even better. And if you need the cheapest good phone that you can get, you can't do better than the Moto E. By giving up 4G and some performance and storage, you save $90.
Codes to unlock the bootloader are available without charge from Motorola, but once you are issued the unique unlock code, you end your phone's warranty.
Oh, and the battery lasts a long time too, The LTE version is quite new but the non-LTE has been out for a long time and has 4.5 out of 5 stars in 1,736 Amazon reviews.
So, I've been trying out these two new phones - the new Moto G LTE (amazon: $219.99) and Moto E(amazon: $129.99) both with memory card slot. They both have Gorilla Glass and similar features with the G having twice the processor speed and storage compared to the E. I've got to tell you that these are terrific devices, especially coming from the Optimus V. Both are now running 4.4.3.
The phones are fast and smooth and have the very latest android from google. The stuff that motorola added to the phones is actually useful, not bloatware. The ability to move things to sdcard is controlled by both android and the application, so some you can move and some you can't. Memory cards up to 32 GB are supported.
I have been using them on the $30 t-mobile unlimited data (throttled after 5 GB), unlimited text, and 100 minutes of talk. On this prepaid plan, if you have multiple phones you are allowed to move your T-Mobile sim from phone to phone and it just works!
Virgin Mobile has always had a very slow, lousy data connection for me on the Optimus V here in Silicon Valley. How much of this is due to the phone and how much of it is due to VM's cdma network, I'm not sure. T-Mobile has LTE and HSPA in my area.
For the Moto G while connected with LTE, I got the following numbers from the Speedtest app (average of 4 tests):
12.94 Mbps download
5.74 Mbps upload (seems to vary quite a lot - just ran it again and got 11.66 Mbs!)
ping 46-50
For the Moto E while connected with HSPA, I got the following numbers from the Speedtest app (average of 3 tests):
3.50 Mbps download
2.28 Mbps upload
For the Optimus V running kitkat from here:
0.12-0.70 download
0.30-0.45 upload
ping 143-564
For me, LTE is about 4 times faster and the monthly price is the same no matter which I use!
I ran the AnTuTu Benchmark X Mar,2014:
Moto G LTE: 17000
Description: CPU General, Supports most apps, RAM: Good, 2D graphics: Good, 3D grahics: Excellent, Fluently support large mobile games.
Moto E 12865
Description: CPU: Poor, Can not run large apps smoothly. RAM: General, 2D graphics: General, 3D graphics: Good, Fluently support most games.
Of course, this benchmark won't run on the Optimus. It looks like the G has about a 50% performance increase over the E.
Now, about those 100 minutes - that's the big limiting factor, isn't it? Well, maybe not any more! I tried to use Groove IP on the Optimus V, but the data connection was always too bad. Not to mention, google has recently disallowed third-part apps like Groove IP from using google voice.
But Groove IP did a very smart thing - they partnered with another company RingTo which provides VOIP services for many other products, including skype. For Groove IP users, the RingTo service is currently free as is the Groove IP app. The only difference I can find is the ad support. And on these phones with the t-mobile connections this app works very well for me. They even provide a free local phone number in my area code. This was offered the first time I connected to RingTo via Groove IP when it asked me to set up an account. I am not sure how will it would work if you only had a 3G connection but with LTE and HSPA it seems to work just fine for me.
But the biggest difference between the Optimus and the Motorolas is the responsiveness, the feel, of the phone. Buttery smooth and really responsive. I understand why: "The Moto G has been the most successful, highest-selling smartphone in Motorola's history". And adding a memory card and LTE has made it even better. And if you need the cheapest good phone that you can get, you can't do better than the Moto E. By giving up 4G and some performance and storage, you save $90.
Codes to unlock the bootloader are available without charge from Motorola, but once you are issued the unique unlock code, you end your phone's warranty.
Oh, and the battery lasts a long time too, The LTE version is quite new but the non-LTE has been out for a long time and has 4.5 out of 5 stars in 1,736 Amazon reviews.
Last edited:
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