Why the Motorola Moto G is my favourite gadget of 2013
Andrew Hoyle explains why the Motorola Moto G's great specs and brilliant price make it his product of the year.
- Shortlisted for British Photography Awards 2022, Commended in Landscape Photographer of the Year 2022
The Motorola Moto G doesn't have the most high-definition display seen this year. It doesn't have the most powerful processor. It doesn't have the most beautiful design. Why then, have I chosen this phone as my product of the year? One simple reason -- value.
SIM-free, it costs only £130. Sure, you could already buy phones for that price -- or even cheaper -- but those budget phones are typically rubbish, not fit to be used as a pebble to skim across a lake. Buying budget often meant making massive compromises, but the Moto G changed all that.
For that bargain-basement price, the Moto G packs a bright and bold 720p display. Not 1080p, sure, but you're unlikely to notice the difference in most tasks and it far surpasses the awful low-res screens of other budget phones. Its 5-megapixel camera is perfectly good for Instagram snaps. Inside is a quad-core processor -- something else rarely seen on cheap mobiles. It's more than capable of tackling Facebook, Twitter, Netflix and email and will even turn its hand to demanding games like Real Racing 3 and Riptide GP 2. For a phone a little over 100 quid, that's pretty incredible.
It might not have the straight-line speed of top-end phones, but most tasks simply don't need that intense level of power, so is it really worth paying several hundred pounds more for?
It might not be perfect -- it has limited internal storage and there's no 4G, but when you're shopping for a budget mobile, you probably won't want to splash out on extortionately pricey 4G contracts anyway.
When you compare it to other budget phones -- the Acer Liquid Z2 or the Samsung Galaxy Fame -- there's just no competition. In terms of specs, the Moto G wins every single category and that all adds up to a brilliant experience for an astoundingly good price. Make no mistake: there's nothing else I would recommend more strongly if you're shopping on a budget.
Unless you absolutely crave top-end luxury or 4G speeds, the Motorola Moto G should be on your wishlist. By offering a brilliant all-round experience for an astoundingly good price, it set a new standard for affordable quality -- a standard that future budget manufacturers are going to have to work hard to rival, let alone beat. That is why it is my product of the year.
Let me know what your favourite product of the year is down in the comments, or over on our Facebook page.
