You don't need a high end processor in a phone unless you're playing games or editing videos really. For lots of us who do neither of these things a low end processor is absolutely fit for purpose.

Not really, no, and yes.
There's nothing wrong with the camera, but the default Android camera app really doesn't play to its strengths. The physical camera is better than almost all other 8MP phone cameras, but you really need a 3rd party app and some tweaking to get the best out of it.

The screen tests as extremely accurate. But some people actually *like* the wildly oversaturated screens that other phones give you. There's certainly nothing wrong with it, and again it's better than most.

The battery life is poor, yes. I find it acceptable, but only just, and there are plenty of phones that offer much better battery life. If you're not crazy for stock Android, the G2/G3 are a lot better for the same sort of money.

As for the Moto G. It's not a bad deal, but it's not the only obvious choice that it used to be at this price level. Motorola's handling of the OS is better than anyone else at £150, but the physical hardware is so-so. Not bad, but not setting the world afire. If the water resistance and timely OS updates (along with a fairly stock Android) matter to you, you're not crippling yourself by buying it; however on pure specs there's better out there.

I think the problem is the price you're paying for such a processor. Why charge so much?

God, remember when these first came out in Phones4U (well, first gen) and they were priced at 99 quid. Got popular and price slowly went up.

This phone should have been this price when it launched. I wouldn't pay £179.99 let alone £149.99 for a budget Snap dragon 410 chipset. £119.99 or below is a fair price.

Is the Marshmellow update available yet for this in the UK ?

Ordered yesterday and got a dispatch note this morning. Coming all the way from China via DHL but should be here Tues!

How much usable storage out of the 16GB is there ? I know some phones only give 10GB out of the 16.
I know Marshmellow allows the use of a SD card.
Thanks

still works,

use EASTER16 and then UKWELCOME10

Just ordered the 8gb version for the hubby he'll be happy with it cos he doesn't do much on his phone other than ring and text. Good deal used 2 codes Easter16 and UKWELCOME 10 giving £30 off £119 for a decent phone heat added.

EXPIRED now the code,

I'd also recommend a cache partition wipe which is is worth doing after any major update with little in the way of downsides- it was a revelation on the 2nd gen after it got Lollipop.

Anyone got a spare UNIDAYS code they can kindly PM me please?

That's useful to know, thanks! Brightness set to lowest.

3rd gen 16Gb has a bigger battery than the 1st gen but no way does it last as long. I still have my 1st gen. My first thoughts are 3rd Gen's bigger screen.

Have been using the 3rd gen for over a month now. Latest version of Android 6.0 is soooo Marshmallow, when you run on battery saver mode, EVERYTHING lags badly especially the camera. So battery saver mode is a non-starter. I updated my Nexus tablet which now runs Marshmallow. Ugh. Dreaded lag when in battery saver mode. Anyway, for £3.49 at Aldi, I picked up a powerbank that's 5200mAh, a little bigger than the 3rd Gen's battery and physically about the same dimensions as the 1st Gen Moto g. I don't bother using battery saver mode now and all is sweet.

Downloads big files faster on 4g network compared to 1st Gen which in my case was the mark 1 model, only worked on 3g. No lag at all watching YouTube during peak times when bandwidth on the Three network is really stretched. On my 1st Gen, I couldn't even get on Facebook from 4pm until about 6:30pm - this is not the phone's fault; it's a network issue with Three. I like the bigger screen but depending on the jeans, the pocket's not deep enough for the 3rd gen phone to feel securely pocketed. Or rather, 3rd Gen is a little chunkier than 1st Gen. Will be getting rid of the pair jeans WITHOUT deep pockets which the others have. Simples.

I am pleased with the Moto G 3rd Generation but not in the same way as when I went from a Samsung GT-I5500 to a Moto G 1st Generation which was like going from taking the bus to driving your own car. From Moto G 1st to 3rd Gen, it's like going from a VW Up 1.0 to a Polo 1.6 which is nice but not as crazy nice as the first car you own, where you say goodbye to buses.

I'd certainly recommend buying a quality card, and having google back-up switched on but then I'd recommend that anyway.

Yes, which is fine if you're just using it for a few apps, but as deanoh11 points out above, using it as onboard memory is risky.

If it fails then at least you can replace it which is more than you can do with on board storage.

Oh for crying out loud....you asked why people would remove their SD card. Are we not allowed to answer that? I was just pointing out that whilst Marshmallow technically allows you to use the SD card as memory, they can (and do) fail.

Well then it wouldn't work in something else anyway. Can't help feeling you are trying to pick holes in a great feature that has no real draw backs compared to not having the feature.

If it fails?

Er nope, you have a problem

I tried this recently to transfer some pics from my phone to laptop, it was awfully slow via the usb. I took the card out and plugged it straight into the laptop and it was almost instant.

Just connect it to your PC.. Same as you would have to for on board storage

To transfer pics/files etc maybe

If it isn't available yet it will be literally any day now.

Yes but why would you want to remove it?

Marshmallow does NOT alleviate this. As other threads have noted, using the SD as internal memory means that u shouldn't remove the SD. It acts as internal memory, so removing the card is like removing ur internal memory. It really messes things up. Beware

Has this got marshmallow though?

Marshmallow completely alleviates this, you can use an sd card as though it was on board storage so can make it 64gb even 128gb if you want.

CPW are doing the Moto 3 for the same price ONLY it's the 8GB version and no TCB presumably.

cheers OP, been waiting for this to drop under £150 for a while but it's rarely on sale.

people are right to point out you can get better spec for the £100 mark but IMO the cost is justified by it being moto (nice customization, stock android, fast updates) and waterproof (find a phone south of £300 that has this). had the g 1st since it came out and love it (still do, but think i've got muck in both the mic and speakers) so glad to upgrade to this - only choice was between x play or g3 and i can't really get away with bigger screens.

If you're not in a hurry, the new Redmi Note 3 with SD650 is a better option for about $150.

5.5-inch 1920 x 1080p display
Snapdragon 650 hexa-core processor
Qualcomm Adreno 510 GPU
2GB RAM/16GB ROM and 3GB RAM/32GB ROM variants
16 mega-pixel PDAF rear camera
5 mega-pixel front facing camera
4050mAh battery
Dual SIM
VoLTE

Just read that Moto Maker normally costs £20 (choose colours,engraving,bootup msg)

Quite a few people are either comparing or suggesting other phones that are (don't get me wrong) great but just the wrong size. This is a 5 inchj device and most suggested devices are 5.5. It is a big difference in size. That's why I chose to get this 3rd device. Luckily I managed to get a Dual Sim too from eBay via India. . I can recommend to device..

That is a fantastic deal but a few things put me off - having to order from China, support if anything goes wrong, import duty, etc... plus it's 5.5" screen so is a bit of a beast.

Crazy spec for the price though. I love their marketing patter - "have you ever imagined a day where you can break free of chains and follow your heart which is true?" :confused:

Or this for £131 3gb ram Oct core processor f1.8 aperture Sony lense camera and 6050mAh battery
http://m.banggood.com/Ulefone-Power-6050mAh-Battery-5_5-Inch-3GB-RAM-16GB-ROM-64bit-MTK6753-Octa-core-1_3GHz-4G-Smartphone-p-1025847.html

Off topic, sorry, but I bought the Moto G 5in 4g 1072 last year along with two other friends, on the Virgin mega deal / fiasco. Was a great phone for 6 months, and now for all three of us it's absoultely crawling (very laggy, takes several seconds to open apps), even when we remove apps, factory reset, no apps on the SD card, couple of gb of spare memory. Any one else getting this? I'm not playing any games on it at all, just basic phone and apps, nothing apparently intensive.

This looks like a good deal, but I'm a little put off by the Moto Gs for this reason.

Yep.

How does this compare with the Honor 5X for about the same price?

​looks cracking in the white too ....I would have bought this if I didn't already just buy the redmi note 2 which is a great phone too .Chinese phones all the way !!

Great phone,bought one in Jan,great phone,no regrets.loads of heat

​There is no vat or customs on phones from EU.

​Has 4g 800 band too, so good for GiffGaff. I wonder what the camera is like.

Why do you hate your new P8 Lite ?

Fantastic. Was just about to buy this exact phone for my daughter.
She was very dissapointed that the ones from the phone shops are just white or black, and that you couldn't customise the colours. Also, most ones on contract are only 8GB

Turquoise and Pink accent for her, and £30 off. Nice one


p.s. People DO actually drop phones in the toilet. My son did !!

p.p.s **** it. Forgot to use Quidco. 5% there too.

Yes, I had heard about this problem with "Chinese" phones, though think the price coming from an EU warehouse wouldn't attract VAT or customs duty, may be wrong. Shifting between the Moto G3 or Vodafone Smarft Ultra 6, don't need anything more costly than either of those.

This deal is for the 2gb Moto G, with 16gb internal storage - the comparison above is for the 1gb RAM/8gb storage version.

More RAM, storage, waterproofing, better camera, etc... make this a much better option than the Prime.

Trouble with Chinese phones is the support is a mixed bag.
Also at £120 it is eligible for VAT, so £144 plus the chance of getting an additional 2.5% customs duty.

You could easily end up with a £150 phone which is buggy as hell, has no supported OS upgrade path and pretty much useless warranty and support options.

Out of Stock.

Vodafone Smart Prime 6 :smirk: Half the flaming price. Worth considering.

http://www.stuff.tv/features/motorola-moto-g-3rd-gen-vs-vodafone-smart-prime-6

Would be all over this if my bomb proof original Moto G wasn't still happily trucking on.

That one from gearbest is a lot of phone for 120 quid.

When I had a Nexus 5 the screen was great and is Full HD vs HD on the Moto G. Agreed on the battery but the performance is fantastic. The big problem with both the Nexus 5 and G2 is that they are all second hand now which means the batteries have seen far better days.

Maybe a 2nd hand G3 may be good as you can just buy a brand new battery and get the added benefit of the SD Card and that laser focus camera?

Not really, no, and yes.
There's nothing wrong with the camera, but the default Android camera app really doesn't play to its strengths. The physical camera is better than almost all other 8MP phone cameras, but you really need a 3rd party app and some tweaking to get the best out of it.

The screen tests as extremely accurate. But some people actually *like* the wildly oversaturated screens that other phones give you. There's certainly nothing wrong with it, and again it's better than most.

The battery life is poor, yes. I find it acceptable, but only just, and there are plenty of phones that offer much better battery life. If you're not crazy for stock Android, the G2/G3 are a lot better for the same sort of money.

As for the Moto G. It's not a bad deal, but it's not the only obvious choice that it used to be at this price level. Motorola's handling of the OS is better than anyone else at £150, but the physical hardware is so-so. Not bad, but not setting the world afire. If the water resistance and timely OS updates (along with a fairly stock Android) matter to you, you're not crippling yourself by buying it; however on pure specs there's better out there.

A good vibrate function might well help depending on the area to be "massaged" :smirk:

or even this for £120
http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_234129.html?wid=3

"Just" email, browsing, txts and phone calls, what more do people want/expect from a phone, make your dinners, give a massage?

OVERPRICED, and no I'm not hating it, as I have it as well along with the 1st gen and they are good phones but not worth £150 , paid £70 for mine 8gb one.

i got the same phone from india... only difference is dual sim.. it is amazing phone.... for the price

don't forget student discount too

About £2 cheaper than the contantly available student discount, not sure why this has got so hot to be honest.

They were good with me when things went wrong.

I bought the 3rd Gen 16GB when it was last on offer there, but after 2 weeks the screen backlight failed, so it needed a return. I initially had to pay for the return (used Royal Mail), they sent out a replacement handset as soon as I requested it (before they had received the faulty return). 2 days after they received the faulty return, I had an email confirming it, and also a refund for the return postage fees. Great service.

I have had this for a month now replaced my Nexus 4 I'm impressed does what I need 4g is great and battery life actually lasts a day!

Marshmallow updated now too good value phone IMHO.

That's a pretty retro CPU, my SU6 is more powerful and was much cheaper, not a good price based on the hardware :confused:

2016 version due soon, Lenovo not good for software updates.

For £135 there's Wileyfox Swift, or £140 for the ZTE Blade S6 or £160 for the Huawei P8 Lite. Or even the SU6 for £115.

Yeah, yer right, thanks.

The Nexus 5 has a crap camera and the screen is also crap and the battery life is terrible even with doze mode in Marshmallow, it does have stock Android which gets you Marshmallow 6.0.1, other than that I can't think of a single reason to get a Nexus 5.

I wasnt keen on buying from outside UK, even if it's Amazon

lol no it doesn't... when you don't look at the price the moto g is much better built than that chinese rebadged laggy poor quality crap.

I just think this version is a little overpriced, bearing in mind the 8GB/1GB version was down to as little as £79 in November. Had this come down to £129, I'd go for it.

The 640 is a great phone, long (removable) battery life and excellent call quality which are the two things that affect my choice. There are no apps I miss from either Android or iOS but others would obviously not be as satisfied with the choice on offer.
I run a number of email accounts and have no issues with syncing.

I have tried Windows 10 on a phone and not impressed, yet. Will stick with 8.1

If anyone knows how to save Google play music on the sd card on these devices please let me know. Photos go on ok but music still goes to the internal storage. And yes I have gone into Google play setting and changed the destination of downloads to say external storage. It's doing my head in. Running out of internal space fast

I would have went with this, Had they been more easily available when I was looking for a phone but I ended up getting a Moto X because I could NOT find a Model with 2GB Ram.

App gap is too bad and the future for windows phones is still in doubt with market share shrinking. But they are a cheap value option if you just need email and browsing mainly

better for £150?

Both codes also work on other devices, I have a Moto X Play 16gb (using Moto maker) in My Basket for £209 delivered.

Thinking about it. I have an S5 I am pretty happy with, especially with the battery charger kit I picked up, but I do like Pure Google.

The XPlay doesn't have an FM radio, does it ?

how does it compare with the p8 lite?

OVERPRICED, and no I'm not hating it, as I have it as well along with the 1st gen and they are good phones but not worth £150 , paid £70 for mine 8gb one.

Lumia 640 (for those that would venture into the world of Windows phones) and still have money to spare.:smile:

poor spec for the money....cold

poor spec for the money....cold

The two codes stack to give a total £30 discount on the 16GB model

Good price. I had both the first and 2nd Gen versions of this phone and the major disappointment was the call quality. For that reason I would not have one again.

Just ordered, and it was definitely £149.99

Thanks Op. Seems like a good deal.
I might be wrong with my sums here, but 179.99 less 10% = 162, less £10 = £152.
Or am I being thick?

thank you, was looking for a cheap 16 gb version and just ordered this! definitely best deal for the model out there right now

Good find OP, well done. Have some heat!

Good find...

But low end processor, I don't know how Motorola get away with it.

Is it not still better a LG G2?

I've never dropped my phone in water or the toilet so I'd rather not pay for something I hopefully won't need. But I get your point that people might like the reassurance.

Moto g still has an excellent reputation so I guess your paying for that and for frequent updates which a lot of people like. I know my dad likes that his 2nd gen just works, where as his wife and children have iphones, samsungs and so on that are always going wrong or have software bugs. My girlfriends 1st gen was far more reliable than my sony Xperia T which went wrong 4 times.

I think you're not just paying for the CPU but also for the waterproofing to 1 metre. That's a big plus point. How many people know someone who have dropped their phone in a toilet/bath/drink/pool/sea? If you're not playing the latest power hungry games (on a tiny screen) then this CPU will suffice for a lot of people I reckon. Don't the £300-£500 flagship phones have the faster processors? This is a lot cheaper......

I think the problem is the price you're paying for such a processor. Why charge so much?

God, remember when these first came out in Phones4U (well, first gen) and they were priced at 99 quid. Got popular and price slowly went up.

If it was dual sim, I'd upgrade a Moto G 2014 3G version that I use, but Moto/Lenovo missed a trick, by failing to offer UK customers a dual-sim upgrade path. Great phones, but looks like UK Network Operators put pressure on, to stop them selling a dual sim version, going forward.

My original first gen moto G is finally giving up the ghost which to be fair I had since release and I'm 99% sure I managed to drive over it a few weeks back :neutral_face:.
I've been looking at a few placement for a while, so for ~£140 (after cashback) looks like it will be this.

NETWORK Technology
GSM / CDMA / HSPA / LTE
LAUNCH Announced 2015, July
Status Available. Released 2015, July
BODY Dimensions 142.1 x 72.4 x 11.6 mm (5.59 x 2.85 x 0.46 in)
Weight 155 g (5.47 oz)
SIM Micro-SIM
- IPX7 certified - water resistant up to 1 meter and 30 minutes
DISPLAY Type IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size 5.0 inches (~67.0% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution 720 x 1280 pixels (~294 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch Yes
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass 3
PLATFORM OS Android OS, v5.1.1 (Lollipop), upgradable to v6.0 (Marshmallow)
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8916 Snapdragon 410
CPU Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53
GPU Adreno 306
MEMORY Card slot microSD, up to 32 GB (dedicated slot)
Internal 8 GB, 1 GB RAM
16 GB, 2 GB RAM
CAMERA Primary 13 MP, f/2.0, autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash, check quality
Features Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, panorama, auto-HDR
Video [email protected], HDR, check quality
Secondary 5 MP, f/2.2 auto-HDR
SOUND Alert types Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker Yes
3.5mm jack Yes
COMMS WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, hotspot
Bluetooth v4.0, A2DP, LE
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
Radio FM radio
USB microUSB v2.0, USB Host
FEATURES Sensors Accelerometer, proximity sensor
Messaging SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
Browser HTML
Java No
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- MP3/AAC+/WAV/Flac player
- MP4/H.264 player
- Photo/video editor
- Document viewer
BATTERY Non-removable Li-Ion 2470 mAh battery
Stand-by
Talk time
MISC Colors Black, White
Price group 4/10
TESTS Camera Photo / Video