Since 2013, each year’s Moto G release has consistently been one of the best, if not the best-value handset on the market. Without fail it’s the go-to phone if you’re after saving some cash, falling somewhere between $200 and $230 outright from carriers (that’s to simply buy the phone off-plan, or on a no-term plan), or occasionally cheaper if you can find it online.
On 2-year plans it’s also crazy cheap, coming in pretty consistently at $0 down on a 2 year contract, or occasionally going as high as $50, depending on where you are and who you’re going with.
Who has it?
Currently, Bell, Koodo, Telus, Virgin Mobile and SaskTel are all offering the Moto G 3rd Generation for both outright purchase and on plans.
Telus
$0 on a 2-year contract
$230 on a no-term plan
Bell
$0 on a 2-year contract
$199.99 on a no-term plan
SaskTel
$49.99 on a 2-year contract
$179.99 on a 1-year contract
$229.99 on a no-term plan
Koodo
$216 tab - $7/mo for 24 mos
(+ $48 activation credit)
$216 retail price
$229.99 on a no-term plan
Virgin Mobile
$0 on a 2-year contract
$199.99 Month-to-Month/Prepaid
What’s so good about the Moto G?
The Moto G is proof that you don’t have to spend big to get a great smartphone experience. You shouldn’t compare it to the big-hitters like the Galaxy S6 or any current iPhone, but these flagships are hundreds of dollars dearer – often 4x or more – than the pint-sized Moto G powerhouse.
The user experience offered by the G regularly wipes the floor with phones double or even triple its price. It’s a stunning achievement from Motorola, and proved to be its most-popular phone in 2013 and 2014. 2015 is sure to be no different.
The reason Motorola can do so much with so little, is that it doesn’t bother sticking its own heavy user interface (UI) over the top of Android. This means lower R&D costs, which translate to a cheaper phone. It also produces a UI that works more efficiently with the Android OS, meaning you get a smoother ride from weaker specs.
On top of this, you’ll always be among the first to receive new Android updates; just one more perk of not having a bulky third-party UI weighing down your smartphone experience.
Lastly, this year’s Moto G entrant is rated IPX7 water-resistant; it can be fully submerged in up to 1m of water for up to half an hour. No more worrying about accidental spills, or trips in the sink. Heck, if you drop it in the toilet you can even give it a wash after, so long as you’re gentle.
Specs and hardware
The Moto G comes rocking a 5 inch 720p HD display. This is probably the last year Motorola will be able to get by without bumping it up to 1080p, but for now the current panel offers a still-respectable 294 pixels per inch. Compared to the 326ppi of an iPhone Retina display, that’s pretty darn good for a budget phone.
The real problem the Moto G has always had is with its camera. This time around that historical shortfall has been addressed with a new 13MP rear camera that actually takes decent pics. The front camera has also received an upgrade, pushing it up to a full 5MP; not too shabby for a selfie shooter.
Globally there are two versions when it comes to onboard storage and RAM. Canada is getting the lower-specced, cheaper of the two with just 8GB storage and 1GB RAM. Before you throw your arms in the air, keep in mind that this phone has a microSD slot; you can expand that storage up to a further 32GB for not too much extra.
Running the whole show is a quad-core 1.4GHz Snapdragon 410 processor and Adreno 306 GPU. Basically it’s powerful for the price, and the added bonus of its sleek UI means as much bang for your buck as is plausible in the modern market.
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