Review comparison of Motorola Moto E and Xiaomi Redmi 1S

Xiaomi smartphones that are being launched in India have been pretty impressive till now. With the new Mi 3, Xiaomi has proved that the high-end smartphones can be sold for low prices by cutting margins across the profit. Xiaomi claims that the main goal of theirs is to provide luxuriant gadgets at the lowest rates, profit is supposedly the last thing on their minds. They cut down the additional and unwanted cost which are usually added by other brands to the consumer’s bill. These additional costs end up eating up the profits.

Xiaomi had displayed the Redmi 1S in July, which was priced at Rs 6,999. However, before this took place, the price of the Redmi 1S by Rs 1000, making it cost only Rs 5,999.

Amongst the higher brands in the market with cheapest Android-based smartphones Motorola’s Moto E is in the first position, retailing at 6,999. With a difference of Rs 1,000 between the Redmi 1S and the Moto E, we look at the differences between the two low-budget high-end smartphones to pronounce our verdict of the Best Buy.

Motorola Moto E:

The well-known smartphone brand, Motorola, had earlier launched the Moto G, Moto X and the Moto E. With the Moto E being the cheapest, Motorola managed to attract smartphone customers on a low budget. Costing only Rs 6,999 with its unique features, it is a daily smartphone for the masses.

The Moto E is a dual SIM Android smartphone, which features a 4.3-inch 540x960 pixel display protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 shield. The handset is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 chipset with two processors bussing at 1.2GHz. An Adreno 302 graphics processor and 1GB of RAM help with the performance of the smartphone. The Moto E features 4GB of internal storage with an option to further expand it to 32GB using a micro SD card. The phone has a 5MP rear shooter without a flash, but does not provide a front-facing camera for selfies and video chats. Connectivity options include 3G, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS and GLONASS. Lastly, the phone is fuelled by a 1980 mAh non-removable battery and runs on the Android KitKat 4.4.4 operating system. The Moto E weighs 142g and is 12.3mm thick.

The Moto E is marginally waterproof—you cannot use it under water, but the company claims that wetting the phone is standard conditions, such as low rain showers or water splashes won’t harm it. The Moto E is also protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 3, which is tough and scratch-resistant. The chassis is well-built and sturdy enough to take light impacts. The Moto E is a great buy if you are looking for a tough display glass, splash-resistant and tough chassis, latest operating system, and a small form-factor.

Xiaomi Redmi 1S:

The Redmi 1S will start selling in India from September 2. It costs Rs 5,999. The new entrant in the budget smartphone category is a product of Xiaomi, which is just a few weeks old in the Indian market, but has made it’s mark as the fifth largest smartphone manufacturer across the globe within four years of its existence.

The Redmi 1S is a dual SIM smartphone featuring a 4.7-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels and protected by an AGC Dragontrail scratch-resistant glass. The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset with four processors clocked at 1.6GHz and coupled with an Adreno 305 graphics processor and 1GB of RAM. The internal storage provided is 8GB, expandable to 64GB via a micro SD card. The rear shooter is an 8MP with a single LED flash, while a front-facing 1.6MP camera is also provided. Connectivity options include 3G, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS and GLONASS. Lastly, the phone is fuelled by a 2050 mAh battery and runs on a custom Android flavour of Jelly Bean v4.3 operating system, MIUI V5. The Redmi 1S weighs 158g and is 9.9mm thick.

The Redmi 1S has a tough and sturdy chassis with an equally smart-looking exterior. When the specifications are compared, we have to say that the Redmi 1S offers a better value for money over the Moto G. For a price of Rs 5,999, the Redmi offers superior features over the Moto E. A look back reveals a larger display with a higher resolution, a better camera at 8MP with LED flash, an additional front facing camera, a powerful quad-core SD400 processor over the Moto E’s dual-core SD200 processor, an internal storage of 8 GB in contrast to 4GB on the Moto E and a customisable operating system and user interface.

If asked, we would say that Redmi 1S wins over Moto E in almost all the terms such as features, performance and obviously price! The only downfall about it is the purchase of the handset which is available exclusively on Flipkart via the flash sales. So with a budget of Rs 6000, Redmi is your choice.