The world of the smartphones is surely rife with cutthroat rivalries. However, the toughest of the battles are fought among the more affordable smartphone models in the market. The lower rungs of the smartphone market are intensely tougher grounds as the competition levels are much higher here unlike the premium smartphone market where only the top brands take the cake. The entry level smartphone market has everyone in it, from the top mobile making giants to the obscure local companies, as the lower end smartphone buyers are not expecting very great quality and specs here, and affordable pricing plays a great role.
Motorola Moto G (Gen 2)
In the budget phone market thus, a new device props up every now and then bringing something new and increasing the expectations from these low-end devices. Mobile maker Motorola has been ruling this space for quite some time, when the Chinese brand Xiaomi popped in with its rather premium devices at throw away prices, bringing about a revolution in this market. The smartphone offered by these two companies have become the role models of the other brands, who are nonetheless trying to catch up with these devices and of course hoping to beat them in competition as well. At this point it is better to mention the price slab of these competing lower-end smartphones, it is the 10 – 15k range which is probably the most selling smartphone group. Now, Panasonic is also trying to compete in this market with its latest P55, and hoping to dethrone the ruling model of this market segment, the Motorola Moto G. However, Motorola has reinforced the position of the Moto G with the release of its Gen 2 model.
Panasonic P55
Panasonic’s recent launch in the Rs. 10 to 15 thousand slab is its P55, a device which will go head long with the much admired Moto G. Now, let us consider how Panasonic has packed its P55 to be able to fight with the Moto G Gen 2, and does is really stand a chance against the Gen 2?
Display
The Panasonic has surely done a clever thing by packing in a large 5.5 inch LCD display in the P55, which is quite a rare thing in this smartphone market segment, apart from the Chinese rivals. The large screen size is surely a plus and will lure in all those who are looking for large mobile phones for some good flaunting purposes, as well as those who love to watch videos and play games on their mobile devices. The display has a screen resolution of 720×1280 pixels which should handle the big screen size as well.
The Motorola Moto G Gen 2 comes packed with a slightly smaller 5 inch screen which is however sharper and crystal clear owing to the device’ same screen resolution of 720×1280 pixels.
Design & Built
The Panasonic P55 is a neat and clean looking cool device with a contemporary sleek look. The built quality also seems to be pretty good and sturdy. It is slimmer than the Moto G only 7.9 mm at its widest point, which definitely makes it look attractive. The sleek look along with the big screen sure will draw the attention of the smartphone buyers.
The Motorola Moto G is already very popular for its design and built. And the new Moto G Gen 2 has even become sleeker than its predecessor.
Specs
The Panasonic P55 is powered by a Quad-core processor that is clocked at 1.2 GHz, and is supported by the average 1GB RAM. While these are quite at par with its rivals in the market, the P55 comes with a pretty low inbuilt memory of only 4GB which is quite low at its price range. Panasonic has obviously offered the flexibility of microSD card for the storage expandability to up to 32GB.
The Moto G Gen 2 also packs in a Quad-core processor ticking at 1.2 GHz, along with 1GB RAM to support. However, the Moto G offers a much better 16GB of internal storage which is good to run the apps smoothly and gets it on the forefront in the battle. Motorola now also offers the flexibility of memory expansion with microSD card in the Moto G Gen 2 which was lacking in the previous Moto G.
The Panasonic P55 runs on the popular Android KitKat 4.4.2 version like all the latest handsets in this range. The Moto G Gen 2 on the other hand, runs on the latest Android OS version 4.4.2 KitKat and the next version is about to happen anytime soon. This again is a great advantage for the Moto G Gen 2 users.
Camera
When it comes to the snappers, again the Panasonic P55 is more attractive as it comes packed with a superior 8 MP primary camera at its rear along with LED flash, and is capable of shooting Full HD videos. It also offers a good enough 2 MP secondary front facing camera for the selfie fans.
The Moto G Gen 2 also comes with a same camera specs with an 8 MP rear primary shooter along with flash for good pictures; while the same standard 2 MP front facing secondary camera is offered for your selfie needs and video chat sessions.
Battery
The Panasonic P55 puts a 2500 mAh battery pack in place to power it and its large display. This removable battery pack should be enough to offer good amount of backup for an entire days of moderate usage of the device which is again of great advantage.
The Moto G Gen 2 draws its juice from a less powerful 2070 mAh battery pack, and the catch here is that it is also non-removable. So, there is no option to carry a spare battery on the go for the Moto G users.
Price
The price factor is certainly crucial in this smartphone market space. The Panasonic P55 is on sale ranging from Rs. 8500 – Rs. 9100 at various e-commerce sites. The Moto G Gen 2 is priced at Rs. 12,999.
