 "Moto Turbo")
It's tough to be a flagship. Expectations are always sky-high and there is a lot riding on their shoulders almost all the time - not only for the phone makers but also the users. So, it isn't surprising that the smartphone market has seen many a flagship come and go.
The Moto Turbo, Motorola's newest flagship, is the latest to try its luck. The Turbo boasts of new design, hardware and, most importantly, strong build.
Design, body
It is not always easy to get the suave design, strong build combination spot on. The material and components used in the device play a pivotal role in this regard. The Moto Turbo not only has a simple yet stylish design but is also built to endure the three usual damage nemeses - fall, scratch and splash.
As soon as you pick up the Turbo, you will notice the new design on the rear. The back of the Turbo is made of ballistic nylon. A few minutes of fact-checking on Google shows that ballistic nylon was used in "jackets worn by World War-II airmen". The material has a woven design that looks simple.
A word of caution: The device did tend to slip sometimes. The rear camera on the back cover has the support of a dual-LED flash. The 5.2-inch AMOLED screen comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The Turbo is water-resistant.
The design on the front is nothing spectacular. Two interesting design aspects, however, are the location of the three function keys and the nano-SIM tray. The function keys are now off-screen and in the form of capacitive touch buttons. Also, the volume rocker is used as the nano-SIM card tray.
Blazing fast
The Turbo is strong both in terms of processor and battery performance. It runs on a 2.7GHz Qualcomm quad-core processor and is backed up with 3GB of RAM. And, the good news for the gaming enthusiasts: The Turbo also has an Adreno 420 GPU. So, users can expect some seamless gaming performance with Android 5.0.2 (Lollipop). There should be no problems when it comes to storage since the device has an in-built memory of 64GB. The battery - at 3,900 mAh - in the Moto Turbo is like a perpetual engine. On a full charge, you can easily use the device for two days. Despite housing such a big battery unit, the Turbo weighs just 176g. Given the screen size, the device is not that heavy to hold.
Camera
The stock camera app on the Moto Turbo wasn't up to the mark. Users will be better off downloading a third-party or the ever-reliable Google Camera app. Shots taken in daylight were the pick of the bunch. The rear 21-megapixel (MP) camera has substance. The night shots had many instances of red eye; not expected given the presence of a dual flash. One big let-down was the front camera. At the available price tag, surely, the people at Motorola could have added more to the front camera. The 2MP camera sometimes could not match the levels of the rear camera, often taking time to focus in dark conditions. On the recording front, the Turbo can capture 4K (Ultra HD) videos - a big plus.
Price a stumbling block?
At Rs 41,999, the Turbo might seem a bit overpriced. But a closer look at the features on offer justifies the hefty price tag. What did we like? The build, the battery and the attractive design. The big miss? Has to be the front camera. Nonetheless, the Turbo is as close as you can come to a proper, performing flagship. If you are gunning for one such device and have the chance to spend, then the Turbo is not a bad bet at all.
MOTO TURBO
Price: Rs 41,999
Display: 5.2-inch AMOLED screen
Weight: 176 g
Storage: 64GB in-built memory
Battery: 3,900mAh
OS: Android 5.0.2 (Lollipop)
Processor: 2.7GHz Qualcomm quad-core
Camera (rear/front): 21MP/2MP
