Hallo Moto, says a metallic voice, and then the music begins. If you have been a Motorola phone user, I bet that music is actually playing in your head right now. It is in mine.

I have been enamored with the Moto Razr which was a very ‘hot’ phone when it was introduced around 2005. And then the Slvr! So it is safe to say that I am a Moto Fan and long time Moto user.

But when the Moto G was introduced, I just could not see myself shelling out the big bucks for it.

My tryst with gadgets

When it comes to technology, I like to be on top of it. But when it comes to gadgets, I don’t. That is because I am wise to the whole ‘market skimming’ strategy companies use. And I am not going to be the one getting skimmed. No sir! So I prefer to wait till the device becomes affordable.

Another thing that comes into play is my clumsiness. I tend to drop things. I am confident that when handed an expensive fragile object, the first thing I will do is drop it.

Yeah. That’s right!

Drop it on concrete pavements or in the sink. Part of it happens because I am so tense knowing that I am holding something precious.

If I invest in something perishable, it has to be economical.

I remember when the iPhone was introduced for 300$. Or was it 400$? All I could think of was the number of books I could buy at the thrift shop for that amount of money.

As you must have gathered by now, I am not in favor of spending money on expensive devices. I want it all for an affordable price. One that does not make me gasp.

Moto X was always beyond my price range. But the Moto G tempted me. So did the Moto E. But I was still not ready.

Then someone told me about the Moto E 2^nd generation phone priced at 6999 INR (or $119).

I hate to admit it, even a cheapskate like me could not say that was overpriced, especially for a reliable brand like Moto. And it came with my coveted secondary cam or selfie cam.

Finally, I Need a smartphone

Being a full time blogger, I am in front of a computer screen almost all my waking hours. So all those cries of how Facebook or Twitter would be at my fingertips with a smartphone meant nothing to me. I had enough of social media while I was on the computer. I definitely did not want to hit the RT button while doing Yoga, or steal a look at my Facebook feed while buying vegetables on the street.

Neither was I that keen on using WhatsApp!!

Yes. That much loved and hated monster that makes your phone beep every few seconds with silly messages. I am struggling with a diminished attention span already, being middle aged!

And then I was asked to shoot a video while using an appliance. I had to unbox a big blender and actually use it to create a recipe.

And all this had to be recorded in a video.

I somehow managed to do this. But transferring it to the computer, editing, formatting etc. was a big hassle. A bigger hassle was sharing it across social media.

At last, I saw an actual need for using a smart phone. The demand for cooking videos was going up, and I wanted to capture many things while I was doing them in the kitchen.

For example, making a Dosa!! I can spend many words on ladling the batter and moving the hand in circular motion, but a video shows it all so much better!

So I decided to take the plunge and buy a smart phone (gasp).

Why Moto E?

I narrowed down the Moto E 2^nd generation because it is going to be my biggest ally in shooting food videos.

You can find a laundry list of Moto E features on the website here, but I am telling you only about the ones that will make it easy for me to shoot food videos.

1. Switching between two cams

Moto E is so high tech! You can switch between the front and rear cams by just twisting your wrist. This means I can easily pan between my face and the food itself while shooting the food video.

I want the focus to be on the food but I might want to say something face to face to my fans.

2. Robust Construction

A kitchen is like a war zone. There are hot liquids bubbling on the stove, sinks, thing being whisked etc. So the Moto E’s water resistant feature is going to be a life saver because I can concentrate on cooking instead of worrying about what damage a tiny splatter of sauce is going to do to my camera.

What if a knife scraped my screen, or I dropped the phone on the granite? The Moto E is scratch resistant with its Corning Gorilla Glass.

3. Ergonomic Design

The Moto E has been ergonomically designed. It is slightly curved so that it fits perfectly in the hand. This is fantastic because I can hold it in the palm of one hand while chopping, mixing, stirring with the other hand. This will allow me to be close to the action happening on the stove.

4. Share Friendly

In the olden days, there was this feature called ‘Plug and Play’. Nowadays, the most important feature is to be able to instantly share your photos or videos or any content with the world.

The Moto E is 3G compliant and connects to WiFi making it very easy for me to be connected online with my fans.

 5. Powerful

Moto E has a Quad Core 1.2Gig processor with 1 GB RAM making it powerful enough to hold a Google Hangout if I want while I am cooking my recipes.

A large battery life will ensure that the phone doesn’t conk off while I am talking to someone online. That would be really awful, right?

The Moto E has a 8 GB ROM or internal memory and is expandable up to 32 GB, which means there will be ample space to save my videos.

Splatters of the soup, Cuts of the knife

The Corning Glass won’t shatter, Not on your Life

Quad Core to Score Online Hangouts

Fast memory to clear on the go doubts

Cameras that switch at the flick of the wrist

Moto E is the real thing

You get my gist?

 

I #ChooseToStart

So that is it in a nutshell. I am probably the last person in the universe, at least in my universe, to finally start using a smart phone. And I #ChooseToStart with the 2^nd generation Moto E.

Why? Haven’t you read a word I said until now?

This post is written for the Moto E #ChooseToStart campaign.