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Comment by ZenoArrow | Hacker News Reader

Looks like Motorola have got the right approach to Android, a balanced device at a great price coupled with Android OS in its standard form. I may even be tempted to get this instead of a new Nexus.

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As much as I love the Nexus benefits, I really can't stand the weak batteries Google keeps putting in them. I'm sure it helps with the cost and form factor, but compared to other phones, the Nexus devices just drain out way, way too quickly.

I've never understood this either. I ended up buying the bigger battery for my GNex (the official Samsung extended battery, not a 3rd party one). Battery life is such a critical factor in smartphones, but time and time again it's ignored by the big players. With Android phones, Motorola has the best track record with regards to taking battery life seriously (the Droid Razr Maxx HD was almost the last phone I bought for this very reason).

The first Moto G had no NFC though. Don't know if this one does yet. But NFC will very soon be a 'must have' feature.

NFC has 'must have' next year for the last 5+ years.

People have been saying that NFC will take off any day now for years. I've used Google Wallet with NFC. It's worse than handing over my credit card.

This coming Tuesday has a strong chance of being the day :)

That announcement may or may not benefit Android users.

The first time I read your comment I thought you were just saying that people always expect NFC to be a big thing really soon... I forgot about the big announcement actually happening next Tuesday.

> The first Moto G had no NFC though. Don't know if this one does yet. But NFC will very soon be a 'must have' feature.

I used NFC some on my Galaxy S3, and when I was buying the Moto G, I was a bit hesitant about going to a phone without NFC. But I have not once missed not having NFC. NFC has interesting prospects, but I have yet to see a real "must have" use for it.

Fair comment. I believe, though, that host card emulation, Android 4.4+ and tokenization are three key ideas that have come together and will put NFC into the mainstream (at last).

I've got NFC in my current phone, never used it, never needed to. Even with both Google and Apple backing contactless payments I suspect it will take a long time before it's the norm.

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