When the Moto X was first announced, the price was an astounding $580 off-contract, so it wasn't the best deal especially since the Google Nexus 5 cost only $350. You'd think that with Google being the owner of Motorola, the price of the Moto X would be similar to the Nexus 5, but that is clearly not the case. However, Motorola is now aiming to save some dignity with the announcement of the new Moto G, an Android smartphone that costs only $179 off-contract.
The Moto G is quite an impressive smartphone. The device comes with a 4.5-inch 720p display, 1 GB of RAM, Adreno 305 GPU, 1.2Ghz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 2070 mAh battery, and Android 4.3 (with guaranteed upgrade to Android 4.4 KitKat). Google is also giving 50GB of free storage (for two years) on Google Drive, which is on top of the standard 15GB free. Everything here will only cost the consumer $179, which is quite surprising. Bear in mind there is no LTE support here, and the fastest speed a user should expect to achieve over a 3G network is 21Mbps.
Furthermore, the device comes in both 8 and 16GB models. The camera on the back is only 5-megapixels so don't expect it to compete directly with the likes of the Sony Xperia Z or the Nokia Lumia 1020. It is clear this device is being aimed at people who just want a smartphone to do basic tasks and for taking images and videos of their dogs or cats.
Another cool thing about the Moto G is the ability to use voice commands similar to that of the Moto X. By simply saying "OK Google Now," users can get decent hands-free experience.
"The mission is to connect millions of people to the world's information with devices that don't compromise on style or experience," said Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside. "We want to give people around the world a better choice."
If Motorola play its cards just right, the company could have a huge amount of success with the Moto G outside of the U.S., in emerging markets, where people would thin twice before buying high-end smartphones. The only problem is that Motorola plans to launch the Moto G in 2014, enough time to allow competitors to come up with a counter.
