Following yesterday’s Moto E announcement, Amazon has officially opened pre-orders for the updated Moto G LTE in the US. The 8GB version of the phone is now up for purchase at the previously announced price of $219.99 unlocked, with no immediate word on when the 16GB version or a dual SIM version will be released, which are also expected to be announced and released soon.
The phone is identical to last year’s unexpected hit with the addition of an LTE radio as well as the single-most requested feature outside of an LTE radio in the microSD expansion slot. Interestingly, the description of the feature by Motorola alludes to the microSD support being extended to support app installs as well as multimedia storage, though it’s unclear if it means that app data can simply be moved from internal storage, or if the phone will allow the full installation of apps on the memory card.
The Moto G LTE features the same curved back, Gorilla Glass, and waterproof nano-coating to protect the internal components from moisture as the first Moto G. The display measures 4.5 inches at 720p with a pixel density of 329 ppi. The G is powered by a quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor with 1GB of RAM and has a 2,070mAh battery. It also includes a 5.0 megapixel rear camera and 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. The device will ship with Android 4.4 KitKat and feature removable backplates, which can be interchanged for slight customization.
Motorola has also announced a special Ferrari Edition of the Moto G currently exclusive to the Mexican market which will sell for the equivalent of $390 at the current exchange rate. The phone will be a 16GB edition without the microSD slot or LTE radio and will feature exclusive Ferrari content in the phone as well as a woven Kevlar backplate with Prancing Horse logo on the back along with the prominent Ferrari logo below the display. That version of the phone is expected to launch next month as a limited edition.
