Following up on yesterday’s leak, Motorola has officially announced and even launched the Moto G Android smartphone, the less expensive sibling to the current Moto X flagship. It also features the same curved back, Gorilla Glass, and waterproof nano-coating to protect the internal components from moisture as the Moto X.
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 4.3 Jelly Bean and Motorola is guaranteeing an update to Android 4.4 KitKat, set for early January. Unlike the Moto X however, the Moto G features removable backplates, which can be interchanged for slight customization and the phone lacks LTE support, making do with HSPA+21 or EVDO Rev. A.
The phone has been currently launched in Europe and Brazil starting today, while the phone will be launched in the US in January starting at $179 for the 8GB version and $199 for the 16GB version without an additional microSD slot, completely upending the perception of mid-range Android phones with typically poor support. In addition, Verizon Wireless has also confirmed that it will carry the phone through its prepaid lineup, while Motorola will directly sell the GSM version unlocked for the same pricing.
