The Moto G brings some high-end features such as a 4.5-inch 720p display and quad-core processing to a smartphone priced at $179 unlocked.
Motorola has officially announced its latest smartphone, the Moto G. The handset shares a similar design to the company's U.S.-only Moto X and also brings a customization option through the use of interchangeable back covers. It comes packed with some features seen on more expensive smartphones, including a large 4.5-inch 720p display and a 1.2GHz quad-core processor. The Moto G ships with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, but Motorola has already announced it will release an update to the latest Android 4.4 KitKat in January 2014.
The company will sell the Moto G unlocked through its own website, but it has also confirmed that its carrier partners will offer the handset for less and said the Moto G will make its debut in the U.S. in early 2014.
The Moto G uses a 4.5-inch 1280 x 720 LCD display with a pixel resolution of 329 pixels per inch (ppi). It's powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor with MSM 8x26, and Adreno 305 GPU. It will ship with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and an Android 4.4 KitKat update is scheduled for January 2014. The handset will be offered in two storage options - 8GB and 16GB - and it will also come with 50GB of Google Drive storage for 2 years.
Its camera capabilities include a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 4x digital zoom, slow motion video, burst mode, autoHDR, panorama, and tap-to-focus. The smartphone also has a 1.3-megapixel front facing camera for video chat. In terms of wireless connectivity you'll find a 3G GSM radio, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and a non-removable 2070 mAh battery. Its dimensions are 129.9 x 65.9 x 6.0 -11.6 mm and weighs 143 grams.
While Moto G owners won't have the ability to customize the handset through the Moto X's Moto Maker customization process, the company has made it somewhat customizable through the use of interchangeable back covers.
Motorola hasn't announced its launch partners in the U.S., but says it plans to launch the Moto G with U.S. carriers early next year.
