Motorola Moto G Release Date: Specs Of $179 Budget Smartphone Coming Jan. 2014 Include 4.5-Inch LCD Display, 5MP Camera, 16GB Storage, 1GB RAM

Moto G release date: Nokia released the Lumia 520 and 525, which seems to signal the arrival of the budget phones. Google-owned Motorola is joining the fray with a budget model of their own coming in the U.S. and was recently launched in Brazil and parts of Europe early November.

The Moto G’s retail price of $179, contract-free and unlocked has specs that include a 4.5-inch display with 720 by 1280 pixels LCD TFT, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8 or 16GB of storage, a 5-megapixel rear camera and 1.3 MP front-facing camera, and a 2070mAh battery. The 8GB model will be priced at $179, while the 16GB will be priced at $199. Unlike other Android handsets, one downside of the Moto G is it lacks a MicroSD support for storage expansion.

In a review by The Verge, it noted that the Moto G is launching with the Android 4.3 out of the box, although Motorola said that Android 4.4 KitKat for the device will be available in a few weeks. The Verge says that like the Moto X, the Moto G's software is very close to a "stock" experience Android experience, with very little modifications by Motorola.

The phone’s design, which mirrors the look of the Moto X, could make it a hit in the low-end market. The price and features of the handset effectively beats what’s available in the emerging markets. Motorola, a Google-owned company, says that the Moto G could even be sold for less by its partners.

Some of the things that Moto G won’t have though, compared to the it’s higher-end counterpart the Moto X, include cool software tricks like Active Notifications, Quick Capture, and Touchless Control. The said features require special processor that is available only with the Moto X.

Despite what it does not have though, the Moto G’s display is impressive with good viewing angles, accurate color and tight pixel density, according to The Verge. In many aspects, the Moto G is better than the AMOLED display used on the Moto X. Speed-wise, the Moto G is quick and responsive and useful enough for the average user.
According to Phone Arena, “looking at its specs, we’re surprised to see how much bang the Moto G can deliver for its money.”