Motorola Unveils New Moto E for $129

At $129 without a contract, the new Moto E is the cheapest of any of its predecessors

Motorola is continuing its trend of offering up higher quality smartphones for a lower price, and their latest release could be the best deal yet.

At a mere $129 without a contract, the new Moto E is the cheapest of any of its predecessors-- the Moto X ran for around $350 and the Moto G for $179.

Motorola, the company that first introduced the cellphone, has fallen behind some of its competitors in the smartphone era, but it appears the company may now be appealing to a different market.

The release of the Moto X marked the start of what would be an attractive option for those who wanted a better quality smartphone without the high price of some of Motorola’s top competitors. The phone was quickly followed by the Moto G, a more basic option for an even lower price, which became the best-selling smartphone in Motorola history.

It would appear the company’s latest release, the Moto E, combines the ideals of the two phones before it, offering up some basic features with a few luxuries for a fraction of the price for an average smartphone.

“We believe it’s time the feature phone era came to an end and that quality smartphones are made accessible and affordable for all,” the company said in a statement.

The phone doesn’t come without compromise, however, with 3G connectivity, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, but no front-facing lens, and a 4.3-inch display with 256 pixels per inch that doesn’t quite match the high-res quality featured by some competing smartphones.

Among the phone’s many promising features is a Gorilla Glass screen with a water-resistant splash guard, a long-lasting 1980 mAh battery, and the latest version of the popular mobile platform Android 4.4 KitKat.

It also boats a microSD slot and a built-in FM radio.

The phone appears to be focused on a more global audience, intending to bring the possibility of smartphones to the hands of those who may have not have had the option before.

“The fact is, about 70 percent of mobile phone users in the world are still using feature phones that can’t unlock the full wonder of the mobile Internet,” according to a release from Motorola. “In many cases it’s because they don’t think it’s worth the $337 for a smartphone.”

The global approach sparked during the company’s time with Google, but whether this strategy will continue once Google sells Motorola to Lenovo is unclear.

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