Today's the day that Motorola officially took the wraps off of the Moto X, confirming both its spec list and pricing information, the latter being one of the few details of the device that didn't leak early. Some had speculated that the Moto X could come in as low as $200 or $300 without a commitment, but Motorola revealed today that the X will actually launch at $199.99 on-contract, just like the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S 4. Motorola is planning to hit a lower price tier, though, as CEO Dennis Woodside has revealed that his company is prepping a more affordable Moto X-branded phone.
Speaking to CNET, Woodside explained said that the experience offered by cheap smartphones today is "subpar," and so Motorola wants to create a new device that's affordable but still cutting edge. The phone will be targeted at international markets as well as prepaid customers in the U.S., both of which Woodside described as price-sensitive groups that are often forced to buy smartphones that are several years old because those are the only ones that are affordable. Woodside declined to offer up any specific information about this affordable Moto X family member.
We've seen quite a focus on cheaper devices and prepaid services as of late, with Nokia's Lumia 520/521 coming in at just $100, Apple's rumored low-cost iPhone and carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile making big changes to their prepaid offerings. Motorola could try to capitalize on this trend with an affordable Moto X, but the company will have to find the right balance of price and attractive specs to make its cheaper X succeed. The good news is that we may not have to wait long to learn more, as the exec went on to tease that we'll be seeing more devices from Motorola "within months."
Via CNET
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