Today we were introduced to the Moto E, a 4.3-inch phone with a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage that supports up to 32GB of expandable memory, a rear facing 5-megapixel camera, and a 1980mAh battery. You can rub your eyes and check your calendar all you want, but rest assured it’s not 2010. The Moto E might not sound like the phone you’ll typically mark your calendars to run out and stand in a line for - at least not for its specs - but just like Motorola managed to wow us with the price and spec combo of the Moto G, the Moto E does us one better.

We’ve known that the Motorola Moto E has been coming, but up until this point we hadn’t known what to expect. What we did know was that this phone was meant to keep spirits in Motorola’s ability to make affordable decent smartphones. When Motorola releases teasers that say the phone is “built to last” and “priced for all”, we sort of already knew what to expect. Although my initial speculation was off, I can say that I still think that the Moto E is just as impressive of a buy as the Moto G.

The Moto E sells for just $129. Looking at the specs of the Moto E, I was immediately reminded of the HTC EVO... except for this phone is both faster and more efficient, yet still manages to be just a little more expensive than most brand new HTC EVOs you see for sale these days. While the HTC EVO may have had a better camera on the back and a front-facing camera, the single core processor and 512MB of RAM is what really dates the phone. The Moto E, on the other hand, is a little more 2011 in their specs with the dual-core and 1GB of RAM.

It’s not just the specs that make the Moto E a good buy, though. The Moto E shares similar unique qualities with the Moto G, such as interchangeable backs. The Moto E also takes on a similar form the Moto X and the Moto G, which seems like that would make it a good fit in the hand. The screen is a bit on the small side these days with a 4.3-inch display, but that still puts it larger than an iPhone and smaller than most flagships. A good, happy medium in my book.

I think what’s more impressive about the Moto E is that Motorola took the time to make sure that this phone wasn’t going to wear down on you after a short period of use, potentially making the $129 investment a waste of money, or an investment you would have to repeat. From their unveiling video, the Moto E is equipped with a splash guard to help protect the phone from accidental water damage, which is surprisingly something that not all phones do yet (although waterproof phones are becoming more common). The phone is also said that between mixed usage, the phone should last for 24 hours - another place where the EVO would definitely fall short, given that even when the EVO was new it was a total battery hog. If nothing else, this might be the best reason to consider the Moto E over much older models that now fall in the same price range.

I find that I’m quite pleased with where Mototrola is heading, and the Moto E proves to me that Lenovo isn’t trying to sabotage whatever Motorola and Google had already started. Motorola seems to be doing a pretty good job of releasing phones on two different ends of the spectrum, so I look forward to seeing more Motorola phones released in the future.

Images via CNet, Motorola