Motorola launches more affordable smartphone

Sao Paulo - Google-owned Motorola Mobility moved Wednesday to shake up the global smartphone market with an entry-level handset aimed at cost-sensitive consumers around the world, many in emerging markets.

The new Moto G handset will sell at less than $200 without a contract in the US market and, around the world, will be around one-third the price of top-line Apple iPhones and Samsung devices, the company said.

"Moto G is a smartphone that delivers a premium experience with today's technology," Motorola chief Dennis Woodside said in unveiling the phone in the Brazilian business hub Sao Paulo.

"Half a billion people will buy a phone for under $200."

The new device is a low-cost version of the Moto X released earlier this year in the United States, lacking some features such as a high-density camera and the ability to access the fastest networks.

In Brazil, known for high electronics duties, the lowest price for the Moto G will sell for around $280, or 650 reals. That is still well below the price of an iPhone, which can cost more than $1 000 in Brazil, or premium phones like Samsung's Galaxy S4.

The Moto G features a 4.5 inch (11.5 cm) display and all-day battery, and will include the latest versions of the Google Android operating system.

Woodside said the phone would be especially attractive in emerging markets around where carrier subsidies for phones are rare and consumers are reluctant to pay $600 or more for a handset.

"Our industry forced consumers to make a choice between two very bad options," he said.

"The first option is to buy an old technology that doesn't work well with applications like Google maps... the second option is to buy an old premium phone that was typically released in the US two or three years ago. We think the industry should deliver more value for the consumer's dollar."

The handset packs in a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 5-megapixel and 1.3-megapixel cameras front and rear.

This will allow the phone to "punch above its weight," said Punit Soni, software product manager for Motorola.

IDC market analyst Ramon Llamas said the device won't work on high-speed LTE networks but that "most of the initial markets don't have LTE networks. 3G will do just fine."

Llamas said in a tweet: "Users in emerging markets are price sensitive, but not ignorant of what a quality smartphone is. #MotoG is addressing that need."

Others said the phone would be in between the premium smartphones like the iPhone, and bare-bones models like those using the Firefox operating system.

"Moto G in emerging markets is more a competitor for LG, HTC & Lenovo... It will certainly put more pressure on Nokia Asha," said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi, referring to the low-cost device from the Finnish handset maker.

Independent telecom analyst Jeff Kagan said: "The Moto G is intended to attract the attention of cost-conscious-consumers. This device is likely intended for emerging markets where users want low cost smartphones, but I think it could also be successful in major markets like the US for those same cost-conscious-consumers."

Woodside said the phone goes on sale immediately in Brazil and some European markets, and will hit the United States and a total of 30 countries by early next year.

In the United States, the price for an unlocked entry-level Moto G will be $179.

It will have dual SIM capability to allow consumers to roam in other countries with a second identity.

It will also allow "19 customization options, including interchangeable Motorola shells and flip shells in seven colors as well as grip shells in five colors," according to a Motorola blog post.

Brazil, with its population of 200 million, has a reported 262.2 million cellphones and around 27 million people have a smartphone.

Recent research by Gartner Inc predict mobile-phone growth hitting 5.2% in 2014, outstripping 3.7% this year with consumers chasing competitively-priced handsets fueling the rise.

Google bought Motorola Mobility for $12.5bn in May 2012, aiming to revive the struggling former star of the mobile sector and use it to battle for smartphone supremacy with the Android platform.

Google also sells its own Nexus-branded phones manufactured by South Korea's LG.