dtsm

http://motorola-blog.blogspot.com/20...-phone-at.html

An off-contract price of just $179 for 8GB. For 16GB, you'll pay just $199.

On sale this week in Brazil and parts of Europe. After that come Latin America, Canada and parts of Asia......will be available in the U.S., India, the Middle East and more of Asia in January.

Software-wise, Moto G runs a clean, "stock" version of Android. Just like the Moto X, no skinning.

Internaut

At face value, it looks amazing. It will be a great buy for anyone who just wants a smart phone, that does smart phone things, without paying Apple/Samsung/HTC/LG tax. Some of the developing markets I operate in are crying out for a phone like this. It will be interesting to see how the Chinese respond - I suspect Huawei and ZTE can respond faster than anyone else, to this launch.

pseudoswede

This looks like a fantastic phone for my 73-year-old dad, and my 9-year-old daughter. I hope Googlerola can market this phone well.

IsleOfMan

To me it looks excellent for anyone looking to get away from the legacy carriers. This paired with a SIM from Strait Talk or another similar MVNO would be an excellent combination. While the Nexus phones have been attractive for 3 generations now, the Moto G makes it a much easier pill to swallow price wise.

I'm interesting to see if the US price drops any by spring/summer '14. At $179/$199, while more expensive, this might end up being a better value than the Nokia 520/521 to anyone who prioritizes screen size or has an Android preference. At $100/$130 it would be even clearer.

Verizon has also announced that they will carry the Moto G for prepaid. While Verizon's in-house prepaid plans aren't anything exciting, their MVNOs Page Plus and Straight Talk have solid offerings though they have always been restricted to only activating 3G-only phones for BYOD. It will be VERY interesting to see if they will activate the Moto G or not. My brother would be thrilled to finally replace the old Motorola Droid X2 he is using on the Page Plus $30 1200 min / 3000 text / 500mb plan.

msb0b

This is the way to launch a low cost phone. The specs are slightly worse than the Nexus 4, but Nexus 4 is last year's phone for power users, while G is this year's phone for entry level. I'd imagine the price has no room for additional discounts.

No LTE on the G, but Verizon is forcing LTE users on CDMA network in congested cities so it should not make much difference

DJ Bitterbarn

I was seriously considering picking up a used Nexus 4 for MrsBarn (I know she'd love a Nexus 5 but she'd also say it was too expensive - she's still rocking a 3-year-old Nokia feature phone she got as a present so she'd upgrade from her ANCIENT Nokia). Then Motorola does this.

Good screen, moderate camera, HSPA+, near-stock Android, and under $200? Deal.

Just want to wait for a review on this, (ideally Armando or MKBHD) but otherwise I think I'd be sold.

sonofzeus

If this feels good in her hand, Ms. SOZ is getting this as a slightly delayed b-day (Dec 31) gift. Her unlocked MyTouch 4G with 2 extra batteries will be for sale. (worked perfectly May, 2013 in UK, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Germany.)

IsleOfMan

This would be perfect for Ms. IsleOfMan if I could just get her to even CONSIDER something other than an iPhone... but she's indoctrinated into the Apple culture (iPhone 4S, MacBook Pro 13" C2D, iPad 1, iPod Shuffle, Nike+ watch, etc). Luckily (as you can see from the age of her devices) she doesn't feel any need to upgrade often unless something breaks and can't be easily repaired.

Her AT&T iPhone 4S is starting to show its age but and has a hairline screen crack. When her 3Gs broke we got into a cycle of cross-upgrading (she used my available upgrade, then I used hers, and so on). My new company just did a transfer-of-financial-responsibility on my line, so now she doesn't have an available upgrade until early '15. I doubt she can hold out until then. If she does, we'll probably move her to Straight Talk regardless of what phone we get her. If not, I'll grab her a Straight Talk (Verizon, GSM SIM is unlocked) iPhone 5 next time the refurbs go on sale for $400 to use on AT&T until her contract is up, then move her over to Straight Talk.

leland

I hear dual sim is on offer, too.

Internaut

It they want to sell this phone into Africa, where everyone has two numbers, this would be a great benefit.

dtsm

I just placed order for 16gb US GSM model, expected ship date, week of December 9th

http://www.motorola.com/us/shop-all-...oto-g-pdp.html

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57613701-94/surprise-the-$179-moto-g-hits-the-us-early/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title

msb0b

I am excited about the opening of orders but a bit upset about the supported frequencies.
The US GSM model only supports 3G frequencies that are used in the Americas. It will not be able to connect to 3G networks in the rest of the world where they primarily use 2100 MHz and 900 MHz bands. If you are abroad, you may only get 2G connectivity. If I were buying a Moto G, I would opt for the global version even for use in the US. It loses the AWS band, which is used by T-Mobile (USA) and Wind (Canada), but you can still get 3G service with AT&T and refarmed areas of T-Mobile.

In an ideal world, everything would support every band, but Motorola probably passed over the pentaband chip to save cost.

dtsm

Totally agree. I thought long and hard before deciding getting TMO AWS was more important than only 2G when I travel overseas...especially given TMO's free international plan is on edge speed anyway.

Given this is my first Android, I'm happy to get a reasonable priced 'entry' model....

IsleOfMan

Seems the only benefit of the US GSM version is for TMobile users that live or frequent areas still on 1700 MHz AWS.

N1120A

TMO's free international roaming isn't really on EDGE. Its throttled HSPA+, which is significantly better than actual EDGE