Google's low-cost Moto G could cost less than Rs 15,000 in India

Google-owned Motorola today launched the low-cost Moto G smartphone for a price of $179. The smartphone will be available in the US from January, and in India too, according to the official blog post from Motorola. The smartphone is launching first in Brazil, followed by Europe. This will be one of the first pure Google smartphones to launch in India at the same as it does in the United States. Earlier, Motorola’s Facebook page put out a teaser post featuring Motorola’s logo in the foreground, with the Taj Mahal in the back, and the supporting text asking users to register for the launch event begins with the title “Namaste-India!” If one were to convert the price of the phone, it would come to around Rs 11,300 at today’s exchange rate. Even with taxes, this pure Google phone could cost less than Rs 15,000 in India which is quite a steal. The 16 GB version of this phone is priced at $199 which comes to around Rs 12, 500 at the current rate. Again the price of the phone could go up to Rs 15,000 or even Rs 18,000 with Indian taxes. [caption id=“attachment_1228317” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Moto G smartphone is seen in this product launch photo from Google.[/caption] The smartphone runs Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) and has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor quad-core CPU clocked at 1.2 Ghz. It comes in 8 GB and 16 GB versions and also comes with two years 50 GB storage free on Google Drive. The smartphone has a 4.5-inch display with 720 p resolution at a pixel density is 329 ppi. The device also has a 2070 mAh battery, with Motorola promising up to 24 hours battery life on mixed usage. Moto G will get Android 4.4 KitKat by January 2014. The camera is 5 megapixel with 4:3 resolution and 3.8 megapixel at 16:9 (wide-screen resolution). It has LED flash, 4X digital zoom, allows slow motion video, burst mode, AUTO HDR (for better lighting) and Panorama view. The front camera is 1.3 megapixel. The cameras can record and playback video in 720p HD mode at a rate of 30 frames per second. The smartphone supports GSM and HSPA+, WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.0. The smartphone comes with 19 customisation options, including interchangeable Motorola Shells and Flip Shells in seven colours as well as grip Shells in five colours.