With Moto E priced at Rs 6,999, Motorola aims to disrupt Micromax and Co's low-cost strategy

Motorola has finally unveiled the Moto E and India will be the first country to get a taste of the latest budget effort from the one-time mobile giant. The phone **is priced at an unbelievable Rs 6,999** , which makes it great competition to the Indian low-cost smartphone brigade.   After facing a tough time in the Indian market ever since smartphones broke out on the scene, Motorola has been on the sidelines and nearly folded its Indian operations. With very limited resources, the company kept its India business alive and ticking, but if you had asked us this time last year if Motorola will be a force to reckon with, we would have laughed you off.   Cut to the present and three phones later, Motorola has well and truly made a comeback. It started with the Moto G earlier this year, which now is the most successful launch in the company’s history. The exclusive deal with Flipkart helped in creating a big hype and that sumptuous price tag helped win buyers. But the Moto G did better than we expected. It looks more polished than phones in this price range and had very good specs too. **This was how you did budget phones.**   Then the Moto X, which **puts most quad-core smartphones, priced nearly twice its price to shame** . It’s a superbly built handset, which fits perfectly in your hand and has sensible software additions with stock Android UI. Most importantly, the Moto X arrived with Android KitKat, which immediately set it apart from competition. Moto G changed the budget landscape and the Moto X is trying to do the same with the mid-range segment. It’s currently **available for under Rs 20,000 with the right exchange offer from Flipkart** .   And now it’s the turn of the Moto E. With a price tag of Rs 6,999, there’s great reason for every one of the Indian manufacturers to be worried. Motorola has come right at their throat with this pricing, given the decent specs and the guarantee of the latest software. It also comes with features that are eye-catching to the average buyer: scratch-resistant glass, splashproof body and a multitude of colours.   If the Moto G and Moto X threw a challenge to the budget and mid-range segment, Moto E is going after the lowest rung of the ladder. We had expected a price closer to the Moto G, but Motorola has pulled off a great coup. It certainly makes things interesting for the low-cost players such as Micromax, Karbonn and others, who have made great strides in establishing market share, but haven’t been able to build a reputation as reliable brands with good after sales service and product quality. In fact, at this price tag the Moto E doesn’t even have competition from any of the bigger international brands, so it’s clearly holding a great advantage.   The Moto E will be a big obstacle for these brands; it could end up making Motorola a force to reckon with once again, and no one’s laughing now.