Motorola announces $129 Moto E smartphone

Motorola pushes down the cost of smartphones by announcing the Moto E that will cost only $129 without a service contract. The device announced Tuesday morning will be available in 40 countries through more than 80 carrier partners around the world. The phone is cheaper than the Moto G, which cost $179, an enticing offer for customers who are looking for an unlocked smartphone and don't want to pay $500 to $600 for it. "We believe it's time the feature phone era came to an end and that quality smartphones are made accessible and affordable for all," the company wrote in a blog post. "Say hello to Moto E and join us in officially saying goodbye to the feature phone forever." Motorola says in the blog that they want to push "the boundaries of the value equation" by providing "a fully loaded and fairly priced" smartphone. The 4.3 inch phone sports a Gorilla glass display and runs on Google's Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS. The phone will come in 20 different color combinations, giving users ample choice to customize their phone. Apart from a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor with a dual-core CPU, the fully loaded phone comes with a 5-megapixel rear camera, a microSD slot for up to 32GB of expandable memory, and a built-in FM radio. The launch is the first after Motorola Mobility was acquired by Lenovo in January for $2.91 billion. Tuesday's launch will attempt to strengthen Lenovo's position in the low-cost smartphone market and at the same time incorporate the Motorola brand into the former's portfolio. The Moto G, the predecessor to the Moto E, will be available for $219 with an upgraded 4G LTE version or consumers can still buy the original version without a contract for $179.