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November 14, 2013

Moto G, Beginning of Many Futures

The new Moto G smartphone is the beginning of the next wave of the global Internet. At $179 list price today without a contract or lock-in, November 13, Moto G has started a path to push entry-level pricing drastically downward. I'm willing to bet we will see $99 good quality smartphones within the next three years -- and then the world really does change (again).

Moto G is no lightweight. Specs include a 4.5 inch HD display, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, and Android 4.3 with a guaranteed update to Android 4.4 at the beginning of 2014. It includes 5 and 1.3 megapixel cameras, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and 8 GB standard in the starting price. Under "mixed usage" the battery is expected to be good for up to 24 hours.

A good quality low-cost smartphone must have the mavericks at T-Mobile US grinning from ear to ear. You can almost hear CEO John Legere yelling "Release the hounds!" from the corporate offices in Seattle. Budget conscious consumers will gravitate to the combination of low-cost quality hardware and T-Mobile no-fixed contract pricing.   People looking to switch carriers without the cost overhead of a multi-year contract or having to shell out for a $300 to $600 phone should be cranking T-Mobile's subscription numbers higher for the next two to three quarters.

Already, the clamor with the $179 Moto G is how great it will do in emerging markets. Analysts point out there are already low-cost smartphones on the market at around $100 from Huawei, Samsung and ZTE. Motorola and parent Google's presence -- as well as the push -- can only help adoption and competition, with everyone pushing for better quality products and pricing.

Lower smartphone pricing will have two unique impacts on the world. First, at $99, the smartphone becomes a device that can be truly disposable for some applications and the baseline hardware for many others. Stock smartphone hardware has flown in space as a part of cheap CubeSats, but it isn't too hard to image a $99 phone becoming the go-to for some down-to-earth tablet applications.

More affordable smartphones will open up new commerce, health, and educational opportunities around the globe.  Microsoft's purchase of Nokia was due in part to the phone maker's established strengths in building low-cost hardware for developing markets. Look for Google and Microsoft to battle it out with Asian manufacturers for "the next billion" customers who purchase smartphones to access the Internet.   It's going to be a big pot and will be interesting to see how it all will drive the economies of the world over the next decade.




Edited by Cassandra Tucker


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