Next Gen Motorola Moto E Expands Storage And Speed With LTE, Trims Price To $99

The Moto E was announced in mid-2014 as Motorola’s entry-level smartphone offering. The smartphone offers meager specs including a dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor with 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage (although a microSD slot is included), a 4.3-inch 540x960 qHD display, and 3G connectivity. While it isn’t going to challenge the likes of the iPhone 6 or Galaxy S5, its performance while running Android 4.4 KitKat is admirable and it’s hard to argue with the $119.99 price tag.

In keeping with Motorola’s mission to deliver great products at an affordable price, the second generation Moto E is about to get a whole lot more attractive to potential customers. A product listing on Best Buy’s website briefly gave us a glimpse of the new Moto E (MOT1526ASB) and it improves upon the original in four key areas.

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First, storage has been doubled from 4GB to 8GB. Even though the Moto E has always featured a microSD slot to expand storage, it’s nice to see that users will get a little bit more breathing room when it comes to app/media storage before having to resort to external storage. Second, Motorola has added LTE connectivity, which is a big step up in speed from the first generation model’s onboard 3G modem. Third, the price tag has dropped from $119.99 to $99.99 for the second generation Moto E (Sprint, prepaid). And finally, the Moto E receives Lollipop fresh out of the box.

There’s no word yet on if the processor has been upgraded, but we’re not holding our breath considering the other feature additions and price cut. All other specs remain including the 1GB of RAM, a slightly larger 4.5-inch display, 5MP rear camera, and VGA front-facing camera. Even so, this will be a pretty substantial upgrade for what was already a great entry-level Android offering.

Brandon Hill

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

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