New Moto E launched in India, 4G version by May

US-based Motorola is hopeful of bringing the 4G version of its popular affordable smartphone, Moto E, to India by May this year, pricing it under Rs 10,000 as it looks to compete with brands like Xiaomi and Yu.

Motorola, which was acquired by Chinese technology giant Lenovo from Google last year, sells its devices in India through e-commerce firm Flipkart.

"We expect to launch the 4G version of Moto E in India in the next two months," Motorola India General Manager Amit Boni told PTI.

Two weeks ago, Motorola had announced the global launch of the 3G and 4G versions of the new Moto E in more than 50 countries in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia.

The unlocked 4G-enabled handset is available for $149.99 (about Rs 9,400) in the US, while the 3G version is priced at $119.99 (around Rs 7,500).

On the pricing of the devices, Boni said: "We have not decided on the pricing, but my sense is that it will be sub-Rs 10,000."

The 4G version of the device would compete with the likes of Lenovo's A6000 (Rs 6,999), Yu's Yureka (Rs 8,999) and Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G (Rs 9,999).

According to CyberMedia Research, iPhone maker Apple was the largest 4G LTE smartphone vendor in India with a market share of 45 per cent in October-December 2014 period.

With increasing usage of data services and telecom players gearing up to offer 4G services (which provides higher speed), handset makers are also lining up devices at affordable price points to tap the opportunity.

Motorola on Tuesday launched the second generation of Moto E, which features Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU and advanced graphics.

Priced at Rs 6,999, the new Moto E will be available exclusively through online marketplace Flipkart from Wednesday.

Running on Android's latest Lollipop operating system, the 3G handset sports a 4.5-inch screen and comes with a 5-megapixel rear camera. The handset has a 2,390 mAh battery.

With the new Moto E, users will get Moto experiences like Moto Display for notifications and updates as well as Moto Migrate to easily transfer contacts, photos and videos to their new handset.

Motorola sells four handsets -- Moto E, Moto G, Moto X and Moto Turbo in India. It has already unveiled the second generation of Moto G and Moto X devices.

It also introduced its smartwatch, Moto 360, in the country last year.

In January, Motorola said it crossed the three million device sales mark with the Moto E and Moto G making up almost 80-85 per cent of the sales.