From PC World: The upgraded $99 Motorola Moto E will get LTE and twice the onboard storage as the previous version, but users will also have to make do with a low-resolution screen and front camera, at least if Best Buy is to be believed.
The retailer has posted a product page for the smartphone, saying that it will start shipping soon in the U.S. on Sprint’s network. Motorola hasn’t yet officially announced the smartphone.
That the Android Lollipop-based Moto E is getting LTE isn’t too much of a surprise. New chipsets from the likes of Qualcomm and MediaTek have laid the groundwork for low-cost models with faster network connections. In an interview in December, an executive at telecom operator Orange said prices on 4G smartphones would probably get as low as $60 without a contract or subsidies by the end of the year.
The specifications detailed by Best Buy also includes a 4.5-inch, 540 x 960-pixel screen and an unspecified 1.2GHz quad-core processor from Qualcomm. The original Moto E has a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and a 4.3-inch screen with the same resolution.
That the model hasn’t got an HD screen is a disappointment, but the unfortunate fact is that 720p screens still seem a bit too expensive for smartphones in the $100 price range. But prices are dropping fast according to market research company IHS, so that will change sooner rather than later.
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