Motorola unveiled its new Moto G on Nov. 13 as promised, introducing a cheap smartphone with some neat specifications for its category.

The new Moto G comes as the more affordable version of the company's flagship Moto X smartphone. Although the price tag is significantly lower, however, the Moto G did not compromise much in terms of specs compared to the Moto X.

Motorola announced the Moto G as its wide-ranging offering, aiming to deliver a smartphone that is cheap enough to be affordable without a contract. On this note, the Moto G starts at $179 for the 8GB model and goes up to just $199 for the 16GB model, contract-free, unsubsidized. Motorola will sell the Moto G directly to consumers through its online store.

'An exceptional phone at an exceptional price'

"Price-conscious consumers who don't want to pay $600 or more for high-end smartphones have been left with two bad options," the company explains in a blog post. "The first is to buy cheap, new smartphones made with second-rate technology that don't do justice to modern apps and experiences like navigation, video chat and games. The second is to buy 'low cost' versions of premium products that were released two or three years ago and are already obsolete. We think there should be a better option. Everyone deserves to be on the mobile Internet, and price shouldn't stand in the way of anyone having a truly good smartphone to get them there."

"Exceptional phone. Exceptional price. The sharpest 4.5" HD display in its class, all-day battery, quad-core speed, Android 4.3 with guaranteed update, and colorful backs to customize your smartphone," Motorola further boasts on the Moto G product page. "Not sold yet? You get all this and more for only $179."

Moto G Specs & Features

The Moto G sports a 4.5-inch display with a decent 720p resolution. In terms of design, the new smartphone features the same glossy front as the Moto X, the same curved back, and the same stock Android on-screen navigation buttons. Moving on under the hood, the Moto G packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.2GHz and paired with 1GB of RAM.

According to Motorola, the Moto G's battery lasts 33 percent longer compared to its predecessors, although it's only a 2,070 mAh unit. Other specs include a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing shooter. The smartphone will be available in CDMA models, as well as dual-SIM versions.

Software

The Moto G will ship with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean out of the box, but an update to the latest Android 4.4 KitKat is set for January 2014.

Availability

The Moto G is launching on Nov. 13 in Brazil and some parts of Europe, with a wider release in Europe, Canada, Latin America and parts of Asia "in the next few weeks." In the U.S., the Moto G will become available in January 2014. In the meantime, check out the video below to see the Moto G in action.