EDIT It appears the price of the Moto G will be $279, based on a number of calls to Telechoice, for an 8GB phone, that’s expensive. Thanks Ahmato27.
The release of the Motorola Moto G has been hotly anticipated since its launch in São Paulo, Brazil in November last year, at which time Australia was listed as set to receive the handset in January. Well, January is here and the first sign of a local launch is to be found in the latest Telechoice catalogue which is offering the handset on a $40 plan.
According to Telechoice stores in Sydney, the handset is due to arrive on the 13th of January. While they do have the phone available for purchase on a contract, they’re also offering the phone for sale outright; the Moto G will be available to buy with 8GB of storage for $249279 but at this stage there is no word on whether they will be stocking the 16GB version.
Telechoice uses the Telstra 3G network as the backbone of their Mobile Virtual Network Operator contracts, and the $40 plan offers you $650 standard national calls, mms and international calls, unlimited standard national calls and text messages from your Telechoice mobile to any other Telechoice mobile as well as 1.5GB data per month.
There is no word on any of the accessories that were announced for the Moto G – Motorola Shells, Flip Covers and Active Grips – but they’re sure to be popular, we’ve approached Motorola regarding an official Australian release of the handset and they’ve advised that they don’t have anything to announce at this stage, but with stock arriving in Telechoice stores this month, something official can’t be far away.
With the phone launching as a 3G only handset, the phone has limited attraction for most of the carriers here in Australia, Telstra has advised previously that they are concentrating solely on 4G based handsets and it seems that the other Australian carriers are following suit. There will surely be other retailers selling the Moto G in Australia and we’ll be advising as soon as we can find out where it will be sold.
If you’re thinking about purchasing the Moto G when it’s launched, you can read Geoff’s First Impressions post on the handset and we have another one inbound set for a full review shortly.
Does the Motorola Moto G tickle your fancy? Are Motorola pricing themselves out of the market offering an 8Gb phone for $249279?
$279?! Too expensive.
Compare that ‘good deal’ to what our American friends are getting. Best Buy is selling the 8GB off contract for $99 USD – http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2428920,00.asp
not so cheap…
$279!! Too expensive, this is Telechoice trying to suck in some early local buyers … It’s already available online for only $250ish. Surely Telstra will release this as a pre-paid phone for less than $200??
That recommended retail price is set by suppliers, the same suppliers that will most likely supply Telstra and others. That being said, the price will eventually drop.
That’s weird.. I work at a Telechoice store and the pricing for the 8gb model is at $279.
Hmm, checked with two stores and they said $249……will double check again. Could you possibly email me? daniel AT ausdroid DOT net?
I suppose is $249 work it to the purchaser? It is an excellent phone for $179 US and I expect it will come down in price sooner than later. Verizon in he US note offering the MotoG for $99! As I’m rocking a Nexus 5 I am not in market for myself however an in market for family members. Moto G was going to be the choice… Not reconsidering?
Dan, you asked: Are Motorola pricing themselves out of the market offering an 8Gb phone for $249?
IMO they are, without doubt. The Telstra 4G band Motorola Razr M is still available at DSE for $269. A far better outright purchase phone, supporting the same real carrier as TeleChoice’s offering of the Moto G, for a mere $20 more.
Stfu