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Motorola introduced the Moto G today, promising to bring premium Android smartphone features to a budget phone that sells for as little as $179 without a contract. But the Moto G is hardly the first budget smartphone around… or the cheapest.

ZTE and Alcatel are already selling Firefox OS smartphones in developing markets for well under $100. While Mozilla currently has no plans to push its smartphone software in the US, you can even buy a developer version of the ZTE Open from eBay and use it in the States. It costs just $80.

Of course, it has a small, low resolution display, a slow processor, and a new operating system with a relatively small third party ecosystem when compared with Android. But hey, it’s cheap.

cheap phones

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3 replies on “Lilbits (11-13-2013): Cheap phones”

  1. You don’t need to leave the country or even go to Firefox OS to get a deal… try the $50 Kyocera Event with Ice Cream Sandwich ($20 on Black Friday). Its not glamorous, but it is relatively recent Android for a lot less.

    1. I was giving serious thought to the ZTE Open, because I like the idea of Firefox OS and wanted to support it, but the Nokia Lumia 520/521 seems to be the best overall value for a cheap smartphone (at least in the US).

  2. Firefox OS in the States will probably be like what Nokia Asha is to a large part of the world: cheap, potential advanced feature phone alternative

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