Amazon Prime members have access to one of the best smartphone deals out there right now
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AmazonAfter offering their first unlocked phone through a partnership earlier this year, Amazon has started selling another.
This time they've partnered with Motorola to offer the 4th generation Moto G. It's a good deal for Prime users looking to get a mid-tier smartphone with a large screen on a budget.
Like their last phone, the Blu R1, the Moto G is sold unlocked, which is great news.
Unlocked phones give you the freedom to choose your carrier, and jump between them when you travel internationally. Plus you don't have to pay for the phone each month — you've bought it outright. Some unlocked phones only work with certain carriers, but the Moto G can be taken to any of the four major carriers in the U.S.
On the specs side, the Moto G keeps pace with its higher-end competition. It has a 13mp backside camera and a wide angle 5mp camera up front. While it starts at 16gb, you can pop in a 128gb MicroSD card to dramatically increase your storage. The Moto G even has the same screen size (5.5 inches) and screen resolution (1080P) as the iPhone 7 Plus, with 2gb of RAM for launching and running multiple apps at once.
The Moto G's most surprising spec is its octa-core processor. Yes, this phone has 8 cores. It can also run Android 6.0 (code named Marshmallow), which is a pretty recent release.
Fast hardware and newer software mean that even more demanding apps, games specifically, should perform well. More importantly, you shouldn't notice any slowdown when doing day-to-day tasks, like taking photos or launching the web browser. General performance is more important than performance under a heavy load, since most people won't be using their phone for hardcore tasks all the time.
Like the R1 before it, Amazon's partnership means that these phones have "special offers," a.k.a. ads, on their lock screens, just like many Kindles e-readers and Fire tablets. If that bothers you, these phones are also offered in ad-free versions that cost $50 more.
Even at the ad-free price, the Moto G is a very good value. Its combination of better-than-average tech specs and lack of carrier restriction make it perfect for people looking for a new phone that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
Moto G 4th Generation (16GB with special offers), $149.99 for Prime members, available on Amazon
Moto G 4th Generation (3GB with special offers), $179.99 for Prime members, available on Amazon