Motorola Moto X not coming to Europe for now

The Motorola Moto X was officially announced yesterday and is headed for all the major carriers in the United States. The device is even up for pre-order on US Cellular for those who are interested. Unfortunately those outside of the U.S. are in for some disappointment.

It looks like Motorola has no plans of launching the Moto X in Europe or anywhere outside of North America for now, because they have something different planned for the rest of the world.

Motorola's main focus at this point is ensuring that the demand for the Moto X is met in the U.S. markets. The Moto X is currently being offered at a subsidized $199 for its 16GB variant while the 32GB model costs $249. Unfortunately the rest of the world doesn't offer smartphones at subsidized prices like the U.S. and the carrier plans to address this by offering an affordable variant of the device later this year.

Motorola Mobility CEO Dennis Woodside said that "The experience of devices you can get for less than $200 is subpar right now, we want everyone to have access to affordable smartphones."

This lower cost version of the Moto X is designed for emerging markets and pre-paid carriers in the U.S. where customers generally pay full price for their devices. It is likely the same device which will make its way to Europe as well.

This doesn't mean it will be impossible to find the Moto X in Europe. While you dont be able to get the device through carriers, you will still find SIM-free versions of the device available through various third party retailers like Amazon. Unfortunately the Motorola Maker customization service wont likely be an option for these devices.

source - Pocket Lint | CNET