Best Buy has begun offering Motorola's popular Moto X phone for a substantially discounted price for the models attached to Verizon, Sprint and AT&T, which could indicate Motorola is planning a price drop on the storefront version of the smartphone.
According to iTech Post, Best Buy is offering the phone for just $99, a full $100 less than the original price for the phone. This price tag also comes with a two-year subscription plan attached and appears to be available both online and in store.
It is unclear why the phone has been discounted so soon after the device was launched. One possible theory is that AT&T's vice grip on the Moto Maker website is soon ending. If other service providers such as Verizon and Sprint soon gain access to the Moto Maker website, then the demand for the bland black and white versions of the phone found in stores may drop considerably, and if that's the case, Best Buy may be trying to get rid of its stock of black and white Moto Xs in anticipation.
In addition to the discounted Moto X phones, it appears Motorola is planning a budget version of the device: the Moto DVX. That device was recently subject to a leak from Chinese website Weibo, translated by G4 Games. The smartphone is rumored to have a price tag of 1200 to 1500 Yuan, which is around $200-$250. Presumably this would be the price of the unlocked Moto DVX, as it would be the same price of the regular Moto X with a subscription plan. The unlocked Developer Edition of the Moto X costs $649.
The Moto DVX is rumored to have a 4.5-inch display, slightly smaller than the 4.7-inch display on the Moto X. The smartphone is supposed to have a 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor. The Moto DVX will have dual-SIM cards and a removable backplate that is rumored to be made of hard plastic. It is unclear when the new budget Moto DVX will launch, but service provider Republic Wireless is often attached to the smartphone in rumors.