Motorola has confirmed that it will launch its budget friendly smartphone, Motoluxe, to UK consumers towards the end of February.

Many may think that Android smartphones are all about the cutting edge technology and designed purely for those with a disposable income. Look at devices at the top of the table like Samsung’s Galaxy S2 and its rumoured successor due to launch this year the S3, the rumoured HTC Edge and Zeta, and the Motorola Razr. However many manufacturers are looking to provide devices to satisfy the middle range of the market, still powerful yet still affordable. The Motorola Motoluxe is designed to help fill this gap.

The device will be available for free on most contracts with the major mobile networks and SIM free around £250.

No one will suggest the Motoluxe will be one of the fastest on the market. It comes with an 800 MHz processor and 300 MB of memory. It also runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, while many will be upgrading to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich this year. It does have impressive specifications though, when considering how much it can be bought for. The Motoluxe will come with a 4 inch touchscreen with a 480 x 854 resolution. It will weigh 122g and is, in true Motorola style, thin with just a 9.8mm thickness. Another nice feature is that a smartlight appears when there is a new email or message or even a missed call. On the back of the device an 8 megapixel camera allows video recording as well as an LED flash. Motorola specific software includes Social Graph which allows users to access their social networks quickly. MusicNow to play tunes and Smart Gallery to access pictures. In terms of usage the Motoluxe will have 6.5 hours of talk time on 2G and 4.5 hours on 3G. It has a 1400 mAh battery with a standby time of up to 450 hours. Inevitably this will change once Bluetooth or Wi-Fi is switched on.

The device may not set the tech world alight in terms of new developments or cutting edge technology, but it will be, most likely, welcome news for consumers who want to buy a smartphone but cannot afford to invest in a handset from the top end of the market. Increasingly, manufacturers are turning to more affordable models. Samsung, while it does push the boundaries in terms of technology in the market also makes devices like the Galaxy Ace Plus which is seen as an entry level device for consumers. HTC offers the same and increasingly Nokia, launching both the Lumia 800 and the little brother Lumia 710 want to give consumers a choice when it comes to buying a smartphone.

After their takeover by Google it makes sense that Motorola would want to increase the range of budget Android devices. It helps the operating system become more popular and spread its reach across the high street. Having a device available at every price point, whereas Apple only have a top end device or sell previous models of the iPhone, which could make Android more popular for even more consumers.

The Motorola Motoluxe will launch towards the end of February, just as the Sony Xperia S comes on the market in the UK.