Motorola Moto G flaunts KitKat on the cheap (pictures)

The Motorola Moto G is one of our favourite budget phones of all time, thanks to its strong lineup of specs and its ludicrously low price.

Since launch, the phone has been upgraded to the latest Android 4.4.2 KitKat software and has helped Motorola sell over 6.5 million devices so far in 2014.

Budget phones tend to skimp on the design bill, usually little more than plain black slabs of plastic.

The Moto G's curved back and colourful panels help make it much more attractive than its rivals.

It launched on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean last year but received its update -- as promised -- to the latest 4.4.2 KitKat in January.

As well as being able to play with the hidden KitKat easter eggs in the menu, you'll benefit from full-screen media, local business searching in your contacts and a combined SMS and Hangouts app.

Updates don't change specs of course. But it's still packing a capable 1.3GHz quad-core processor inside that's more than powerful enough for most everyday tasks.

There's a 5-megapixel camera around the back. While it doesn't hold a candle to the Galaxy S5's 16-megapixel camera, it'll do fine for quick snaps on the beach.

There's a front-facing camera too for video calling or taking embarrassing selfies.

It's not the skinniest phone around, but you won't struggle to get it into your pocket.

The screen is bright, bold and its 720p resolution trumps most other displays you'll find at this price.

It's running essentially stock Android, so the interface isn't cluttered by manufacturer skins.

Motorola has chucked in a few of its own apps, however, including Motorola Assist, which can perform set tasks such as automatically silencing the phone when you have a meeting scheduled.

The camera interface is extremely basic. Just point the phone at your subject and tap the screen to take a picture.

Swipe in from the edge to access settings and change shooting modes. It has an HDR mode, panorama mode and can do slow-motion video as well.

It's available in only 8GB and 16GB capacities. Usable space is less than that however, as the operating system itself takes up space. On the 8GB model, only around 5GB is usable.

You can peel the back panel off, but there's no microSD card to expand the storage. That's a real shame, as you'll blow through 5GB in no time at all. Opt for the higher capacity model if you plan on keeping videos and music stored on board.

Don't fancy the red colour?

Then pop the back off and replace it with a fresh hue. This lime-green cover looks pretty swish, but you can get cases in black, blue, pink, turquoise and purple as well.

You can see the battery under the cover, but it's not removable.

The SIM-card slot sits underneath the back cover.

The standard Android navigation buttons are displayed on screen. That means they can disappear out of sight when you're gaming to really maximise the screen space.

On the edges, you'll find the volume rocker and power button.

And on the bottom is a micro-USB port for charging the phone and transferring data to and from your computer.

It's a hell of a lot of phone for such a low price.