Moto X will be discounted to $99 later this year

When you’re in the business of selling anything, it’s typically not a good idea to let your customers know that a discount for your product is a few months away. But that’s exactly what’s happened with the Motorola’s Moto X. A report from @evleaks (via 9 to 5 Google) states that Motorola plans to drop its flagship Android smartphone down to $99 on a two-year plan in the fourth quarter of 2013. That’s a sweet $100 discount and one you only have to wait 1-3 months for.

In addition to the price drop, there are also some wooden backs on tap (pictured to the right). The wooden backs will add $50 more to the device, but a Moto X at $149 with such a unique looking back panel isn’t a bad deal at all.

The Moto X is currently available on AT&T and Verizon Wireless, though Sprint and T-Mobile versions are promised to be on the way. The device is Motorola’s attempt at making a comeback in the Android smartphone industry it arguably made popular with its Droid smartphones for Verizon Wireless. The company has since lost ground major ground to companies like Samsung — an embarrassing fact, considering Motorola is owned by Google, which develops Android.

We don’t have much info on how well the Moto X is doing yet, but leaks like this one certainly can’t help. Motorola is run as an independent company by Google, and it doesn’t appear that the phone maker was taking the approach of selling the Moto X as a Nexus-type device, which is typically not priced to make money. If customers wind up waiting for a price drop, Motorola’s profits on the Moto X will suffer.

@evleaks is usually pretty solid with leaks like these, but we’ll keep you up to speed and let you know if anything changes. Until then, if you were planning on picking up a Moto X, we suggest you wait a few months.