You read it correctly — that’s $500 million. According to the Wall Street Journal, that’s the amount that Google has allowed Motorola to spend in promoting their upcoming Moto X smartphone not only in the U.S. but in other markets as well such as Europe. It doesn’t really sound quite surprising since this is the first flagship device that Motorola will release since the company was acquired by Google. So, it’s just about proper that Google make sure that the Moto X will get all the publicity it needs to enter the saturated smartphone market.

Beside, the Moto X is expected to be carried by four major U.S. carriers namely, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint. Those are basically the major U.S. carriers. So, this only goes to show that the Moto X will be a pretty special smartphone.

WSJ also said that the Moto X will have as less pre-installed software and apps as possible. This is to avoid the ire of customers who have grown tired of smartphones which are pre-installed with bloatware. Additionally, as we reported not so long ago, the Moto X will also let buyers customize their with colored engravings.

But the most important information shared by WSJ is the expected price of the Moto X. According to the report, the Moto X will cost almost as much as the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One. In case you forgot, those mentioned smartphones cost around $199 on contract and around $599 off contract. Whether the same price point will be carried by the Moto X, remains to be seen. And Apple refused to comment on this issue, says WSJ.

With all those information about the Moto X, it looks like it’s going to be one of the best smartphone to be released this year. But let’s not forget that the Moto X is still a Motorola phone. And history will tell you that most often than not, Motorola smartphones are usually not that so good.

[via Wall Street Journal]