Motorola i9 official pics surface - a release should follow soon

For an iDEN phone, Motorola i9 sure looks pretty. As a matter of fact, it looks really nice for a regular phone too, and its official press photos that have just leaked on the Web can only confirm this.

The i9 is a clamshell (in the RAZR style) that comes with an external screen and lots of external keys that seem to be touch-sensitive. I can clearly spot music dedicated keys, as well as some camera-related keys.

And speaking of camera, the back of Moto i9 hosts a 3.1 MP one with both autofocus and flash. I don’t think there’s any other iDEN handset out there to have a camera with these performances.

The alphanumeric keypad of i9 is flat and probably easy to use. Other than that, the rumored features of the phone include GPS and Bluetooth.

Most probably, Sprint Nextel will be the first carrier to release the Motorola i9. And although there are no details yet about when this will happen, I wouldn’t be surprised if the handset were available across the US in the first months of 2009.

Via Mobile-review

$4 Motorola W180 can be OLPC of mobile phones

Does Motorola think it can rake in millions of dollars in revenue because of its over-priced masterpiece called the Aura? No, of course not. So what’s the company going to do about it? Why, make a mobile phone for the opposite end of the price range, of course. In the far, far opposite end, that is.

If you happen to be in the UK, and are looking for a really, really, really, really cheap mobile phone that you can maybe give away to a number of your friends this Christmas, this is it. The Motorola W180 only costs an astonishing £2.89 price tag, and that’s about $4.30 and €3.40.

For its price, you’d be a fool to think it would be anything else other than just a low-end mobile phone. It serves up dual-band GSM access, a small color screen, and USB 2.0 connectivity, before losing everything else.

But come to think of it, this seems like the perfect mobile phone to give away during the holiday season. Since we’re in some sort of financial crisis and all, the least you could do is give something, anything, away. And you could use this for that purpose without spending too much of your money.

Via Reg Hardware

MOTOYUVA W396 joins Motorola’s low-end phone fleet in India

We had first uncovered this phone, the Motorola W396, a few months back as part of a trio of phone leaks in Motorola’s list of wap profiles. I had wondered back then why it had such an unimpressive feature set, but now it’s clear. This is a phone for the low-end market.

Launched just recently in India, the MOTOYUVA W396 is an affordable yet stylish-looking clamshell handset, with looks that only the maker of the original RAZR can produce. The essence of its design has long died, but it’s always nice to see fairly inexpensive phones dressed up nicely.

What does it do? Well, the MOTOYUVA W396 is a multimedia-centric phone, so it’s only fitting that it’s equipped with the latest version of Motorola’s MP3 player software, FM radio with RDS, stereo speakers and A2DP Bluetooth.

It also gives access to MOTOMUSIC, a Web and WAP service combo that’s got a MOTOMUSIC scratch card inbox offering 10 free ringtone downloads out of the box. It accepts microSD cards up to 2GB in size so you can rest assured that you always have an ample amount of space for your data. The built-in camera could’ve used an improvement, having only VGA resolution and 4x digital zoom, but the emphasis remains to be on music anyway, so most users should find that OK.

Apart from what’s mentioned, the MOTOYUVA W396 functions just like any other phone. It has a color screen, comfortable keypad, and it works in airplane mode (without a SIM card).

It costs Rs. 4,199 about ($88 USD) in India, and it’s available in all MOTO Stores and retailers.

Via Tech 2.0

Motorola V750 now available on Telus

During these tough times, fairly affordable tough phones have become quite a rarity. However, Motorola is working quietly to fill this small gap in the mobile phone market, with the Motorola Adventure V750.

This rugged and rather good-looking clamshell phone has made an appearance on Verizon’s line-up a few months back, and now it’s just been made available on Canada’s Telus mobile network. This phone is available with 1-year (for $349.99), 2-year (for $299.99), and 3-year (for $149.99) contracts or unlocked and contract-free for $399.99.

For its price, the Motorola V750 boasts a military-grade shock-proof, dust-proof, and vibration-proof casing that weighs only a measly 111 grams. Of course, typical mobile phone features are also on-board, as well as a 2-megapixel camera, 2.5mm headphone jack and support for up to 8GB memory.

If you want a phone that can last as long as its contract, or even longer, this is one model that you should definitely look into.

Telus via Mobile Syrup

Motorola Aura now available for $2,000, no less

If for some reason, you’d rather spend $2,000 worth of your hard-earned money on something that doesn’t really look like it’s worth that much, boy, has Motorola got an option for you. Announced way back in October, the swiveling, round display-equipped Motorola Aura is now available from Motorola’s web site.

Why is this news? To address that question without feeling like I’m answering my editor, I’ll just point you to an earlier post we made that said the Motorola Aura can’t be sold on eBay or anywhere else. In other words, the Aura is, and always will be, a Motorola exclusive.

And that’s exactly what they’re saying about it over on the Motorola web site. The proud words “Moto Store Exclusive” are printed over the handset itself in pictures.

As earlier announced, it comes with a circular, 16 million color display that’s protected by a 62-carat sapphire crystal coating. Other features include a 2-megapixel fixed focus camera, internal quad band GSM antenna, 2GB of on-board memory and microUSB connectivity. Oh, and don’t forget that stainless steel housing.

It costs $1,999.99 and a lot of blind faith. Available now with free shipping from the Moto Store. Of course, you could always just go for other cheap alternatives…

Via Phone Arena

Motorola MOTOROKR EM35 officially announced: music all the way

Step aside, Nokia, because today, December 2, is also Motorola’s day (well, sort of). The American handset manufacturer has just announced its latest music phone, which is named MOTOROKR EM35 and comes to offer an “exceptional audio experience for music and talk”.

The EM35 is a pretty cool-looking slider that runs on a Linux Java 7.4 platform and features dedicated music controls, a 3.5mm headset jack and CrystalTalk technology, among others.

It’s only a mid-end handset, and perhaps its main drawback is the lack of 3G connectivity.

Anyway, here are the full specs of MOTOROKR EM35, besides the ones we’ve already mentioned:

• Quad band GSM/GPRS/ EDGE connectivity (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz)
• 2.2 inch TFT display with 240 x 320 pixels and 262K colors
• Email, Instant Messaging
• Web browser
• Pre-installed and downloadable widgets
• Stereo Bluetooth
• Dual speakers for a stereo surround sound
• Windows Media Player 11
• FM radio with RDS
• 3.1 MP camera with fixed focus
• 110MB of internal memory
• MicroSD and MicroSDHC card support, up to 32GB
• 116 grams
• 107 x 49.5 x 16 mm
• Talk-time: up to 6.6 hours
• Stand-by time: up to 400 hours

Although MOTOROKR EM35 will be available before the end of 2008, Motorola gave no details regarding its price and the markets to get it first.

Via Press release

Motorola RAZR3/Ruby canceled

Back in September we told you that Motorola has been working on a successor to their RAZR line - RAZR3 phone codenamed Ruby.

Well, today I have some bad news for anyone who has been waiting to upgrade their current RAZR2s. Do not wait anymore, just look for some other phone instead. Motorola RAZR3/Ruby has been canceled.

I probably should have seen this coming when Motorola announced the reorganization of it’s Mobile Division in October. Since RAZR3/Ruby has been based on Symbian UIQ, and Motorola is ditching this platform in favor of Android, the phone has been axed too.

Oh well, another disappointment from Motorola. But I’m already used to that.

And at least I can show you what Motorola RAZR3/Ruby would have looked like:

Via Eldar Murtazin