Motorola i465 mixes iDEN technology with a QWERTY keyboard

A Motorola phone with a QWERTY keyboard is certainly not something you’ve never seen before, but when that phone is also an iDEN one, well, then we’ve got something special.

And the new Motorola i465 is exactly that: an iDEN handset with a QWERTY keyboard.

There’s nothing official about the i465 for the moment, but an image with it has just been unveiled by Engadget.

The phone looks kind of weird, perhaps because a small display can’t look “normal” when paired with a QWERTY keyboard.

Regarding the features of Motorola i465, the only known ones are Bluetooth 2.0 and a 2001-like VGA photo camera. Release date and pricing details are obviously not known yet.

Orange MotoPrizm released in Korea

Motorola Prizm (or MotoPrizm), the Korean edition of Motorola Krave ZN4, has just been launched in a new and good-looking orange version.

Coming shortly after the dark grey version released in December 2008, the orange Prizm offers similar features. And no, I’m not talking about features similar to the one of Verizon’s Krave ZN.

Motorola has blessed the Prizm with a 840 x 480 pixels touchscreen display, a 3MP camera and mobile TV capabilities.

And these surely make it better than the Krave, which only has a 240 x 400 pixels display and a 2MP camera.

Sadly, both of the MotoPrizm versions are Korea-exclusive products. But maybe, just maybe, Motorola will soon come with an orange Krave ZN4 too.

Via NewsWire.co.kr

Motorola ZN300 pics & specs, Motorola QA1 UI

Yesterday we told you about 4 new Motorola phones nearing the release date - Motorola QA4, ZN300,VE465 and VE66 Luxury Edition.

Unfortunately very limited information about the new handsets was available. We weren’t even able to bring you the images of the darn things.

Well, today we might do a little better, since we’ve got some more info about the upcoming Motorola Zine ZN300 music slider.

As you can see from the picture it looks like an incremental upgrade to a low end Motorola Zine ZN200 handset released last year. And the few specs that we know about confirm this.

The new Motorola ZN300 will come equipped with 3 megapixel camera, QVGA display and Opera Mini mobile browser.

Well, that’s about all we know about ZN300. But we also got confirmation about another Motorola handset in their QA line.

It’s a Motorola QA1. But at this moment all we can give you are some screenshots of it’s UI:

Which probably indicates a touch capability and what looks like a rather smallish display.

Via Mobile Review

Motorola VE465, ZN300, QA4 and VE66 Lux get semi-official

We knew a while ago that official Motorola site webmasters are not really at the top of their game.

And as the launch of new Motorola handsets approaches, they sometimes tend to appear on it’s official site before the official announcement.

Today, in such a semi-official way Motorola confirms 4 new phones – VE465, ZN300, QA4 and VE66 Lux Edition.

We already heard about Motorola VE465 as it passed through FCC. It’s a low end CDMA/Ev-Do music clamshell with 1.2 mpx camera:

The other model to appear is Motorola ZN300. Only in this case we do not have the picture of the phone itself, only the model number and interface screen capture:

Which does not tell us very much about the new handset.

For Motorola QA4 Halo it’s the same situation. Only some phone menu screen captures are available:

It’s too early to guess, but the picture itself seems to confirm rumored Web widget capability, and the app icons at the bottom of the picture indicate touchscreen functionality. Other rumored Motorola QA4 Halo specs include CDMA/EV-Do connectivity, 2.8″ 400×240 px display and built-in accelerometer.

And finally there’s Motorola VE66 Lux. Not even a picture here, but the name makes it kinda obvious that this will be a Luxury edition of Motorola VE66 phone.

Via Mobile Review

AT&T Motorola Tundra VA76r Review

In an effort to bring more durable phones into its lineup, AT&T has released the Motorola Tundra VA76r. The military-spec Tundra was announced to be coming out on AT&T’s network around a month ago, and adds some extra variety by joining forces with the Samsung Rugby.

As a military-spec phone, Motorola has designed the Tundra to withstand a lot of harsh conditions and crazy situations. In order to live up to military specifications, the Tundra had to be rigorously tested to handle the extremes such as temperature, shock, vibration, dripping rain, dust, and humidity.

We have to admit, we didn’t have the opportunity to kick the living snot out of the Tundra, so our review will be more about the phone’s other outlying features. However, there is a video showing the military-spec Rugby holding up under every type of harsh condition possible. Check it out here.

Design of the AT&T Tundra

The Tundra essentially looks like a cross between an updated V365 and a Motorola iDEN phone, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise; after all, this phone is built for durability as well as functionality, but it’s not designed to be stylish. Just from casual observation, the outside of the Tundra feels like it’s made of Kevlar.

Motorola opted for an external antenna with the Tundra. This wasn’t something I was glad to see, considering the rest of AT&T’s lineup has begun using internal antennae for several months now. At least it was a very short one.

In my hands the Tundra felt great. It’s not a very thin phone compared to the RAZR or others like it, but it’s thicker because it’s made to last. On the right side of the phone you will find the camera shortcut; the traditional Mini-USB port is on the bottom.

On the left side there are two buttons: volume, and an unusually large Push-to-Talk button. I understand these phones are designed with the Push-to-Talk customer in mind, but let’s be honest — if you’re not using that feature, it’s incredibly annoying to have a huge button on the side that can’t be used for any other purpose. Dedicated PTT buttons are getting a bit old, AT&T.

There isn’t much to the back side, but it definitely has a classy look.

The buttons inside are also typical AT&T style — in addition to the obligatory green/red call buttons and numerical keys, AT&T has also thrown in its Media Net and Cellular Video shortcuts. All of the buttons are easy to press, however, because each one is raised slightly.

Overall, I found the design of the Tundra to be typical of a military-spec phone; it felt very similar to a Motorola phone found on Nextel, but with the usual features of AT&T’s newest lineup. This, I feel, can be very beneficial. The Tundra is easy enough to handle, while convincing the user that it truly can go through anything you throw at it.

Features of the AT&T Tundra

As mentioned earlier, the Tundra offers many of the same features as AT&T’s latest phones; GPS with AT&T Navigator, 2.0 MP camera, 3G support, and Bluetooth. It also throws in Push-to-Talk and a louder speakerphone.

One unique feature Motorola brings to the table in the Tundra is its new CrystalTalk 2 Technology. Many of Motorola’s phones, such as the V8/V9 series, offers CrystalTalk to help improve overall sound quality when making calls. CrystalTalk 2 adds a second microphone that works to filter out the background noise, thus giving the customer a hassle-free conversation without even needing a Bluetooth to get it.

The Tundra also sports a MicroSD card port, but will only support cards with up to 4 GB of total memory. Sure it can be used as a music player, but realistically, don’t expect to be using this phone as your next MP3 player replacement. And the 100 MB internal memory is good, just not enough for music.

All other features in the phone are standard for any phone made after 2007, so they won’t be mentioned. But I do enjoy the screen on the Tundra; the menus are reminiscent of the V8/V9 series in terms of a crisp look and large font size.

Performance of the AT&T Tundra

The AT&T Tundra weighs in at 4.94 ounces (140g) and has a rated battery life of 4 hrs talk time on 3G and 6 hrs on GSM; talk time is 20 days and 14 days, respectfully. The phone’s dimensions are at 2.1 x 3.85 x .96.

Overall I have been satisfied with the Tundra. I didn’t hear a huge difference in sound quality with CrystalTalk 2, but that may have been due to placing calls in a quieter environment. If any readers have used the new CrystalTalk on any of Motorola’s newest phones, please let us know your experiences in the comments!

AT&T’s rugged Motorola Tundra now on sale

In case you were waiting for the release date of the Motorola Tundra VA76r from AT&T, now’s the time because it’s already officially available. It’s about the best any rugged phone can get. Or at least, it’s one of the most well-rounded out there.

Aside from having military grade toughness, the Motorola Tundra features a 2 megapixel camera, QVGA display, AGPS, microSD card support, and 3G data.

And as mentioned in out earlier report, the price will be $199 after a $50 mail-in rebate and the signing of a 2-year contract with AT&T.

AT&T via Engadget Mobile

Motorola PEBL Rose Bloom launched just in time for Valentine’s

Did you really think you could get away with buying a new phone for your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day without considering something from the mother-of-the-RAZR’s stable? Well, you thought wrong if you did.

Just launched is what Motorola calls the Motorola PEBL Rose Bloom, a cutesy little almost egg-shaped clamshell phone that’s adorned with a rose drawing up front and center.

It doesn’t have much going for specs, since its main selling point is its fashion-centric design, but it does have a touch-sensitive panel on its outer lid, a 3.5mm headphone jack, 2 megapixel camera, MP3 player, Bluetooth connectivity and up to 7.2Mbps HSDPA data transfer rates.

The Motorola PEBL Rose Bloom will be available in Korea from SK Telecom and various retailers and resellers for an unspecified price. It shouldn’t be too high as to burn anyone’s wallet, though, ’cause this one hardly screams out luxury.