Motorola has showcased the phones it hopes will turn around its ailing fortunes. As was predicted by some people, the “Media Monster” forecast by Ed Zander is the Z8 which was demo’d at GSM earlier this year. Zander also seemed keen to avoid tying Motorola’s fortunes (and his job) on one handset: “It’s less about one particular product that transforms the business, more about a suite of products,” he said.
Motorola also had a bit to say about the upcoming iPhone. Jeremy Dale, corporate VP of Mobile Devices Global Marketing, talked about the Ming, which Motorola launched in January 06. He said it was very successful in Asia because of the Chinese language — it’s easier to write with a touch screen. He compared that to the MotoQ, a qwerty-keyboard smartphone, saying that with the 26-character Roman alphabet people prefer to type with keyboards.
The handsets displayed all had 2 megapixel cameras, high-speed USB 2.0 ports, MicroSD cards (except the Razr2):
–Z8 — The Media Monster: A “kick slider” which opens to fit the shape of the face better. Described as a phone for the user-generated, social networking segment. A good 16-million color screen which can show 30 frames per second and it will come with The Bourne Identity on an SD card in Europe. It is aimed to allow easy uploading to blogs. When in camera mode the lens is in the middle of the back and the shutter button is where you would expect it to be on a camera, and the screen acts as a view finder. It is reported to be sold in the UK for 335 pounds (US$665.4) (all about Symbian), or cheaper with a plan.
–Rokr Z6: This slider phone launches today, and is a music phone and therefore the most likely to be compared to the iPhone. It uses Windows Media Player, Windows DRM, etc… A lot was made about how simple this is, just drag and drop. When the slider is closed it is an MP3 player, when it is open it is a phone.
–MotoQ: Qwerty smartphones (GSM and HSDPA), the Q9 is HSDPA and runs at 3.6 Mbps. Much was made of the improved keyboard design intended to make entering text easier and more reliable. It has 7 dedicated keys that allow the user to “jump from one of the core experiences to one of the other core experiences with one press”. It runs Windows Mobile 6, business applications and the IT department can control the handset (erase data, etc) if need be.
–Razr2: Not a handset but a brand, claims Zander. Slightly thinner than the first Razr, better screen, and perhaps most importantly — more functionality. A full web browser, a good camera that can take multiple shots, Google search, the ability to send video and so on. Nothing particularly new, but then neither was the first Razr in terms of functionality and that has sold over 98 million handsets so far.
Rafat adds: It also announced some content partnerships: it has signed on Napster, where Napster’s subscription service will be available on phones in U.S., UK and Germany. Also, it has formed a partnership with Universal Pictures to show movies on Motorola’s new MOTOZ8 phone when it launches in Europe in June. It is also working with Sony Pictures and Warner Brothers on mobile movie partnerships.
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