Motorola sharpens its RAZR lineup
CHICAGO, US --"Life after RAZR", as Motorola CEO and chairman Ed Zander said in his opening address, sure seems like an appropriate theme for Motorola's latest phone launch at its 2006 Analyst Meeting held in Chicago, US, as the company announced five new handsets. Among them were two smaller RAZR models known as KRZR as well as a slider offering called RIZR. The handset maker also added two new RAZR clamshells, the RAZR MAXX and RAZR XX, both of which support 3G and HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access).
In a press statement, Ron Garriques, president of Mobile Devices for Motorola, said: "With Moto KRZR and Moto RIZR, we've achieved a new combination of thin and rich--honoring our commitment to design while adding new form factors and additional features".
The KRZR will be introduced in two versions: The GSM model known as KRZR K1 and the CDMA unit called the KRZR K1m. While both handsets sport a similar form factor (which in turn resembles the Motorola W375) and a metallic gloss finish, there are several key differences between the two. The slightly bigger K1m features a 1.3-megapixel camera and external touch-sensor music controls (think LG Chocolate and Samsung SGH-E900), while the K1 comes with a 2-megapixel sensor sans music playback buttons.
While some journalists were expecting to see the RAZR Z slider at the launch, Motorola surprised many with the RIZR, supposedly a slider version of the KRZR with quadband support and integrated 2-megapixel camera.
The mobile giant also signaled its intentions to hop onto the HSDPA bandwagon with two new 3G RAZRs. The RAZR MAXX adds HSDPA, a metal-and-glass finish, and a thinner chassis to the V3x. The RAZR XX seems like a 3G- and HSDPA-enabled version of the V3i, among other features and cosmetic enhancements.
Although Motorola could not confirm the exact Asian availability dates of its new handsets, they can be expected in the second half of 2006, with the exception of the KRZR K1m which will be introduced only in CDMA markets. The KRZR and RIZR phones will also be launched with complementary Bluetooth headsets, the H601 and H800.
Motorola, which recently sold its 50th million RAZR handset coincidentally in Chicago, has announced plans to sell 500 million units next, according to the company CEO. In addition, several new products have been announced for the US market such as the EV-DO-enabled SLVR L7c, Motorola MING smartphone and Moto Qee (enterprise edition) with push email support. The company has also confirmed the availability of the green RAZR for South Korea.
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In a nutshell |
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Cool factor: Slender version of the RAZR clamshell with glass front cover and premium features.
Other notable frills:
Quadband with EDGE and GPRS Class 12
2-megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom
Supports stereo Bluetooth and J2ME
Video capture and playback
1.9-inch 176x220-pixel TFT display with 262K-colors
Onboard music player
microSD card expansion slot
42 x 103 x 16mm; 103g
Expected: Second half of 2006
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Cool factor: CDMA version of the KRZR with external touch-sensor music controls.
Other notable frills:
CDMA 800/1900; CDMA 1X/EV-DO
1.3-megapixel camera
Supports Bluetooth and location-based services
1.9-inch 176x220-pixel TFT display with 65K-colors
Onboard music and video player
microSD card expansion slot
44 x 103 x 17mm; 103g
Expected: Second half of 2006
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Cool factor: A slider version of the KRZR K1.
Other notable frills:
Quadband with EDGE and GPRS Class 12
2-megapixel camera with hi-intensity light and full-screen viewfinder
Supports stereo Bluetooth
Video capture and playback
1.9-inch 176x220-pixel TFT display with 262K-colors
Onboard music player
20MB onboard with microSD card expansion slot
45.5 x 105.5 x 16mm; 115g
Expected: Second half of 2006
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Cool factor: A 3G RAZR with 3.6Mbps HSDPA in a smaller form factor than the V3x.
Other notable frills:
Triband with 3G, HSDPA (3.6Mbps), EDGE and GPRS Class 10
2-megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom; VGA camera
Supports Bluetooth
Video capture and playback
2.2-inch 240x320-pixel TFT internal display with 262K-colors
Onboard music player
50MB onboard with microSD card expansion slot
53.3 x 104.1 x 15.24mm; 105g
Expected: Second half of 2006
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Cool factor: A lower-spec version of the RAZR MAXX
Other notable frills:
Triband with 3G and HSDPA (3.6Mbps)
1.3-megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom; VGA camera
Supports stereo Bluetooth (A2DP)
Video capture and playback
2.2-inch QVGA TFT display with 262K-colors
Onboard music player with Media Finder
microSD card expansion slot
53 x 102.9 x 14.9mm; 103g
Expected: Second half of 2006
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