Motorola Aura

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The Aura isn't a mainstream phone and the fact that it comes from Motorola in the face of hard times is surprising. This is the outfit we all know that gave the world the iconic StarTAC and Razr. Bear in mind that the Aura isn't as much a phone as it is a fashion accessory. With the Aura, the company has shown that it still has the chops to introduce something different, unique even, though this may hardly be the most appropriate time to introduce a luxury handset.

Will the Aura lift the phone-maker from its financial woes and company troubles? We doubt so, but at least we can envision it in the hands of Vertu users downgrading with the economy. They are probably the only people who can afford this US$2,000 handset.

The retail box is decked out in polished wood.
(click for larger image)

Design

The Aura plucks it design roots from the original V70, with some serious sprucing up. For the money, you get a stainless steel chassis, ball bearing mechanism, sapphire crystal lens, beautifully manicured textured surface, complete with a retail box decked out in polished wood. It's a really handsome package, that much we can say. The moment you pick up the phone, you can instantly feel the heft (140g), which should help you get over the initial sticker shock.

There's a tiny window at the back where you can watch the rotary mechanism in action when you swivel open the phone. The Aura snaps open reassuringly in either direction (so it doesn't matter if you are a right- or left-hander), but it has to return the opposite way as the swivel doesn't go full circle.

The Aura comes with a brilliant and sharp circular display which Moto claims is a world's first. We can't remember the last time we saw a round screen on a handset. Probably never. The LCD has a diameter of 1.55 inches with a 480-pixel, 300dpi resolution and has a cover made of sapphire crystal which is known to be one of the most scratch-resistant materials on Earth. We put the claim to test with our keys and even a mechanical pencil, to no effect. The screen remained stubbornly blemish-free.

The only nitpick we have with the Aura is the keypad. It felt flimsy and the layout was barely tolerable. Because of the hemispheric bottom edge, the * and # buttons ended up with awkward shapes and smaller surface areas.

Tags: Motorola Inc., Awk, LCD, window, handset

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