Motorola's done it again. In yet another visual treat that defies today's diet trend, including its very own blade-thin Razr series, the PEBL embraces and celebrates the ample with rubenesque curves that crave to be touched. Drawing inspiration from volcanic pebble rubbed smooth by the ebb and flow of the sea, this handset goes beyond looks to the sensory.

Design
Having achieved a startling post-StarTac comeback with the 13.9mm-thin Razr, Motorola is once again proving that it can push the design envelope to deliver the "whoa" products desired by CEO Ed Zander. Where the Razr is all edgy, hard angles, the PEBL is curvy and organically Mother Earth. Wrapped in a lustrous silky smooth material, the PEBL makes you want to rub and handle it, much like zen meditation orbs.

In keeping with the road less traveled, Motorola has employed a vertical LCD screen on the outside. Unfortunately, keeping to the color theme has meant a tradeoff, with the two-line LCD in monochrome and text-only. This displays time, battery strength, reception status and ID info, and is illuminated by a UV-like purplish backlight.

Integrated into the panel design, at the bottom, is the VGA camera lens. This may be an oversight since the protective glass piece has a tendency to hold onto finger smudges. This, in turn, may obscure images taken, which may be why Motorola has provided a screen cleaning pad for good measure. At the back lies the speaker, a position we don't really fancy as the sound tends to discharge from behind rather than in front where it makes more sense.

Motorola has opted for black plastic keys to sit flushed along the sides. You'll find the volume and user-definable SMART keys on the left, plus Voice Key on the right for voice commands and recording voice notes. The chrome hinge adds, rather than subtracts, from the overall look, giving the PEBL enough of a masculine highlight to attract the male user as well. The hinge conceals the miniUSB connector for charging and syncing, which is itself hidden behind a tightly sealed rubber plug.

The US company again eschews convention when it comes to opening the handset. To get a kick out of this, watch as you ask a clueless colleague to flip it open. He'll turn red in the face trying to figure out and pry apart this bivalve. The trick lies in sliding the upper lid of the clamshell downwards, which releases the catch. This in turn springs the cover open rather responsively, one must add.

Inside is a Razr-looking keypad. The feel is more plastic than metallic, but makes up for this by a rather unusual flat keypad marked by raised wavy etchings; again, keeping it all very tactile. What surprises is that once past the initial adjustment, the alignment of the keys feels well-placed and spacious enough for big thumbs and long fingernails. So texting should be nice and easy.

Two gripes: The five-way navigation joystick with its center select is a tad too flat and small to be accurate. The two soft keys are also a little too high up to provide a comfortable reach for shorter thumbs.

No complaints with the 262K-color screen which we reckon is brilliant enough to satisfy even fastidious Samsung handset connoisseurs. However, like most phones, it's almost impossible to make out the display under direct sunlight, not to mention that it's a fingerprint magnet.

Features
More fashion than function, the triband PEBL isn't going to amaze users with astounding high-end features.

We already know it offers a 0.3-megapixel onboard camera sans photo light, which is disappointing given that most camera-phones have moved beyond the 1-megapixel mark. Though considering the measly 5MB of memory onboard, it's just as well the resolution is pegged at 640 x 480 pixels (about 50KB)--which, in short, means the images are good for mostly picture IDs, MMS and wallpaper themes. There's also no dedicated camera shutter button, so don't get too excited about getting in some impulse shots. Settings are limited to effects, contrast adjustments, and a self-timer.

The limited storage should cue you in that there's no support for full MP3 playback, though MP3 files can at least be set as ringtones.

Video recording with audio is in the 3GP format and limited to 30 seconds. You'll want to note that you can't zoom while recording, which is a bummer for those seeking some creative control.

The PEBL's MIDI ringtones are decent enough, though not quite on par with the 40-chord and above polyphony found in high-end handsets.

Connectivity is via Bluetooth, USB, GPRS Class 10 and WAP 2.0. The PEBL is also able to check email on the road through POP3, IMAP4, and SMTP protocols. There's Java for games, but again watch that limited memory space.

Performance
Motorola's greatest failing has always been its iTap messaging system, and this still remains frustrating and cumbersome to use in the PEBL. Nor does the menu support fast, easy navigation. You'll have to set up shortcuts for those menu items buried in submenus to achieve some measure of flexibility and speed. Suffice to say it pays to invest some time in the user manual.

Speaker-independent voice commands are part of the PEBL's features, and this apparently works as well with Bluetooth headsets though we never got to test this out. Users can launch programs, dial numbers, take down voice memos, and look up contacts via the Voice Key feature. There's just one serious flaw: You can't attach voice command for phonebook entries stored on the SIM card. Otherwise, the voice feature works well enough, with the option to train the phone to recognize your voice by pressing Settings > Personalize > Voice Dial Setup > Adapt Digits.

The PEBL's 740mAh Lithium-ion battery is rated for up to 6.6 hours of talktime and a maximum of 250 hours on standby. The mobile was good for about three days of average usage comprising mainly calls and SMS with occasional use of the phone's other applications.

Reception with the PEBL seemed good, and sound was sharp and clear, though the 22KHz speaker had its low moments--a consequence, we feel, of being located at the back. At the loudest speaker volume, the handset suffered slight vibrations.

The highest SAR value tested on this phone was 0.8W/kg, which is below the SAR limit of 2W/kg.

Conclusion
At S$538 with a two-year plan and S$688 without, you could probably buy a fuller-featured handset with much friendly texting. But let's face it. There's no other phone like the PEBL out there right now, and it's assuredly one you'll never tire of touching and handling in your palm. That is, until the next object of desire comes along.