Motorola introduces ROKR E8 phone with iPhone-like touch screen

Motorola is showing off a new lineup of ROKR devices at CES, with the E8 mobile phone kicking off the next-generation of music phones from the company. While the original ROKR was iTunes compatible, the E8 focuses on MP3 and supports Windows Media files.

The E8 features a "ModeShift" button to quick change between the device's phone and music interfaces, a new "FastScroll" navigation wheel developed by Motorola to quickly browse songs, and a 2.0-inch QVGA display. The device includes 2GB of internal memory for storying files, and sports a microSD slot for expanding storage.

Like Apple's iPhone, the ROKR E8 has a touch screen that provides tactile feedback when a button is pressed.

"With one "press" of the virtual music key, the phone keypad disappears and control keys for the music player -- play, pause, fast forward and rewind -- appear in its place," says Motorola. The phone has a built-in speaker, along with a standard headphone jack and Bluetooth headset compatibility.

The ROKR E8 is schedule to launch in the US sometime this quarter, although pricing has not been disclosed as of yet. Alongside the new device, Motorola will be shipping two speaker systems and a Bluetooth headset.