Motorola to Launch CRZR, RIZR Phones
Motorola this week unveiled two new additions to its RAZR-inspired mobile phone lineup, along with introducing a new low-cost handset for emerging markets called the MOTOFONE that is a mere 9mm thick.
The KRZR, pronounced "Crazer," is a narrower version of the RAZR with a sleek polished chrome exterior. It sports a 2.0-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth audio and new messaging applications. Responding to years of customer complaints, Motorola says it has also updated the phone's contacts directory.
Although it is compatible with GSM networks as well, the CDMA version of the KRZR will provide high-speed data support through EVDO and feature touch-sensitive music controls in addition to location-based functionality.
The RIZR is a slider variant of the RAZR, enabling the phone to be used when open and closed. The display can be viewed in landscape mode, and the phone also boasts a 2.0-megapixel camera and built-in audio player.
For regions where such feature-packed phones are not affordable, Motorola has introduced the MOTOFONE, which is based on its new SCPL platform. The handset is the company's thinnest yet, but includes only basic phone functionality and a monochrome electrophoretic display like those used in e-book readers.
The interface of the MOTOFONE has been redesigned around icons and voice rather than text, making it easier to navigate and more compatible with local languages. The device has been designed with prepaid customers in mind, displaying the status of the user's account after each call.
“Disruption creates opportunity, and the best way to stay ahead is to create disruption yourself,” said Ron Garriques, the head of Motorola's handset division. “That’s the philosophy behind the new MOTOFONE. By changing expectations regarding what a phone can look like, feel like, and deliver, Motorola hopes to change the entire playing field for handset development.”
The MOTOFONE will be available in both CDMA and GSM variants in the second half of 2006. The RIZR and CRZR will also make their debut later this year. No pricing for the new handsets has been announced.