CTIA 2005
Although Rich got to spend time with the new designer line of phones at 3GSM, at least the PEBL V6 and SLVR V8, this is the first time we could spend some real time with each one and get some good pictures for you.
When they're all spread out on the table before you, it's not really like phone porn since there's no soft lighting or ugly guy to make the hot girl look hotter. They're just a bunch of well designed phones, but viewed one at a time, you can see the effort that Motorola put into the design and finish of each of the phones. While doing it in an American way, each of these phones seems to represent a shift to a more Japanese way of thinking about handsets. They aren't just something you make calls on, they are something you spend alot of time with, and that should be as elegant an experience as possible.
Although it may not be the top of the designer line technologically, the PEBL is probably the most impressive design wise.
From the dark chrome finish to the smooth uninterrupted lines, the PEBL is a looker, which we can't help compare to the Penck - a round black phone recently launched on KDDI in Japan. The vertical external display is set into the surface of the cover and dark enough (it's a white on black lcd) that it doesn't even break the curves. The cable port is even integrated into the hinge to preserve the curve of the phone's edges. The hinge is also unique - Instead of flipping the phone open you actually pull the lid down towards the bottom of the phone a bit and it pops open, which makes the phone much easier to open one handed.
Considering Motorola wouldn't even let anyone snap pictures of the keypad at 3GSM, we expected something different. What they did was change the color to match the finish better. Otherwise, it's still a smooth surface like many of the other designer phone keypads, however it feels like plastic instead of metal, which kind of makes it feel like a microwave oven keypad. Moreso since like the RAZR and other designer phones, there is a solenoid click beneath each "key."
The last photo shows Motorola's new SCREEN3 technology. Basically it's a homescreen plugin that allows the carrier to push news and other content to your phone, like RSS on your phone. The intention is that carriers could send you news, weather and other useful information. Before you flip out that your carrier will use it to push spam non-stop to your homescreen, relax. If it gets bad, you can turn it off and hide it.
CES 2006
Review: LG VX-8100
LG VX-3300 / 3280
LG VI-125
LG VX-8100
