Today, Motorola unveiled a trio of new multimedia-centric phones at what seems to be a very unlikely locale: the Miami Music Multimedia Summit in Florida. But when you consider that these handsets include MotoMixer (a DJ application for mixing your own ring tones), a built-in camera, and varying degrees of MP3 audio and MPEG-4 video playback, you'll agree it's the perfect venue--two models even have speakers. Then again, we expected as much, as the company launched its fashion-forward 2002 line in Milan, Italy, and its next-generation 2003 line in Shanghai, China.
The company made two particularly noteworthy announcements with these phones. First, the E398 uses SanDisk's new removable T-Flash memory, which is a much smaller version of a Secure Digital card and will eventually have a capacity of up to 1GB. Also, the E680 is the third cell phone to use the Linux OS. But that's not all the E680 has going for it. It also has an SD slot, an integrated MP3 player and FM radio, a built-in VGA camera and video recorder, a 65,000-color touch-screen display, Bluetooth, and USB connectivity. All models will be available by the end of 2004, and as soon as we get firm release dates, we'll include them in our monthly cell phone release calendar.
The company made two particularly noteworthy announcements with these phones. First, the E398 uses SanDisk's new removable T-Flash memory, which is a much smaller version of a Secure Digital card and will eventually have a capacity of up to 1GB. Also, the E680 is the third cell phone to use the Linux OS. But that's not all the E680 has going for it. It also has an SD slot, an integrated MP3 player and FM radio, a built-in VGA camera and video recorder, a 65,000-color touch-screen display, Bluetooth, and USB connectivity. All models will be available by the end of 2004, and as soon as we get firm release dates, we'll include them in our monthly cell phone release calendar.
| Phone model | Provider/network | Date available | What's cool about it | |
Motorola C650 |
GSM 900/1800/1900; GPRS | Q2 2004 | MP3 ring tones; integrated VGA (640x480) 4X zoom camera; MMS; 65,000-color, 128x128-pixel display; speakerphone; J2ME (Java) support for games and applications; USB connectivity | |
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Motorola E398 |
GSM 900/1800/1900; GPRS | 1st half of 2004 | Integrated MP3 player with 64MB of T-Flash removable memory; dual 16mm 22KHz stereo speakers with vibration for 3D stereo surround sound; MP3 ring tones; flashing rhythm lights; integrated VGA (640x480) camera with flash; MPEG-4 video player; 65,000-color, 176x220-pixel TFT display; Bluetooth; J2ME (Java) support for games and applications; USB connectivity | |
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Motorola E680 |
GSM 900/1800/1900; GPRS | 2nd half of 2004 | Integrated MP3 player with 48MB of internal memory and removable SD card; RealPlayer software; stereo headset; FM radio; MP3 ring tones; built-in VGA (640x480) 8X zoom camera; MPEG-4 video recorder/player; 65,000-color, 340x320-pixel touch-screen display; MMS; Linux OS; gaming capabilities include 3D graphics, eight-way navigation key, and dedicated gaming keys; J2ME (Java) support for games and applications; Bluetooth; USB connectivity | |
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You may recognize CNET section editor Joni Blecher in her other role as the Cell Phone Diva.
