Verizon announces the Motorola Krave.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)Better late then never, we say. Two years after its original debut, the Motorola Ming has made its way to the United States. But it's not exactly the Motorola Ming; rather, it's a variant called the Motorola Krave ZN4. Launching today with Verizon Wireless, the Krave ZN4 is one of the coolest phones we've seen in a while. Check out our full Krave ZN4 review and our Krave slide show.
The Krave offers the same basic design that resembles a Star Trek communicator. Yet, it adds more features while offering innovative design tweaks to an intuitive and easy-to-use touch interface. We had a couple of complaints--there's still no Wi-Fi, camera editing options are few, and the Web browser takes acclimation--but the Krave remains a sharp and satisfying device that's sure to become a conversation piece. Performance was agreeable as well, and we loved the bargain basement price of $149 with a two-year contract.
(Credit:
Dell)
The formerly buttoned-up, conservative Dell is clearly still exploring its creative side. First, it started wearing a beret, next we can expect it to grow a beard, start wearing all black, and hit open-mic night at the local cafe twice a week at this rate.
After its first go-round allowing Brooklyn, N.Y.-based urban artist Mike Ming to decorate its Inspiron 1525 laptop, the PC maker has come back for more.
This time, Dell has slathered Ming's tattoo-like designs on its Dell Studio 15-inch and 17-inch notebooks. There's the "Seaweed" design, pictured above, as well as "Sunburst," and "Red Swirl."
Both the Studio 15 and 17 come in Standard and Extreme editions--Extreme gets you 3GB of memory and a 320GB hard drive, while Standard means 2GB of memory and a 250GB hard drive.
The 15-inch starts at $799, the 17-inch at $999, and they are available for order now on Dell's Web site.
Motorola Ming A1600
(Credit: GSM Arena)Of the growing number of smartphones with integrated GPS, you can now add the Motorola Ming to the list. Yes, you can now wheel and deal with the new Motorola Ming A1600 and the Motorola Ming A1800, which were just announced this week. The next-gen models of the Motorola Ming A1200 both feature a 2.4-inch QVGA touch screen, Bluetooth (with support for the A2DP profile), a microSD expansion slot that accepts up to 4GB cards, and a 3-megapixel camera. Like the Nokia N78, you can use the camera in combination with the GPS to geotag your photos. Sadly, both Linux-based smartphones lack Wi-Fi and 3G support. However, the A1600 offers quad-band world roaming, and the A1800 has dual-mode functionality so it works on both GSM and CDMA networks. No word yet on pricing or availability date.
[Sources: Engadget Mobile via GSM Arena]
Motorola Ming
(Credit: CNET Networks)The Motorola Ming (also known as the 1200) is nothing new, but without a supporting U.S. carrier the sexy phone has been a bit scarce in this country since its introduction last year. But this week we noticed that Moto is showing the Ming on its U.S. Web site with an invitation to learn more. Could this be a sign that the phone will move past pricey unlocked status to full carrier respectability? Besides asking us to register for more information, the page doesn't tell us much concerning availability. But we really hope we'll see more of the device soon.
As a reminder, the Ming is a Linux-based smart phone with a 2.4-inch, 320x240-pixel touch screen display. Features on the GSM handset include quad-band world phone support, handwriting recognition, a speakerphone, polyphonic sound, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, an FM radio, POP3 and IMAP4 e-mail support, a 2-megapixel camera with digital zoom and macro mode, video recording and playback, a RealPlayer media player, and a microSD card expansion slot. The A1200 measures 3.8 inches by 2.0 inches by 0.9 inch and weighs 4.3 ounces.
Motorola Rizr
(Credit: Motorola)Motorola today announced a new music service that partners with Microsoft and Warner Music Group to bring your favorite tunes to select Motorola handsets. MotoMusic eventually will allow users to download music over 3G networks and organize it on their phones with other music-related content. The service will debut initially on the Motorola Rizr, the company's spiffy slider handset based on the Motorola Rizr line and the Linux-based Motorola Ming, aka the A1200.
Motorola Ming
(Credit: Motorola)The Rizr will be compatible with Microsoft Windows Media Player subscription stores. Users will be able to sync Media Player files between their phones and their computers using a USB cable. The Rizr also will be compatbile with more than 200 other music stores. The Ming comes integrated with a RealPlayer music player and offers multiple file audio support and an FM radio.
Motorola's alliance with Warner Music Group will bring additional music content to the devices including full-length songs, ring tones, music videos, and wallpapers. Meanwhile, the Moto Experience will be available to phones as a single file download that will bring even more music-related content.
Moto didn't announce exact pricing and availability as of this writing, but we expect to see MotoMusic by the middle of this year. The company also expects to introduce several 3G handsets that will allow users to download music wirelessly over an operator's 3G network.
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