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Alltel now has the Moto Razr VE20

(Credit: Alltel)

Alltel has joined the list of carriers that are refusing to let the Motorola Razr die. On Monday, it announced that it was launching its own version of the Motorola Razr VE20.

The thin, shiny phone, which is currently offered by Sprint, comes in a blue and silver color scheme but it offers all of the same features as the Sprint model. Inside you'll find a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, an MP3 player, GPS, a microSD card slot, and 3G EV-DO support. Also, it supports Alltel's signature Celltop application. The Alltel VE20 is $99.99 with service.

Sanyo Katana Eclipse

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

Sprint brought back two popular cell phones for another round on Sunday when it announced new versions of the Sanyo Katana and the Motorola Razr.

Sporting thin designs (of course) with GPS and multimedia-friendly feature sets, the Sanyo Katana Eclipse and the Motorola Razr VE20 offer two takes on the thin-phone craze that just won't go away. And before you start grumbling about rehashed versions of ancient designs, we advise you to give these models a decent look.

The VE20 is more like the original Razr V3m than the Razr2 V9, but it shows some design tweaks that give it its own style. Performance is great, particularly the music and video quality, and call quality wasn't bad, either.

The Sanyo Katana Eclipse also shows some design tweaks over the original Katana. The feature set is similar to the Razr VE20, though its 1.3-megapixel camera is a step down from the Razr VE20's 2-megapixel shooter. Performance was satisfying, thought not quite as sharp as on the Moto phone.

Motorola Razr VE20

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

Both phones are $99 with service. For the full story, check out our Motorola Razr VE20 review or our Sanyo Katana Eclipse review. Or for just the beauty shots, take a gander at the Razr VE20 slide show or the Katana Eclipse slide show.

(Credit: PhoneArena.com)

(Credit: PhoneArena.com)

If you can't wait 'til Sunday to see the newest Motorola Razr, PhoneArena.com has published a few (slightly blurry) pictures for your early perusal.

The site describes the mid-range flip phone as a mashup of the V9m's feature set and the V3m's styling, "though it has been given a (questionable) design refresh."

The new Sprint-exclusive phone features a 2-megapixel camera, a "crisp" inner display, and a touch-sensitive strip on the outer display like the V9m has.

Through the blurriness, you can probably tell that the device has a shiny mirrored front and scarlet accents. Have a squint and tell us: how does the new Razr look to you?

And stay tuned. CNET's Kent German will take a look at the VE20, once it officially lands in Sprint's lineup.

(Credit: Crave Asia)

Remember the shameless phone that tried to pull a Ferrari stunt? Forget that. Here's the almost real deal--the Moto Razr2 V9 Ferrari Special Edition. Granted, that differences between this and the original Razr2 V9 are purely cosmetic, but at least you won't be on the receiving end of stifled giggles. In case you're worried people can't tell it's a special-edition phone, the top LCD will show a big Ferrari logo when the handset is open. And if they still don't get it, show them you mean business by playing the racing car ringtones on repeat. See more photos here.

(Source: Crave Asia)

Kent German, CNET's cell phones guru, answers your questions about cell phones, services, and accessories and reports on the state of the industry. Send him a question!

You can't talk about Motorola's cell phone division without hearing gloomy predictions about its future. Such a prognosis is understandable considering the litany of bad news that's come out of the company over the past year. Indeed, plummeting earnings, layoffs, executive departures, and Carl Ichan haven't done much for Moto's image. Yet, I'm struck by how the cell phone world appears to be shrugging off the decline of a storied and pioneering company. Instead of hearing a lot of hand wringing over Moto's troubles, many consumer and industry watchers seem to be content to let Moto go.

An old classic.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

This sentiment is both unfortunate and uncalled for. While Moto is largely responsible for its declining market share, I don't think it deserves the schadenfreude that goes along with it. We're not talking about some two-bit company; we're talking about a firm that gave us some of the most popular cell phones ever. We can't underestimate the impact of models such as the Startac and the V60, nor can we forget that Moto's iDEN phones continue to power Nextel. And I couldn't have agreed more when PC Magazine's Sascha Segan explained the dangers of a world without Moto. While competitors such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson consider North America an afterthought, Motorola gives equal attention to its home market. Instead of waiting in line behind Europe and Asia to get Moto's phones, usually we get them first. That's a benefit I don't want to lose.

History, however, can be a strength and a hindrance. When we talk about Moto now, we talk more about its past glories than its current hits. Like many of my colleagues, I've criticized the company over the past couple years for that very reason--it's been a long time since it has wowed us with something completely new. Just consider what Moto's record this year. After an exciting CES where it introduced the promising Rokr E8, it barely made a ripple at GSMA and at CTIA, it gave us just the Motorola Z9. Though the Z9 proved to be a satisfying phone, it was more of the same.

Moto's last big hit

(Credit: CNET Networks)

I'm confident that Moto has the potential to surprise us, and I'm hopeful that it successfully spins off its cell phone business as it has promised. At CTIA CEO Greg Brown insisted that the company is committed to the mobile business but the Wall Street Journal isn't too optimistic on the prospect. The newspaper estimates that an independent cell phone division would need about $4 billion to support itself. It also reported that Hewlett-Packard executive Todd Bradley, who was being considered to head the new company, has pulled his name from consideration.

I'm not going to postulate about what Moto needs to do to save itself. Frankly, that's already been discussed many times over and I don't think I'd have anything new to say. But let me tell you a story. In late 2005, about a year after the iconic Razr V3 went on sale, I had the chance to ask former CEO Ed Zander what the Razr meant to his company. He replied that it had a huge effect not only on the company's external its external but also its internal morale. Because of the Razr, Zander said, Moto's employees began to believe in the company again and that it could do great things. After riding the Razr wave for so long, I wonder if the company still believes that. Please don't hang up on us Mototola, this is one caller that would hate to see you go.

Would you mourn Motorola? Let us know below.

Check out the columns in the On Call archive

(Credit: Techie Diva)

Of all the major car companies that have co-branded phones, Ferrari seems to have the most versions, flags-down--and it can't seem to make up its mind on which one it likes best.

Last year luxury phone maker Vertu announced its "Ascent Ferrari 1947 Limited Edition" just months after the "Razr Maxx V6 Ferrari Challenge Mobile Phone" was unveiled. Now it's apparently come full circle back to Motorola with its "V9 Ferrari Edition."

At the risk of suffering Razr fatigue, as Techie Diva says, the latest model doesn't look all that different except for the familiar stallion logo, trademark red hues, and checkered-flag panels. It does come with a leather case, but the specs are the same as the standard handset. True Enzo loyalists who want to state their allegience in an unmistakeable way may opt for the F1 phone instead.

(Credit: Chip Chick)

You can't really blame the makers of this "Blade Runner" MP3 player if they go all-out on the marketing front despite its mediocre features. Given the cult status of its namesake movie classic, just about anything bearing that title might well send droves of fans reaching for their wallets.

But we agree with Chip Chick that it looks as if it were made from leftover Razr cases, which doesn't help its 2GB of storage, 1.8-inch display, and other decidedly unimpressive specs. And we're curious to know if any copyright issues will be raised, because we'll go out on a limb and guess that this isn't a studio-sanctioned product. With or without the unicorn.

If the spare contents of your wallet dictate your dining destination, you'll want to know of this reprieve. Cellfire (hands-on review), offers coupon deals with more than 10,000 local U.S. restaurants and services, and chains. With custom-built applications for BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Symbian, the RAZR, and Nokia phones, Cellfire has rounded the smartphone bases. A WAP site--www.cellfire.com--that works with iPhone and other Internet-enabled devices brings the app home.

>>See all First Look videos

(Credit: Motorola)

Maybe they're just freaked out over the iPhone's success, but other handset makers seem to be getting even a little nuttier than usual lately with their designs. The latest is Motorola, which not only applied the Midas touch to its Razr2 V8 Luxury Edition, but is now making it even more exotic with a faux snakeskin wrapper to complement its 18k and 24k accents, according to BornRich. We're holding out for ostrich.