Top 5 unique mobile phones

By Damian Koh

We've seen our share of bizarre cell phones on the planet, some of them downright ridiculous, some a hair's breath from making the list of stupidest phones ever. Concept phones are nice to look at, but some are horribly flawed--like the one that requires the user to insert his finger into the appropriate keyhole to dial a number. That said, we did coo over the Transformers mobile bot. But before I digress any further, we've selected five mobile phones (yes, real ones) that are special in one way or another. We've also decided to include the Apple iPhone as an honorable mention, even though we're still sore that we have to wait till 2008 for it in Asia.

Touched by a screen: LG Prada Phone

So the iPhone isn't coming to Asia until 2008? Fine… whatever. The LG Prada Phone is a trendy touchscreen mobile phone that's available in the market now. Synonymous with class and style, the Prada Phone courts the well-heeled and fashion-conscious. It doesn't have the latest features, but beggars can't be choosers, right?

Bend it like Beckham: Moto Z8

Slider phones? Totally passé. The Moto Z8 re-jigged the whole sliding motion with a kick-slide mechanism that curves the phone closer to your mouth and ear. We must say the idea is pretty cool though we're not too sure how useful it will be. Remember the old Nokia banana phone (made famous in Matrix)? It's the same idea here. If you like that one, you'll probably fall in love with this Moto.

Glass act: Nokia 8600 Luna

When it comes to phones crafted from unique materials, Nokia comes to mind. Its 8600 Luna sports an opaque, smoked glass cover over its keypad. Did you just say glass? Yeah, we're still worried it might break if we drop the phone, but who can resist a handset that is romanticized as "mysteriously, it glows, magnetically, it calls", "inspired by moonlight, it pulsates with allure". We can't.

The show must go on: Samsung Ultra Video F500

Here's a candy-bar phone for movie aficionados who need their screen fix. Sit this Samsung on a desktop with the screen facing toward you and you're all ready to catch the latest blockbuster on this DivX-certified device. And when your boss walks past, you can flip the lid down and pretend you're talking to an important client on the earpiece. Quite easily done.

Just shoot me: Sony Ericsson K850i

We're still not convinced that camera-phones will replace dedicated digicams, although the upcoming Cyber-shot K850i may just change our minds. Sony Ericsson isn't the first to have a 5-megapixel shooter, but its Cyber-shot pedigree should have people clamoring for the K850i. Will this Sony Ericsson best the 5-megapixel Nokia N95 in terms of performance and image quality? We'll find out toward the end of the year.

Moto's Z8 hero handset snubbed

One of the summer's biggest mobile launches, and Motorola's hero handset for the year, the Z8, will not be taken on by three of the networks at launch. Orange, T-Mobile and 3 will not be featuring the device in their portfolios on the handset's launch.

An Orange spokesman said: 'The Z8 was one of a number of handsets reviewed by Orange. However, it has not been selected for our final range.'

The device may become available through T-Mobile later in the year as the network is still confirming its range for the second half of 2007. A Motorola spokesman said: 'T-Mobile, like Orange, has not committed at this stage.'

The device was shipping this week and is expected to be in Vodafone stores this Thursday, available on all monthly price plans. Vodafone said it will be free on 'higher end' tariffs on both 18 and 12-month contracts; however, customers will lose out on extra-value offers if they buy the phone on a 12-month plan.

The Z8 will also be available from O2 next week and Carphone Warehouse soon after. Phones 4u said the Z8 is expected to be in stores this weekend, starting with a two-week exclusive on Vodafone. It is unknown which networks the phone will be sold on after the Vodafone exclusive finishes, as devices sold at Phones 4u must be network approved.

Motorola marketing manager James King said: 'With regards to our other partners who are currently not taking the product, hopefully they will look at the success of the product with a view of maybe taking it at a later stage or certainly looking at products that follow on from this leading video phone.

'King said Motorola is confident of the Z8's success. 'Vodafone, O2, Carphone, Phones 4u and distributors 20:20 and Brightstar – they've all been in for this product right from the beginning and we are really excited about the progression of the product,' he said.

The handset was praised in Mobile's Retailer Review.

Motorola has been plugging the kick-slider phone heavily in the run-up to its release with a £5m marketing campaign, describing it as 'the biggest push of the year'.

© Copyright 2007 : Noble House Media Ltd

MOTORIZR Z8 Media Monster Handset launched by Motorola

The very same day that Apple launched its iPhone, Motorola introduced its “media monster” of a mobile phone, not sensing any competition whatsoever! It’s no wonder as Motorola’s Z8 mobile phone comes packed as a complete entertainment center, offering mobile TV, video and music.


In fact, a while ago, we had reported about Motorola’s MOTORIZR Z8 mobile phone. But, now the phone has finally made its retail debit, and what a day to do it as well!

The Motorola Z8 is a kick-slider handset that features a large QVGA 16 million color TFT display. This screen optimizes the viewing experience in both portrait and landscape mode.

The MOTORIZR Z8 handset features an 8x zoom on its 2.0 mega pixel camera with lumi LED light.

In addition to the 80MB of internal memory that comes with the MOTORIZR Z8, you could use the optional 4GB MicroSD memory cards to store up to 12 full length movies or around 70 hours of music, if you require more space.

Other features of the MOTORIZR Z8 phone are:

• 16 million color QVGA display
• 2 megapixel camera with 8x zoom and LED light
• Media player
• 90MB of internal memory
• microSD card slot for up to 4GB
• Connectivity Options: Bluetooth, Infrared, USB, A2DP
• Up to 5 hours talk timeUp to 16 days of stand by time
• Size- 109×50x15mm
• Weight- 112gms

The MOTORIZR Z8 handset ships with an S9 Bluetooth stereo headset, battery charger, microSD 512MB memory card, miniUSB cable and a software CD.

As of now, the MOTORIZR Z8 handset is available in Spain, but will soon be landing in other European and Asian markets as well.

Motorola announced the Z8 at the 3GSM Show; the next in the Motorola family, combining stylish design with quality features

The soon to be released Z8 combines the style of the KRZR K1 with its rival the Samsung D900. A kick slide handset that slides open, similar to the RIZR Z3, but then bends slightly to shape itself to the users face. Measuring 109 x 50 x 15 mm, and weighing in at 112 g, it is set to be the first Motorola to be sold on features rather than looks.

The Z8 is a HSDPA handset with Symbian OS and 3.5G, allowing you to access internet content quickly. With a 90MB internal memory and a MicroSD slot for up to 4GB expansion the Z8 can hold hours of music and video content. Motorola have given the Z8 a 2 megapixel camera, VGA video calling camera, 2.2 inch screen, hi-fi audio quality and integrated music player to rival the Sony Ericsson Walkman phones.

The Motorola Z8 is due for release in May 2007.