Motorola KRZR K3, RIZR Z8 and Moto Q EDGE Preview

Announcement expected February 2007
25th January 2007

A sneak preview of three new Motorola handsets due to be announced next month demonstrates that Motorola isn't looking to do anything too radical, it's a case of more of the same.. but just a little bit different.

Motorola KRZR K3

A 3G variant of the Motorola KRZR K1, the K3 (pictured right) follows broadly the same design. It has a 2 megapixel primary camera, secondary camera for video calling and a QVGA (240x320 pixel) main display. The K3's size and weight are anticipated to be pretty much the same as the K1.

(Note: this has now been officially announced - read more)

Although ShowMyMobile.com maintains that we really don't need any more RAZR variants, the KRZR is certainly a distinctive and attractive 3G phone.

Motorola RIZR Z8

The third addition to the RIZR line of sliders, the Motorola RIZR Z8 (pictured left) is another 3G device that appears to be similar to the RIZR Z6.

We don't know if this is going to be a Linux smartphone like the Z6, but our guess is that the RIZR Z8 is a straight upgrade of the Z6 platform, although it does appear to be a little bulkier.

(Note: the RIZR Z8 has now been officially announced - read more).

Motorola Moto Q EDGE

Another significant handset in Motorola's lineup will be the Moto Q EDGE (pictured right). Expected to be a straight port of the existing CDMA Moto Q to the GSM platform, the Moto Q EDGE has been expected for a long, long time.

Had the Moto Q EDGE hit the market a year ago, it might well have made an enormous impact. As it is, this particular market segment is becoming crowded and it is likely that the Moto Q will struggle to make an impact.

(Note: this has now been officially announced - read more).

Other upcoming Motorola releases

Two more variants of the Motorola Moto Q are in the pipeline under the Moto-Q² banner - one is an HSDPA model, the other an EV-DO variant. This will bring broadband speeds to the Moto Q which may well give it the competitive edge that ill will need in 2007.

On top of this there will be a slew of budget handsets - the Motorola W360, W208 and W205 are low cost monoblock (candy bar) phones, the W510, W395 and W375 appear to be somewhat RAZR-esque clamshells.

On top of this, we expect to see more handsets in the SCPL lineup (following on from the excellent Motorola MOTOFONE), but this time with 3G and HSDPA support.

The anticipated announcement date for these devices will be the 12th to the 15th February at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona.

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