Motorola on Monday introduced a new phone design, which slides open and bends to bring the microphone closer to the user's mouth.
The Rizr Z8, unveiled at the 3GSM wireless trade show in Barcelona,
uses software from Symbian, which specializes in advanced cell
phones and is more often found in phones from Nokia , Motorola's
bigger rival.
The new high-speed wireless Rizr Z8 slides open to reveal a
keyboard and, unlike traditional sliders, it has an automatic hinge
that tilts the keyboard and locks the phone into a V-shape to make
it easier to talk into.
The Rizr Z8 will also support television-quality video play back
and has a slot for a memory card with up to 4 gigabytes of storage
space, Motorola said.
The product will be Motorola's fourth phone based on Symbian
technology. Nokia is the biggest shareholder of Symbian, which also
has investments from smaller handset makers Sony Ericsson and
Samsung and network equipment maker Ericsson .
Motorola also said on Monday it would bring out new versions of its
Q phone, which has a miniature computer keyboard, starting in the
second quarter.