ON MOTOROLA'S NEXT SHOT AT THE iPHONE

NO CIGAR

I know Motorola is hurting vs. Nokia this year in the eyes of Wall Street.  I know Nokia is trading at all-time highs* given it's rich product portfolio and market-leading position in many high-growth overseas markets, as this Business 2.0 article explains (reverse pair-trade anybody?). 

It's top-of-the-line N95 ($750 unlocked without rebates) is selling in the hundreds of thousands in the U.S, WITHOUT any major carrier support, and a lot more overseas (see this GigaOm post for more). 

That sales record makes Apple's iPhone look like a 95-pound weakling in comparison (for now).

So of course my interest perked up seeing these simultaneous press releases from both Verizon and Sprint announcing the next version of Motorola's "MOTORAZR2" V9 phone, all tricked up to do video on their respective high-speed, EV-DO networks.

And I know both Verizon and Sprint have been left out of the iPhone gravy-train for a couple of years, so they need some really cool-looking, high-end phones.

The phone looks nice, like a...RAZR.

And I know it's got a lot more bells and whistles than just high-speed video.  Instead of an i-Phone touch-screen, the device features "touch-sensitive" keys for users looking to "staying in touch on the go". And while it doesn't have without the email whiz-bang of a Blackberry, you can peck out an email using the numerical keypad.  CNET's Crave has a good run-down on the features and the various colors available from each carrier.

Despite all the features, the new RAZR V9 reminded me of a really tricked up pick-up truck, you know, like Big Foot 5 here.

Is it just me?

*  Just in case you can't read the chart, the red line is Nokia's stock price over the past year, as compared to Motorola in blue.

Comments

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