Can Motorola's RAZR2 Edge Out Apple's iPhone?

Apple's (AAPL) iPhone is certainly the biggest buzz phone, but it's also going to be a big phone. Motorola (MOT) might keep its thunder for many consumers due to lucrative signing deals with many carriers and its slim, sleek design. According to the stats that Motorola is hounding, the new RAZR2 will be 10x better than it's predecessor (the original RAZR of two years ago, selling over 98 million handsets worldwide), including a processor that is 10x faster, 2 GB of on-board memory and a chemically hardened exterior that is scratch resistant. The camera is only 2 MP though (but they say it can take up to 2 hours of video), but the 2.2" QVGA internal display should be fantastic. New RAZR 2 will also have three models: "the V9 [3G HSDPA], V9m [EVDO CDMA] and V8 [GSM] - will be available to users of all three major technology networks" [Motorola Launch]. Motorola has also paired up with Apple's media rival, Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows Media Player, for playback (although the OS on the phone is a proprietary Motorola Linux OS -- no RIM OS or Windows Mobile, but it should get the job done).

More cool features include:

Preset texts and a fresh external display to view incoming messages on. It's always nice to have a flip phone you don't have to flip.

The RAZR2 has an MP3 player that can hold an estimated 1,000 songs (using its 2GB internal memory).

A fresh new look, but they didn't bother re-inventing the wheel.

[Images from LinuxDevices.com]

Even with all of the flashy displays, Motorola is still saying that the RAZR2 is going to be able to deliver 500 minutes of talk time (that's over 8 hours!) and up to 280 hours of standby [MOTORAZR V8].

So what's the talk on Wall Street? Well, not too much yet and probably not much until the phone actually comes out:

Shares of Motorola shed 24 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $17.92 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has lost 13 percent this year, while Espoo, Finland-based Nokia has gained 25 percent, and Suwon, South Korea's Samsung has declined 6.5 percent.

"It's not going to pop out as being something radically different the way the original Razr did," said Brad Williams, a technology analyst at MTB Investment Advisors in Baltimore, which manages $11 billion, including Motorola shares. [Bloomberg]

Since Motorola has a lot of potential reach with this phone and several carriers it can cater to, it could probably defeat a lot of the iPhone market for existing subscribers looking to upgrade. AT&T/Cingular might end up being the big winner here if Motorola signs a contract with them as well. The RAZR2 will be cheaper than the iPhone (with analysts projecting a cost of about $300/pop versus the iPhone's $499-599 pricetag). It will also cater to the crowd that doesn't want to clip their phone to their belt or carry a bul!
kier phone.

Overall, Motorola's product lineup looks pretty solid for the next couple of months. We're excited to hear more about the upcoming MOTO Z8, which is being reported to have a potential 12 hours of movies or 70 hours of music. (Check out more about the RAZR2 and the MOTORIZR Z8 from EngadgetMobile's coverage.)

As to who will be king in this line of phones, we can't say just yet. However, we do know that the mobiles will be doing a lot of talking this summer.

Comments

[Julian Ivan...:]

BLUNTRZR, MOTOYAWN

2007 May 16 07:58 AM

[john fox:]

i wish i had this phone [e-mail]

2008 May 11 05:28 AM