Motorola launches 2 new phones

Motorola Inc. wants your creative side to come through with two new phones.

The latest in the Rokr phone line is the Rokr E8, which offers more music downloads and wireless connectivity with speakers and other devices.

Another handset, the Moto Z10 promises to make you a filmmaker and a producer. The phones were unveiled along with other new products on Sunday at a trade show in Las Vegas.

The beleaguered Motorola, which has been criticized by analysts for a lackluster phone portfolio, likely will use this year for rebuilding, said Mark McKechnie, telecom analyst with American Technology Research in San Francisco.

"Motorola has been behind in 3G (third-generation wireless phones) and will take a while to get its handset line-up to a level where they can compete again," said McKechnie. "So introducing new phones is what Motorola needs to do."

The new phones have been built on current product lines and just added more features.

The Rokr E8 phone, when powered off, shows a smooth surface with no visible keys. When it's on, the phone has a virtual numbered keypad on the front. With one press of the virtual music key, the phone keypad disappears and control keys for the music player - play, pause, fast forward and rewind - appear in its place. The E8 also helps consumers get new music with a built-in FM radio.

The 2GB internal memory can store up to 1,500 songs, and external memory is expandable up to 4GB.

Also, Motorola's Z10, the second in its "Media Monster" lineup, is being touted as a mobile film studio. This phone can capture video, edit clips, create transitions between scenes and add title slides and a soundtrack. Then you could upload your creation to share with friends and family through various Web sites, such as YouTube, Google, Yahoo! and ShoZu.

"This is what we're referring to as filmmaking on the fly," said Jeremy Dale, vice president of global marketing for Motorola's Mobile Devices Business in Libertyville.

"Young people today are very creative and very spontaneous and this phone will allow them to tell their stories with photos and with film and share them," Dale said, referring to the Z10.

Both phones represent more than just fashion, said Dale.

"Before people just wanted to know what the phones looked like," Dale said. "Now, they want to know what they look like and, more and more, what they can do."

The new phones are expected to be available by June. Prices were unavailable.