It's a camera, it's a phone... it's Motozine!

Schaumburg-based Motorola Inc. today is expected to unveil Motozine ZN5, its first digital camera that also happens to be a phone.

Motorola partnered with Kodak in 2006 and they have now produced the pocket-size camera that captures photos sharp enough for 8-by-10 enlargements. The device also morphs into a phone with the patented CrystalTalk noise-reduction technology and other features.

Although Motorola is again following competitors with a 5-megapixel camera phone, "they're moving in a better direction," said Tuong Nguyen, an analyst with Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner. "It's still good that Motorola is introducing more services. That's the way the industry is heading."

Fresh from announcing more layoffs and restructuring, the beleaguered Motorola hopes to reshape its mobile devices business into a global competitor again. It has launched other new mobile phones in recent weeks, including the double touch-screen Krave and the $2,000 Aura, to capture holiday shoppers.

The Motozine, though, can look like a point-and-shoot camera. It operates by opening the Kodak lens cover to transform the phone into a camera with a shutter button, flash and viewer.

John Renaldi, new product marketing manager at Motorola's Libertyville office, said research found that consumers wanted a phone that can take high-quality photos, share them instantly, and yet be slim enough to fit in their pocket or purse.

"This device is definitely for the chief memory officer, the person in the family who gets everyone together for photos," said Renaldi.

Motozine is sold in T-Mobile stores and its Web site for about $200 with a two-year agreement exclusively through T-Mobile. The purchase also includes 50 free prints from the Kodak Easy Share Gallery.