Motorola unveils Z9 slider phone, based on Razr platform

Motorola Inc. Tuesday said it is now selling a new mobile phone with a sliding cover that's based on its popular Razr 2 mobile phone.

The Moto Z9 is available to just U.S. buyers exclusively through AT&T Inc., which includes its AT&T Navigator GPS feature.

"This will have a new keyboard and the slider features instead of the clamshell form factor of the Razr," said Paul Nicholson, director of feature phone products group, based in Libertyville.

Motorola, along with other industry giants, is in Las Vegas this week to show off new products at the CTIA Wireless trade show.

The Z9 is a step in the right direction, but Motorola needs a greater variety of handsets, said Rick Franklin, telecom analyst with Edward Jones in St. Louis.

"I'm not certain that this is enough of a breakthrough product to reverse the negative trends Motorola has recently experienced," Franklin said. "Additional product introductions will likely be needed to do that. Additionally, Motorola needs to improve its cost structure. Even at the height of Razr's popularity, Motorola's profitability lagged Nokia's."

The Z9 is Motorola's first 3G, or third generation, phone with Navigator. It also has the CrystalTalk for clearer voice sound quality. Other features include AT&T Mobile Music, up to 8 gigabytes of memory, with an optional removable card, stereo Bluetooth wireless technology, and a 2.0-megapixel camera.

Moto Z9 is being sold exclusively at AT&T for $249.99 after a two-year service agreement.

The Moto Z9 was developed under Motorola's Mobile Devices business, which is expected to be spun off into a publicly traded company by next year.