Motorola U9 is not exactly the newest handset to come from Moto, but the company has only now released it in its home country (the US, of course).

Available only online, from Motorola's Store, in an unlocked GSM version, the U9 costs $275.99 and will allow you to use it with any of the US GSM carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile or TracFone).

Coming with a clamshell design resembling the one of Moto's PEBL phones, U9 is a music-centered handset targeted at young users. In the words of Pete Peterson, general manager of global e-commerce at Motorola Mobile Devices, the U9 "is a stylish phone, designed for trendsetters seeking to make a fashion statement. In addition, U9 delivers a dynamic music experience, allowing consumers to carry the music that moves them anywhere they go."

In order to provide a cool "mobile feel" to users, Motorola has packed in the U9 a touch-sensitive external display (1.45 inches and 128 x 160 pixels) that can be used to control the handset's music features. The U9 also brings stereo Bluetooth (version 2.0, with A2DP), Windows Media Player 11 and Music player with lots of formats supported (MP3, WMA, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+ and DRM).

Furthermore, the non-music features of Motorola U9 include: a 2 inch TFT internal display with 240 x 320 pixels, Web browser, push email, SMS and MMS capabilities, a 2 Megapixel camera with video recording, CrystalTalk technology, Advanced Speech Recognition, USB 2.0, quad-band GSM connectivity with GPRS and EDGE, 25MB of built-in memory, expandable up to 4GB via a microSD or microSDHC card.

Motorola U9 weighs 3.07 ounces (87.5 grams) and, when not flipped, it measures 3.5 x 1.9 x 0.6 inches (90 x 48.6 x 16.4 millimeters). Its battery should last up to 7 hours in talk-time mode or up to 14 days in stand-by.