14 DAY TRIAL // Motorola just expanded its mobile phone offering with the release of seven new such devices. None of them is worthy of spotlight attention, though, as they are all low end ones, capable of responding only to the basic needs of the owners.
The new devices are W156, W160, W175, W180, W206, W213, and W377, all pretty chary at evolved specifications. The W377 brings entertainment solutions with an integrated FM radio and MP3 ringtones. It also has an integrated VGA camera, Bluetooth wireless technology and some challenging preloaded games.
Motorola W206 and W213 can brag on their CrystalTalk Technology, which makes them extremely reliable in any environments, no matter how noisy they are. W175 and W180, on the other hand, are candybar style handsets that have nothing more to offer aside their MS and iTAP predictive text entry. Last, but not least, the W156 and Motorola W160 also come equipped with Motorola's CrystalTalk Technology and an FM radio on the W160.
Relying on less evolved handsets has been a strategy that seemed to pay off to all other major mobile phone producers. It's a well known fact that Nokia's huge profits mostly rely on the cheap devices that are extremely popular on emerging markets. Sony Ericsson's ASP (average selling price) has also dropped, as this manufacturer also looks to gain a larger chunk of the cellular market. It was Motorola's turn to do just the same, in its attempt to catch up with Samsung, Motorola's main competitor that managed to snatch the second place in the top leading producers, earlier this year.
Not very impressive features on these new seven devices coming from Motorola, but nobody had high hopes to start with. They should all come out on the market for some fairly low prices, matching their reduced performances, sometime by the end of the year.