First Motorola SCPL announced
Rumours of the Motorola SCPL, Motorola's RAZR-succesor, first surfaced back in May.
When first announced, Motorola chief Ron Garriques said the SCPL would have five features that would make the phone stand out from its competitors.
Well, now the first incarnation of the Motorola SCPL has been announced, and it's going to be called the MotoFone.
But before you gasp in amazement, let me just set this in context: the MotoFone was announced at the same time as the KRZR, the RIZR, and the new RAZRs, but because the MotoFone has such limited features, I actually saw it as just another low end phone, and therefore not worth writing about!
So...now we know it's the first SCPL incarnation, let's take a proper look at it.Motorola MotoFone overview
The MotoFone is aimed firmly at the low-end - indeed, Motorola see it not just as a low cost phone, but one that they see being adopted in large numbers in emerging markets. Accordingly, it's very low on features, but Motorola have at least made it a stylish low-end phone.
Its key features are as follows:
- Voice prompts in local languages
- Intuitive icon-based user interface
- Stylish thin design
- Extended battery life
- Durable housing for optimal performance despite dust and sun
- High-contrast screen using new ClearVision display
- Large font size for easy readability
- High-volume for call clarity in loud environments
- Automatic notification of current prepaid balance
- Embedded polyphonic ringtones in eight voices
- Ability to download ringtones
Just 9mm in thickness, the MotoFone features a good looking design, and comes with a large, high-contrast screen called ClearVision, which is viewable even in bright sunlight. In fact, every part of the MotoFone is designed to be super: super clear screen, super-loud audio, superior reception with two antennae, and super-efficient, with over 450 mins of talk and 400 hours on standby on one charge. According to Garriques, the reason for this is clear:
"I want people to say, I live far away [from a cell tower], I have to buy a Motorola device," Garriques said. "And you can literally take this device for weeks without a charge."
Better still, the Motofone comes with a completely redesigned, more intuitive interface, based on icons and voice control. This is to help bridge literacy gaps, apparently, and signals Motorola's intent to push deep into emerging markets with this phone.
The Motorola MotoFone release date is set for October 23rd 2006 (or thereabouts).
The MotoFone as the first SCPL
So, as a low end phone, and particularly one aimed at emerging markets, the MotoFone is a good proposition - stylish, slim, easy to use, and cheap. But as the first SCPL, the long-heralded replacement for the RAZR?
Well, it turns out that the MotoFone is the first in what Motorola sees as a long line of SCPL devices, aimed at every sector of the mobile phone market. According to Garriques, the SCPL platform "can support all six form factors," including slider, flip, candy bar, swivel, touchscreen and QWERTY, he said, and will come with all types of connectivity, from GSM through to HSDPA (what Garriques calls 'SCPL broadband'). The other SCPL forms will be launched throughout 2007 and 2008.
So, the MotoFone is the first SCPL - not quite what we expected, but a great low end phone. But it's not the end of the story - not by a long shot. The SCPL is set for a long run, with many different variants still to come. Bring on the higher-end SCPLS, Moto - let's see what you're made of!
