Original URL: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/07/26/motorola_9mm_fone/
Motorola's big handset blitz (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/07/25/moto_unveils_rizr_krzr_razr_3g/) earlier this week wasn't the whole story. The company went on to unveil one of the slimmest phones yet made: a 9mm-thick candybar with a fancy electrophoretic display ready for clear viewing in bright sunlight, the company claimed.
The full specifications of the FONE F3 - and its sibling the F3c, the CDMA version - remain a mystery. Neither are due to ship until Q4, so Motorola has plenty of time to get the details sorted. It will pitch the part at new users in existing and emerging markets, so simplicity is likely to be the name of the game.
Motorola did highlight the FONE's icon-based interface, which also uses voice prompts as a guide and sports big text sizes. The handset will also flash up call costs and account totals for pre-pay users, again suggesting a handset aimed at the lower end of the market.
The details of the FONE's electrophorectic display remain in the dark too, but we expect it's not unlike E Ink's electronic paper system, in which pixels are switched on or off by applying an electric field to different-coloured particles. It's the same kind of display Sony's electronic book, the Reader, uses, and, as Motorola suggested, it helps deliver long battery life. ®
Motorola ships slim phone with e-paper screen (28 November 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/11/28/moto_ships_motofone/
Motorola Q Pro prototype pops up on web (13 November 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/11/13/moto_q_pro_spied_on_web/
T-Mobile inks tattoo'd RAZR deal (24 October 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/10/24/moto_miami_ink_razr/
British boffins demo 150dpi bendy display (24 October 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/10/24/plastic_logic_demos_bendy_display/
Motorola's Q3 doesn't cut it (18 October 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/18/motorola_q3/
3G Motorola Q smart phone to ship as the 'Q Pro'? (17 October 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/10/17/motorola_readies_3g_q_pro/
Moto ships battery-based battery recharger (13 October 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/10/13/moto_ships_p970/
Sony Ericsson readies 3G media phone (10 August 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/08/10/sony_ericsson_readies_k618/
LG to ship 5Mp camera phone next month (28 July 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/07/28/lg_kg920_to_ship_august/
Samsung touts 13.5mm-thick digital TV slider phone (27 July 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/07/27/samsung_touts_sch-b500_dmb_slider/
BenQ Mobile shows shiny black handset trio (26 July 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/07/26/benq_e71_e81_sl91_launch/
Asus unveils slimline barcode-reading phone (26 July 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/07/26/asus_unveils_v80_phone/
Motorola unveils slimmer, 'super 3G' RAZRs (25 July 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/07/25/moto_unveils_rizr_krzr_razr_3g/
Nokia ships latest n-series smart phones (24 July 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/07/24/nokia_ships_n93_n73/
LG unveils DJ-friendly 3G music phone (21 July 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/07/21/lg_uk_unveils_u400/
Samsung demos two-way folder phone for games (21 July 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/07/21/samsung_unveils_full_folder_phone/
Wi-Fi Skype phones to connect this month (20 July 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/07/20/wifi_skype_phones_debut_july/