Motorola showcases low-end W-series phones

Targeting more rational cellphone budgets, Motorola has announced two new W-series phones, the W230 and W270. Interrelated, the phones both feature music playback, with a special music button enabling owners to jump straight to the audio player. People can listen to MP3s stored on microSD cards, or else they can tune into FM radio, which supports RDS track information and can be recorded for the sake of the phones' alarm sounds.

Thanks in part to the phones' 1.6-inch screens, battery life is unusually long. Talk time is rated at 550 minutes (over nine hours), while standby power is rated at over 18 days. The only difference between the W230 and W270 is that the former is a candybar design with red and silver faceplates, while the 270 is an all-black clamshell. Both should ship in the first quarter of the year.

W230