Moto intros AURA phone with circular display
updated 10:30 am EDT, Tue October 21, 2008
Motorola AURA
Motorola today broke some ground in cellphones today by revealing the AURA, the world's first handset with a full color circular LCD. While small at just under 1.6 inches, the display has a unique, 480-pixel diameter resolution that produces an extremely high 300 dots per inch density and also makes the phone's swivel design possible; unlike a slider or some other swivel phones, the display can stay in a fixed position while the outer cover rotates to reveal the number pad. It generates 16 million colors and so has a photo print-like quality, Motorola adds.
Billed as a luxury phone, the AURA is also made of relatively high-grade materials that include a 62-carat sapphire lens that protects the two-megapixel camera from scratches, a stainless steel body with precision ball bearings, and an aluminum keypad. Actual hardware features are relatively modest, however, and include 2GB of built-in memory as the only storage option, a media player app, stereo Bluetooth and EDGE data.
Motorola plans to ship the AURA internationally during the fall, but hasn't named carriers; an unlocked version will be available in the US on December 4th for $2,000. It supports North American frequencies and so should work with AT&T, T-Mobile and Rogers.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2007
Wow! $2,000...
I sure as h*** hope it makes decent phone calls. Why something like this is needed I'll never know. No wonder Motorola is doomed to failure. Where do they get these ideas from. It'll never sell in quantity. If Macs are considered overpriced, then this thing is outrageously overpriced. I agree it's a novel design, but hardly worth $2,000.