Moto reading slider with 5MP camera, Wi-Fi

A leak today through a Chinese news site today has revealed possible Motorola plans for a new, high-end slider phone. The VE66 should carry a five-megapixel camera and will have fairly complete networking, including an HSDPA/UMTS model for 3G cellular access in both Europe and North America as well as Wi-Fi. It should also take the design slightly higher than most Motorola phones with touch controls at the corners of the directional pad.

Linux will reportedly also power the phone, which should be fast and visually rich with a 500MHz Freescale chip and a 16 million-color display.

The VE66 as shown appears to still be in mid-development and isn't likely to see a near-term release, putting its release into 2009; a US release through AT&T or T-Mobile is possible and should be followed by a 2G-only version of the phone for China.