Motorola must have been keeping their ears to the ground today with all the negative press regarding financial troubles, lack of handsets and the ‘last stand’. Two devices which had been spotted and reportedly available in small cell shops in China became official, the Motorola MING A1600 and A1800. With GPS and touchscreens, these two Linux-powered smartphones have the style of the early 90s Star Tacs, but with modern day refinements.
The A1600 is powered by a Linux OS with Quadband GSM support and limited to EDGE data speeds. With a 3.0 megapixel camera using continuous autofocus (a first for mobile phones) and GPS complete with geotagging, the imaging of the A1600 has a solid foundation. Also included in the A1600 is a Stereo FM Radio and Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support. As you can expect, microSD cards are supported as well as a microUSB port for PC connectivity and unloading your images. One area that is surprising considering the lack of a 3G radio is that the A1600 does not come with a WiFi receiver. In an attempt to keep the focus off the data speeds, Motorola decided to throw in a Business card scanner application similar to the barcode scanner found on N Series Nokia devices.
The Motorola A1800 is nearly identical to the A1600 at first glance with the same touchscreen, 3.0 megapixel camera, GPS capabilities and Linux OS. What seperates the A1800 is that it has two radio transmitters which allow you to connect to two different networks at the same time. Another unique feature is that the A1800 is a triband GSM device lacking EDGE and 3G connectivity, but it includes CDMA support, bringing a new twist to the global traveler.
While the news that Motorola would be releasing the A1600 and A1800 is semi-exciting, the bad news is that current reports suggest that both devices might never leave China. With no information on pricing or a release date the only good news is that both devices are confirmed for production and our friends in the East should have a chance to pick one up if they haven’t found a supplier yet.