Motorola has produced several iconic handsets during its storied existence. The DynaTAC, the Vader, the v60 and of course, the Motorola RAZR. What Nokia did for the candy bar-style mobile phone in the 1990′s, Motorola did for the flip phone in the early 21st century. Thin, sleek and stylish, the RAZR was initially brought to market in early 2005. The handset was light, easily fit in the pocket and packed a flat, backlit keypad that proved itself to be a formidable text messaging obstacle. The device was so popular, in fact, that just over 1-year ago we were still talking about the handset — the RAZR3 — before it was scrapped by Moto in favor of Android-based smartphones. During its four year reign of terror, where it retailed for nearly $200 on-contract, over 110 million RAZRs were sold by dozens of carriers the world over. We still have an AT&T V3 lying around BGR HQ for posterity sake, and although its utility is diminished, the handset’s mystique remains. How about it: how many of you cell phone junkies were proud RAZR owners?

BGR’s Throwback Thursday is a weekly series covering our (and your) favorite gadgets, games, and software of yesterday and yesteryear.

Today is shaping up to be the day of the feature phone at the hands of a nationwide carrier conspiracy — or perhaps carriers are just trying to get low end dumb phone announcements out of the way ahead of next week’s hoopla. Earlier this morning Verizon went crazy with a feature phone blitz and now AT&T is joining in on the action with the simple clam shell pictured above. The Nokia 6350 will be available starting October 4th and will be about as typical as they come where low end feature phones are concerned. 3G connectivity, a 2 megapixel camera, a Web browser, email capabilities and dedicated external multimedia buttons round out the spec highlights and beyond that, gray and red color options will hopefully appeal to youngsters seeking out their first mobile handsets. Pricing is set at $29.99 after a mail-in rebate on a 2-year contract, placing the 6350 well within reach for just about anyone.

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Remember that cute little handset AT&T announced last week, the Nokia Mural? You know, the 3G clam shell feature phone that beckons tweens with its funky lights and its $50 price tag? Well if you were planning to grab one, think again. According to one of our trusty ninjas AT&T has pulled the handset indefinitely, ordering all shipments stopped and all sales ceased. According to the internal AT&T memo seen above, a production bungle has left the Mural incapable of operating on AT&T’s 3G network. Instead, it’s stuck on 2G. All retail outlets have been informed that they should send the handsets to AT&T’s returns facility by September 25th for a software update — which at least that means a fix is already available. The bad news: no information was provided in terms of when the Mural might become available for sale once again.

Was the Mural announcement from this morning not quite enough to satisfy your entry-level Nokia cravings? Don’t fret — the Shade should be just what the doctor ordered. Not much is known about this mysterious flipping feature phone for the time being but suffice it to say, most of you likely won’t care one way or the other. If you happen to have a child or perhaps a much younger sibling looking for a low-end dumb phone with a standard 0-9 keypad however, take notice: Rumor has it the Nokia Shade will eventually replace the Mirage on Verizon’s shelves, though specs are completely unknown for now. Figure on S40, a 2 megapixel camera and a handful of music/social networking features headlining the spec sheet once this little guy gets official. Hit the jump for another couple of shots.

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It’s not quite as intriguing as any of the devices featured at Nokia World this morning, but Nokia and AT&T have just announced a new entry level S40 flip phone dubbed the Nokia Mural. Bearing a striking resemblance to Motorola W series phones of old, the Mural is a clam shell feature phone that would make 2002 proud. Spec highlights include 3G with HSDPA connectivity, integrated IM and email, dedicated external music buttons, a 2.2-inch QVGA internal display, a 2 megapixel camera and microSDHC support. It also sports a variety of customizable lighting features sure to prevent it from finding its way into the hands of anyone over 14 years of age. AT&T’s Nokia Mural will hit store shelves this coming Sunday, September 6th, and it will cost $49.99 after mail-in rebate on a 2-year contract.

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Sony’s Ericsson’s day in the sun continues with the announcement of the AT&T-bound W518a. Slim and sleek, this clamshell Walkman phone packs as much music-centric functionality as it can into a tight little package. Highlights include “Shake Control” technology that allows users to shuffle, skip and control volume by shaking the handset, and “Gesture Control”, which lets users ignore incoming calls or snooze alarms by waving a hand over the camera lens. Pretty sweet. Beyond that, the W518a touts a host of social networking features — just like every other handset in the world these days — and of course the beloved Walkman music player. Pricing is set at a very reasonable $49.99 after rebates on a 2-year contract and like the C905a, this little guy will hit store shelves this Sunday, July 19th, Hit the jump for more angles.

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Tucked away in the giant Ericsson booth at this year’s show was a tiny little two-sided Sony Ericsson display showcasing a handful of handsets and accessories. With the difficult time the JV is having these days, it’s no surprise that SE didn’t make much of a showing at CTIA. All the same, we wanted to give them a little love and check out the newly announced T707 — Sony Ericsson’s latest clam shell feature phone. While the handset definitely has a nice size and feel to it, there really isn’t anything new or exciting to be said about the T707. Same old UI, same old specs, new package. We wish there was something about the T707 worth more attention but truth be told, we can’t think of anything. The hidden LED display on the cover maybe? The 3.2 megapixel camera? Nope, without Maria Sharapova standing next to it we’ve got nothing. Hit the jump for more images of the T707, sans-Sharapova, along with a few Bluetooth watches (not watch phones, watches) Sony Ericsson had on display.

T707:

MBW-150 Bluetooth Watch:

MBW-200 Bluetooth Watch:

Across the ocean in a land far, far away, the Motorola A1200 “Ming” was a pretty big hit for Moto back in 2006. So what happens when Moto has a hit on its hands? Exactly. iDNES has seemingly managed to get its collective hands on a round of mockups and preliminary specs for the upcoming Ming sequel, the A1210. The design of the handset is unmistakably Ming, as is the Linux OS and the transparent flip. Other reported specs include a slightly beefed up 2.8-inch 240×400 TFT touchscreen, 3.1 megapixel camera, FM radio, Bluetooth, 64MB of internal memory, a microSD slot and a TI OMAP850 processor under the hood. Dimensions are said to be 102 x 53.8 x 20.5 mm, slightly bigger than the A1200 which came in at 95.7 x 51.7 x 21.5 mm. The Ming was imported into the US pretty often but if this report pans out, lack of the 850 MHz GSM band will surely keep it abroad for the most part. Then again, maybe Moto has a US version in mind. Either way, the handset lacks 3G and, well, we like 3G. Hit the jump for a few more shots of the back and sides of the handset.

[Via Unwired View]

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Fresh off the bus to unlimitedsville, the Nokia 3606 has just been officially announced for Cricket. The small up and coming carrier doing battle with the likes of MetroPCS definitely has the goods when it comes to rates, with unlimited voice plans starting at $30 per month and unlimited everything plans starting at $50 per month. As is often the case with the ‘little guys’ however, Cricket is definitely lacking when it comes to handsets. We’re not sure the 3606 adds much value to the carrier’s line — sporting basic features such as a 1.3 megapixel camera with an LED flash, stereo Bluetooth, FM radio, microSDHC support and dedicated external multimedia keys — but at the very least it adds a bit of style to an otherwise hohum line up. For the time being the 3606 is the most expensive handset offered by Cricket, commanding a steep $179.99, but the price of entry is almost irrelevant when the carrier’s low-cost unlimited monthly plans are considered. As long as you live within Cricket’s coverage area and don’t move around much, the 3606 is definitely a fair option for the feature phone crowd.

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Here we go again. On the one hand, rumorsville is buzzing with speculation surrounding the Evoke QA4, a rather intriguing touchscreen slider reportedly headed to US Cellular, MetroPCS and/or Cricket. On the other hand, you’ve got the VE465.

• CDMA 800/1900/1700/2100 connectivity
• 1.9 inch TFT internal display with 176 x 220 pixels and 65k colors
• 1.05 inch CSTN external display with 96 x 80 pixels
• Brew OS
• Stereo Bluetooth
• Music player
• Video player
• MMS, SMS, Instant Messaging, E-mail
• 1.3 megapixel camera
• USB 2.0
• MicroSD up to 4GB
• Talk time: up to 4.5 hours, Standby time: up to 12 days
• 1.8 x 3.9 x 0.7 inches, 3.8 ounces

We’re not sure exactly how this handset carries ruggedized devices forward but apparently Moto did something right as it has already been picked up by two known carriers, Alltel and TELUS. Release timing and pricing are still unknown but we’re hoping carrier subsidies take it down pretty low. Any of you outdoorsy types out there looking forward to snagging one?

[Via Unwired View]

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Ok, we’re not exactly sure what happened here but someone definitely screwed the pooch when assembling a recent FCC application. We’re guessing someone at Toshiba fell asleep at the wheel when slapping its FCC application together but the bottom line is it looks like we now have preliminary details on another new handset from Toshiba. Despite the fact that the well-covered TG01 is pictured throughout the filing, the documents cover a handset dubbed TM5-E01 — a Windows Mobile clam shell with specs as follows:

• Tri-band GSM (900/1800/1900), UMTS2100 connectivity
• QSD8250 CPU (Snapdragon), 256 MB of RAM, 512MB ROM
• Windows Mobile 6 Professional OS
• Primary display: 3-inch 800 × 480 WVGA touchscreen
• Secondary display: 0.8-inch 96 × 39 black & white OLED LCD
• Camera (unknown resolution)
• Wi-Fi
• aGPS
• Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• miniUSB
• microSD memory card slot
• Dimensions: 117x 64×19.8mm, 183g

Hmmm. This thing could actually be kind of sexy… A Snapdragon-powered Windows Mobile flip phone. We’ll definitely keep an eye peeled to see how this unfolds.

[Via Unwired View]

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