Cisco announced on Tuesday that it will layoff 9% of its workforce, or 6,500 jobs, in an effort to boost profits. That figure is lower than original speculation that the company would cut 10,000 employees. Cisco made the move as part of an effort to cut $1 billion in annual costs while spurring profit growth, Bloomberg reported. 2,100 of the 6,500 employees have agreed to an early-retirement program. Additionally, Cisco plans to sell a Juarez, Mexico-based manufacturing facility to Foxconn. The move will transfer 5,000 workers elsewhere but will not result in job cuts. Earlier this year, the company laid-off 550 additional employees when it announced that it was killing off its Flip camera arm in an effort to restructure its consumer business.

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Cisco could cut as many as 10,000 jobs — 14% of the company’s employees — in an effort to boost profits, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. 3,000 Cisco employees accepted buyouts and early retirement packages, which will cost Cisco between $500 and $1.1 billion during the fourth quarter. While the layoff plans aren’t final, 7,000 more jobs could be cut by the end of August. The move comes as analysts predict that Cisco’s router and switches business will continue to slide into next year, and the company believes the job cuts could save it as much as $1 billion during 2012. “We will provide additional detail on the cost reductions, including layoffs, on our next earnings call,” Cisco spokesperson Karen Tillman said. The call is scheduled for early August. On April 12th, Cisco announced that it was restructuring its consumer business and killing off its Flip video camera arm. 

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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, Cisco announced plans to restructure its business, noting that it will kill off parts of its consumer vertical in an effort to focus on core routing, switching and services, collaboration, architectures, and video. The Flip video camera line will be one casualty of the restructuring, although Cisco says that it will provide current FlipShare customers with a transition plan. The firm said it will also:

Refocus Cisco’s Home Networking business for greater profitability and connection to the company’s core networking infrastructure as the network expands into a video platform in the home. These industry-leading products will continue to be available through retail channels.

Integrate Cisco umi into the company’s Business TelePresence product line and operate through an enterprise and service provider go-to-market model, consistent with existing business TelePresence efforts.

Assess core video technology integration of Cisco’s Eos media solutions business or other market opportunities for this business

“We are making key, targeted moves as we align operations in support of our network-centric platform strategy,” said John Chambers, Cisco chairman and CEO. “As we move forward, our consumer efforts will focus on how we help our enterprise and service provider customers optimize and expand their offerings for consumers, and help ensure the network’s ability to deliver on those offerings.” Hit the jump for the full release.

Cisco Restructures Consumer Business

In connection with the changes to the consumer business, it is anticipated that Cisco will recognize restructuring charges to its GAAP financial results, with an aggregate pre-tax impact not expected to exceed $300 million during the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2011. The charges will be disclosed in upcoming earnings conference calls and quarterly Form 10-Q filings. Additionally, the company expects this will result in a reduction of approximately 550 employees in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.

SAN JOSE, CA–(Marketwire – April 12, 2011) –  As part of the company’s comprehensive plan to align its operations, Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced that it will exit aspects of its consumer businesses and realign the remaining consumer business to support four of its five key company priorities — core routing, switching and services; collaboration; architectures; and video. As part of its plan, Cisco will:

• Close down its Flip business and support current FlipShare customers and partners with a transition plan.
• Refocus Cisco’s Home Networking business for greater profitability and connection to the company’s core networking infrastructure as the network expands into a video platform in the home. These industry-leading products will continue to be available through retail channels.
• Integrate Cisco umi into the company’s Business TelePresence product line and operate through an enterprise and service provider go-to-market model, consistent with existing business TelePresence efforts.
• Assess core video technology integration of Cisco’s Eos media solutions business or other market opportunities for this business.

“We are making key, targeted moves as we align operations in support of our network-centric platform strategy,” said John Chambers, Cisco chairman and CEO. “As we move forward, our consumer efforts will focus on how we help our enterprise and service provider customers optimize and expand their offerings for consumers, and help ensure the network’s ability to deliver on those offerings.”

Yup, we’ll definitely be ordering one of these the moment they become available. The two man company that is Satarii is working on an accessory designed to put the camcorder on your mobile phone, iPod touch, and small Flip-style camcorder on a swivel, literally. The Star accessory is a glorified tripod with a motorized base that can rotate 360-degrees — following a specially designed marker placed on your person — automatically tracking your movements in real-time. Clip the marker to your clothing or stick it in your pocket and watch as the base pivots left and right to shadow your every move. While it is difficult of verbally explain, it is amazing to see in action. Hit the jump, a video demo of the product is waiting for you.

[Via Reddit]

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Boasting of “the power of Sprint 3G and military-grade toughness,” Sprint announced Thursday the launch of its first sub-$100 submersible handset, the Sanyo Taho. Featuring a ruggedized housing and a non-slip grip, the Taho is an ideal device for a variety of labor industries. Sanyo’s Taho is built to military 810G spec and can withstand dust, shock, vibration, extreme temperatures, blowing rain and even water immersion. It also features a clamshell form factor, a 2-megapixel camera with LED flash and video capture support, GPS, Bluetooth, microSDHC support and more. The Sanyo Taho is available immediately online and in Sprint stores for $99.99 after rebate with a two-year contract. Hit the break for Sprint’s press release.

Ruggedized, Water Resistant Sanyo Taho by Kyocera Gives New Meaning to Term ‘Tough Talk,’ Becomes Sprint’s First Fully Submersible Phone Available for Less Than $100

SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Mother Nature has met her match with the new Sanyo Taho by Kyocera, a ruggedized handset that, despite its good looks, can withstand some of the harshest elements and 30 minutes of full immersion in water up to one meter (3.28 feet) deep. Kyocera Communications Inc., provider of Kyocera- and Sanyo-branded wireless devices, announced Sprint’s (NYSE: S) launch of the new handset today, making it Sprint’s first fully submersible device available for less than $100. Sanyo Taho is available beginning today through direct-ship sales channels, including Sprint stores, Web sales (www.sprint.com) and Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate.* It will be available in all remaining Sprint sales channels beginning Jan. 9, 2011.

“This is our first handset that pairs a tough, military-grade design with features to stand up to the rigors and demands of extreme jobs and lifestyles”

Sanyo Taho’s rugged exterior and non-slip grip make it right at home on construction sites, security beats, delivery routes—anywhere you need (or want) to be. Being “military tough” (military standard 810G) means it can stand up to dust, shock, vibration, extreme temperatures, blowing rain and water immersion. But Sanyo Taho doesn’t scrimp on features; the clamshell handset supports applications including Sprint Navigation and Sprint Family Locator, and includes a robust front-ported speaker phone and a 2 megapixel camera with flash and camcorder.

“This is our first handset that pairs a tough, military-grade design with features to stand up to the rigors and demands of extreme jobs and lifestyles,” said Yasuhiro Ohishi, vice president of sales and marketing at Kyocera Communications Inc. “This is the answer for people who are rough on phones or, for whatever reason, regularly find themselves around water. Between outdoor sports and jobs that routinely involve harsh environments, Sanyo Taho will help make sure its users are always connected. Anyone who has lost a phone to the elements will understand its value.”

Sanyo Taho’s ergonomic shape is covered in a non-slip Dura-Grip® texture to ensure a solid grip. It has a 2-inch QVGA TFT internal display and 1-inch monochrome external display. The phone includes 256 MB of internal memory, a 1 GB microSD memory card (provided with handset) and support for memory cards up to 32GB. Sanyo Taho uses CDMA 1xEV-DO network technology, supporting autonomous GPS and Java Multitasking for third-party location-based services. For workplace or family settings, Sanyo Taho can restrict incoming and outgoing voice calls with password protection, disable both the camera and Web access, and lock the phone’s GPS functionality on so the phone’s location can always be tracked. Sanyo Taho offers a robust talk time of up to 6.1 hours.

Kyocera’s full line of Kyocera- and Sanyo-branded devices can be seen at www.kyocera-wireless.com.

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I have to be perfectly honest here… I was anything but excited when FedEx dropped a BlackBerry Style 9670 review unit from Sprint at my door. I have nothing against BlackBerrys and I certainly have nothing against Sprint, but the idea of reviewing what would probably end up being just another BlackBerry was not exciting to me in the least.

Part of me wanted to skip the review altogether. A big part of me. After years of seeing nearly identical BlackBerry devices hit the market one after the next, is there really anything left to say?

So in this review, I tried to focus mostly on what makes the BlackBerry Style 9670 different from its predecessors. If you want to read about why RIM’s email system is great or how awesome BlackBerry Messenger is, feel free to look back on any of the thousands of BlackBerry reviews that have been written over the past few years. You’ll surely find your fill. If you want to read about how crazy it is that in 2010, BlackBerry devices still can’t synchronize read statuses properly with Gmail accounts, please look elsewhere. I’m not here to beat a dead horse.

If instead, you want to know what makes the BlackBerry Style unique and why it might or might not appeal to you, read on.

The Outside

RIM’s last clamshell device, the Pearl Flip, was a mess. It felt cheap and dated, and I wasn’t a fan of the SureType keyboard. Plainly put, it did nothing to push the BlackBerry brand forward. The Style, on the other hand, is a very well designed and well built phone.

When closed, the handset is very compact — it measures less than 4 inches tall, less than 2 1/2 inches wide and less than 3/4 of an inch deep. But it’s not light or cheap feeling at all, weighing in at 4.62 ounces. It fits quite well in the hand and when flipped open, it doesn’t feel overly top-heavy as some clamshells do.

The build is also very solid. Whereas the Pearl Flip felt like a cheap toy, the Style feels sturdy and well made. It’s no HTC Desire or iPhone 4, of course, but for a $100 phone it’s not bad at all. The flip mechanism is smooth and sturdy with no play whatsoever, and the battery cover has a nice aluminum feel to it despite the fact that it is made of plastic.

Like the Pearl Flip, the inner display on the BlackBerry Style is angled slightly inward when the device is flipped open. While the design is nifty from afar, I find it less than ideal. RIM’s best phones all utilize the candy bar form factor, where the display and keyboard are perfectly aligned. On the Style, this is not the case. If you hold the phone as you would any other BlackBerry while you type, the display is angled down slightly, toward your chest. It’s still visible but it’s a bit awkward. If you tilt the phone back a bit in order to achieve the proper viewing angle for the display, typing becomes uncomfortable.

The only time I like the display angle on the Style is when I place it on a flat surface while flipped open. The protrusion on the back of the flip combined with the angle of the display give it a nice viewing angle while resting on my desk. It also makes a pretty formidable catapult at the dinner table.

Another difference between the Style and BlackBerrys of old is the button configuration on the sides of the device. Like the Torch, the BlackBerry Style has a volume rocker and a convenience key on the right side of the device, but there is no configurable button on the left. I’ve grown accustomed to having the left button configured to launch BBM while the right button launches AIM. On the Style, I obviously have to adjust my habits a bit.

The internal display on the Style is about as good as you might expect. It only supports 65,000 colors and the resolution is not spectacular at 360 x 400 pixels. I highly recommend going into the device settings and disabling the option to auto-adjust display brightness. Any setting above 60% will look fine, but the display becomes very difficult to see when it auto-dims.

The Inside

On the software side of things, BlackBerry 6 brings some new features to the table that BlackBerry fans have been waiting for quite anxiously. The full HTML Web browser, for example, is a massive improvement compared to the old BlackBerry browser. Compared to other operating systems such as webOS, iOS or Android, however, RIM still has a long way to go before its browsing experience is up to snuff.

Other new features such as Universal Search and the revamped Options menus are also well received. The former works wonderfully, allowing me to find any app, setting, song, email or contact with ease. The Options section is still overcomplicated though, making even the simplest task far more arduous than it needs to be.

Coming from the BlackBerry Torch, which I’ve spent quite a bit of time with, it is glaringly obvious that many of the styling changes in BlackBerry 6 are designed for use with touchscreens. On several occasions I’ve caught myself motioning toward the display in an effort to flick open the app tray or poke at the on-screen camera shutter button. This likely won’t be a big deal for people who aren’t coming from the Torch, but the UI is still awkward at times.

Have you noticed that there is a touchscreen on every iOS, Android, webOS and Windows Phone 7 device on the market? This is because using an OS designed for touch on a device without a touchscreen is awkward. RIM pulls it off much better than any of the aforementioned operating systems could, but that’s because BlackBerry OS is still in its infancy where touch input is concerned.

As a phone, the BlackBerry Style does its job quite well. This is one area where I’m happy BlackBerry devices haven’t changed much over the years. Reception is terrific, call quality is outstanding and I’ve yet to drop a call — even in areas with spotty coverage. The top speaker is crystal clear and parties on the other end say they can hear me with impressive clarity. The 9670 also has a fantastic speakerphone speaker, even at high volumes.

It makes you wonder why some competitors aren’t prying these puppies open and learning from RIM’s fantastic phone technology.

The Upside

Having a sizable external display on a flip phone is great, and RIM did a good job making use of it. Beyond the nice big analog clock that appears when any side-key is tapped, the display shows signal strength and remaining battery charge along with unread message counts. When new messages hit one of my inboxes, I can view the sender without having to flip the phone open. What’s more, if I have multiple unread messages I can cycle through them on the external display using the volume keys. I can then tap the convenience key on any email to view the message body.

The camera on the BlackBerry Style does not take great shots. It does, however, take ok shots, and that’s more than I can say for most BlackBerry camera phones. The flash works surprisingly well in moderately low light, and well-lit scenes come out pretty crisp. There’s still a bit of grain on images but it’s definitely not as bad as older models.

Battery life on the BlackBerry Style is not great compared to other BlackBerry phones, which typically afford jaw-dropping longevity. On the other hand, this is a compact little phone with a tiny 1050 mAh battery. With that in mind, the battery life on the Style is impressive. Power users might have trouble getting through a long day, but with average to above-average amounts of usage, the Style will go at least a day between charges.

Another big plus on the Style took me by surprise — the music player. The music player app itself is nothing special but the quality of music playback seems to be improved compared to similar BlackBerry models. It’s no iPod, but when I plugged in my Ultimate Ears Triple.Fis and cranked some Taylor Swift… umm… err… I mean… Metallica, I was pretty impressed with the sound quality. It’s still a bit muddy, but it’s really pretty decent considering the phone’s pedigree and price range.

Last up on the plus side but certainly not least, is the keyboard. I don’t really need to get into how great BlackBerry keyboards are, so instead I’ll gauge it among its peers: on a scale of Pearl to Bold, it’s above a Torch and below a Curve 8900.

The Downside

On a device without a touchscreen, BlackBerry 6 is not very exciting. Yes, seasoned BlackBerry users are still giddy over the introduction of a halfway decent Web browser. Yes, BlackBerry 6 does introduce some nifty new features such as Universal Search on the home screen. But overall, it’s still just BlackBerry OS.

It’s slow, it’s clunky and it just doesn’t feel modern or sexy at all. That may seem like a superficial complaint, but I assure you it’s not. There’s a reason you have Windows 7 installed on your computer and not Windows 3.1. And trust me… when RIM finally does start releasing new devices with a modern QNX-based operating system, even the most hardcore BlackBerry junkies you know will be gushing over the new OS while wondering aloud how they dealt with the old OS for so long.

Managing applications is also still very painful. Installations take way too long, deletions still often require a painful reboot, and so on. The first app I installed was WeatherEye, a simple weather forecast viewer I downloaded from BlackBerry App World. The first time I tried to launch the app, I got an “Uncaught exception” error. I cleared out the error and tried again. This time WeatherEye displayed a splash screen, ran through a bunch of text and then froze. I had to pull the battery to exit the app.

The next app I installed was Gmail but it’s nowhere to be found in App World, so I had to search the Web for it.

And so on.

If an app has a fatal error or is not compatible with my phone model, why is it available to me in App World? And why should I have to go hunting around the Web for apps when there’s a perfectly good centralized portal on my device?

Needless to say, this is not an optimal user experience. It’s slow, it’s painful, it’s full of roadblocks and it’s anything but consistent. It needs to be fixed.

My other big complaint is the camera. I’ve already stated that the camera takes decent pictures, but there is a pretty significant flaw that could have easily been avoided — the lens positioning is terrible.

It’s a ridiculous design flaw, actually. The camera is located on the back of the Style just above the battery cover, and it is situated exactly where you would naturally place your pointer as you take a picture by pressing your thumb on the optical trackpad. As a result, you have to adjust your grip when snapping shots and it feels very unnatural. The camera should have been situated on the top of the flip beneath the BlackBerry logo.

As an aside, the BlackBerry Style is clearly aimed at the consumer market. Adding a “self portrait” mode that allows people to take pictures of themselves using the external display as a front-facing digital viewfinder should have been a no-brainer. It would have scored the Style some major points among tweens. Come on, RIM.

The Bottom Line

In the end, the BlackBerry Style isn’t a terrible $100 smartphone from Sprint. It’s also not a great one.

It’s definitely aimed at consumers and it doesn’t have much of a place in the enterprise market. For the younger crowd already hooked on BBM and RIM’s famous BlackBerry keyboards, the Style is a great option. Add to that Sprint’s solid network and extremely competitive rate plans, and you’re good to go.

On the other hand, those who are looking for a modern, streamlined smartphone experience should look elsewhere. I’ve said it before; you’ve said it before; everyone has said it before… the BlackBerry experience as we know it peaked long ago. But if you look toward the horizon and squint your eyes at just the right time of day, you can see QNX riding south with guns blazing. Whether or not he’ll make it to town with enough ammo left to save the townspeople remains to be seen.

As you can clearly see, no, we didn’t snag the royal purple BlackBerry Style, but Sprint and RIM were nice enough to hook us up with a steel grey (also known as black) unit, and we’re up and running. After a quick Enterprise Activation, the emails are flowing like wine. But there are no beautiful women instinctively flocking like the salmon of Capistrano — yet. Here are some of our first impressions on the device we exclusively showed the world way back in April:

• It’s not as big as we figured it would be. The BlackBerry Style is a little thick, but not overly hefty, and definitely manageable.
• The keyboard is… not as great as we hoped, and expected, it to be. It’s good, more than usable, but it feels a bit like the Torch’s keyboard — not enough travel tactility. Maybe we’re spoiled by our Bold 9780, but even though the keyboard isn’t as good, it’s most probably better than your current phone’s QWERTY keyboard, so that’s a plus.
• The screen is just what you’d expect; you don’t really notice the fact it’s a lower-than-optimal resolution due to the fact that the screen size is much smaller than on the BlackBerry Torch. Also without a touch layer, the display looks a little thinner and sleeker. Colors look good, crisp, and clear.
• The external display by default when closed is a clock, and when you receive messages, you can simply page through them without having to open the handset, just like on the Pearl Flip. Definitely a nice feature.
• Here is what we’re not in love with in our limited time with the Style… talking on the phone. With the device flipped open, the ear speaker doesn’t fit right against your ear and face. It’s on a diagonal angle because the phone’s hinge sits under the body of the phone. For example, instead of the hinge forming a straight V-shape, the flip part sits under the main part of the phone, and this recessed hinge design doesn’t offer the most comfortable phone talking experience. We’ll let you know if we get used to talking on it more in our review.
• The camera is pretty decent, seems as if it’s the same sensor as the one in the BlackBerry Torch and the BlackBerry Bold 9780.
• There is a non-button in place of the left convenience  key button and it’s kind of irritating. Not because there is anything wrong with it, but because it looks like a button would work there, and you’re left with only the right convenience key as a result. [Update: it's the cover for the microSD slot]

All in all, for a $99 (with contract) BlackBerry smartphone rocking 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, a 5 megapixel camera, BlackBerry OS 6, a QWERTY keyboard, and more, it does feel like an improvement over the Curve series in many ways. Especially for the younger, hipper demographic, the BlackBerry Style doesn’t feel too much out of place in that context. We just wish Sprint and RIM would have launched a slightly less expensive BlackBerry data plan (just email and BBM) with the Style — those high schoolers, and their parents, wouldn’t be able to resist the new 9670. It goes on sale October 31st on Sprint.

Click on over to our BlackBerry Style 9670 hands on gallery!

It looks like those Sprint Premier members who want to assure themselves a BlackBerry Style 9670 on launch day will be afforded that opportunity. Sprint has been sending out emails to its Premier customers with an option to pre-order the new BlackBerry flip-phone today; one day before the general public. Anyone out there going to scoop up RIM’s latest creation either today or tomorrow?

Note: We’re looking into why the email being sent out by Sprint says: “9760.”

Thanks, Craig P!

If you are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the BlackBerry clamshell flip-phone — the 9670 Style — we have a little intel to hold you over. It looks as if three tutorial-style (pun intended) demo videos have made their way onto everyone’s favorite streaming video website YouTube. As previously reported, the Style will have a full-QWERTY keyboard, CDMA and Wi-Fi radios, GPS, 5 megapixel camera, 240 x 320 external display resolution, and  360 x 400 internal display resolution. The demo videos are of the home screen, zooming function, and external display functionality of the device. The three videos are waiting for you after the break, let us know what you think.

[Via CrackBerry]

Not every phone can be a bleeding-edge 1 GHz smartphone, right? Earlier today, Verizon Wireless announced that it would add the Samsung Gusto to its feature phone lineup. The light-weight flip phone sports a 2-inch internal display, VGA camera, mobile web browser, and Bluetooth connectivity. The handset includes “lifestyle features” such as a driving mode (which increases call volume to compensate for road noise), voice commands, and VZ Navigator. The phone also has a neat feature that allows you to setup fake phone calls, as the press release explains: “Fake Call feature – lets customers set up a pseudo call with a timer to manage social situations.” You know… in case you have a social situation that needs managing. Personally, we think owning this phone is a social situation, but that’s just us. The Gusto will run you $19.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate.

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Cisco’s annual networking conference, Cisco Live!, is in full swing and the networking giant is unveiling the initial details on several upcoming video-oriented products. For consumer video camera buffs, Cisco is working on a Wi-Fi-enabled version of its popular Flip Video camera. Details are sparse but senior vice president of emerging technologies, Marthin De Beer, did hint that the portable camera may launch in time for the holidays. Cisco is also developing an enterprise-level video transcoding service, called the Media Experience Engine, that would allow companies to internally distribute video to a variety of platforms on the fly. Last but not least, Cisco is planning to release an iOS 4 video client for the Apple iPhone and is exploring opportunities to integrate its technologies into Apple’s FaceTime video conferencing tool.

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We have to admit we were pretty blown away by the responses from our exclusive pics of the Motorola RAZR3. So with this in mind (and the fact that it’s Sunday) we thought we’d have a little fun today and share a gallery’s worth of pictures and information about how this particular phone, which also happens to star in a YouTube video, came to be. All of this — and more — is available right after the jump.

First and foremost, let’s take a moment to talk about the phone itself. For something that wasn’t a smartphone, it would have had enough features and functionality to make Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Average happy had it not been killed off. Here are the key specs of the prototype:

• 850/1900MHz UMTS/HSDPA
• Quad-band EDGE
• 420MHz ARM11 processor
• 109mb RAM / 19mb ROM
• GPS
• Wi-Fi
• Symbian UIQ OS
• 2.2″ QVGA internal display
• 2″ QVGA external display (touchscreen)
• 5 megapixel camera with LED flash
• Ad hoc internet sharing
• Mesh WAN support
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
• microSD support up to 16GB
• Opera Mini browser
• MicroUSB

Now that the specs are out of the way, here’s the story behind how this particular engineering prototype surfaced this week. Travis, the gentleman who now owns it, recently spotted an eBay listing for a unnamed mobile phone that was literally in pieces. Immediately recognizing it as the same phone a Motorola rep once showed when he used to work at Rogers, Travis immediately bought the phone so he could assemble it and bring it back to life.

Pretty crazy to think this thing was scheduled to debut at the same time as the DROID, right? Anyway…

Click here to check out our Motorola RAZR3 gallery!

Thanks, Travis!

Motorola potentially has not one, not two, but count em’ three China-bound handsets up its sleeve. First and foremost, we have the initial details on the Motorola XT711, codenamed the Sholes Tablet Refresh — the presumed companion to the previously released, Korea-bound Motorola XT701 Motoroi. The XT711 will feature: an 8 megapixel auto-focus camera with Xenon Flash, 720P HD video capture and playback, HDMI out, Google apps and Android marketplace, MotoBlur UI, WebKit browser with Flash integration, and the Android OS (presumably 2.1 or greater). The targeted market for this little beauty is China, and is set to launch at an undisclosed point in the future. One down, two to go. Hit the jump for details on the XT810 and the XT820.

Second, and most mysterious, is the Ming-like clamshell that made its first appearance in a handful of blurry images last week. Though details are still sparse, the handset may be the MT810, a TD-SCDMA handset headed to China Mobile. The MT810 may also be the little brother to the MT820, another Ming-like offering whose hardware is revealed in stunning clarity.

The MT820 appears to be a very polished handset with a Ming-style transparent flip that is rumored to sport a visual 3-D capability as detailed in a recent patent application. On a more realistic note, and out of the sci-fi realm, the transparent flip may also be present for protection, or as a secondary touchscreen in a dual-touchscreen design. What we can infer from the leaked images is that the handset is destined for China Mobile and, as a result, will rock TD-SCDMA 3G connectivity. The MT820 is expected to be announced in the very near future and will run the Android-based Ophone 2.0 platform. Don’t swear-off your DROID, BACKFLIP, or CLIQ XT quite yet..this piece of mobile hardware, showcased in the images below, is also expected to stay exclusively in China.

Thanks, Antony!

[via Soyuu.com , Android and Me, and SlashPhone]

Read (Motorola MT820)

Read (Motorola MT810 and XT711)

It appears Motorola isn’t willing to part ways the MING smartphone design as a pictures of a previously unseen Android smartphone with the iconic design have emerged out of China. Pretty much everything about this phone is a mystery, although it is rumored to be codenamed North Sea, run Android 2.1 plus MOTOBLUR 1.5 and feature a 5 megapixel camera that can shoot videos at resolutions up to 720p. Interestingly, there appears to be not one but two status bars which could mean this is a dual-SIM device. Not that this would be a huge surprise given the prevalence of such devices in China, it’s just that we’ve never seen such an Android phone from a big-name manufacturer. Would anyone be super sad if this thing is confined to China?

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