Motorola Ivory E18 luxury phone developed, scrapped

If you're considering a luxury cellphone, you've probably given some thought to the Aura -- either as an object of unattainable techno-lust, or as a way to lighten your wallet by a grand or two (don't even get us started in Vertu). According to Mobile Review, Motorola wasn't planning on stopping there: The Ivory E18 (a name which either evokes elegance or animal cruelty, depending on your POV) featured a slider with two movements (a short slide for function keys, and a longer for the T9 keypad), a small footprint, and a 3 megapixel camera. The price? Well, for the stainless steel chassis you were looking at about €2,000 (about $2,821 at the moment). Also planned were phones with gold and platinum chassis, which would take the purchase price up to "several tens of thousands" of Euros. If Motorola wasn't aware of the sheer silliness of such an extravagant phone, at least the carriers were -- apparently it was lack of interest on their part that caused Moto to sack the project. Make sure you hit that read link for the whole story -- in Bulgarian.

[Via Unwired View]

[papari @ Jul 20th 2009 5:35PM]

Looks like a VCR remote from the 80's.

[Information Central @ Jul 22nd 2009 2:49AM]

This is why I voted against every dipshit on MOT's board. They're dicking around with garbage like this instead of saving themselves by becoming the premier Android adopter.

[Ryan @ Jul 20th 2009 8:04PM]

It also looks like they threw it away, then decided they should take a picture of it first.

[Denster2u @ Jul 21st 2009 7:45AM]

LMAO - I was going to make the EXACT same comment!!!

[DanielT @ Jul 20th 2009 5:36PM]

Jesus...

I thought Nokia's luxury phones were expensive, and not too bad looking. Nothing special about this.

[Hey Ya @ Jul 20th 2009 5:37PM]

I can see why... on the scrapped part, that is.

[joaquindel @ Jul 20th 2009 11:00PM]

I mean. If this was being developed as a "free" phone on contract. Sure.
For "about $2,821 at the moment". Bullshit Moto. Bull shit.

[Nicholas @ Jul 20th 2009 5:38PM]

I think the entire executive board at Motorola must be shorting their stock.

[Mike P. @ Jul 20th 2009 9:23PM]

There's no other explanation for an ailing company to spend time and money developing an extremely low-volume product.

Have I mentioned how few Motos I see at carriers' stores, compared to 3 years ago?

[Grammar Delinquent @ Jul 20th 2009 5:40PM]

LONGPHONE IS LONG.....

[DanielT @ Jul 20th 2009 5:45PM]

▀▀▀▀▀

[Alan G. @ Jul 20th 2009 5:43PM]

FAIL!

[PedoJokerBear (aka Deeznuts) @ Jul 20th 2009 5:45PM]

matchbox leading the wayyy

[Plamen @ Jul 20th 2009 5:46PM]

Hey Joseph, thanks for the pleasant mistake(I'm a Bulgarian), but actually Mobile-Review is a Russian site.

[NightBlade @ Jul 20th 2009 8:41PM]

I'm actually puzzled as to why he thought that was Bulgarian in the first place. I mean, when English people see Cyrillic letters it's usually Russian that springs into their minds.

I'm Bulgarian as well, btw.

[wrabbit @ Jul 20th 2009 9:21PM]

What's even more surprising is that this isn't the first time Engadget gets a story from Mobile-Review, they should be well familiar with the fact that it's Russian.

In any case, you know I have to... wait for it... In Russia the phone signs a 2-year contract on you! :D

P.S. That phone doesn't look luxury at all - I wouldn't pay more than 20 bucks for it, if that.

[froohoo @ Jul 20th 2009 5:51PM]

Just another signpost on Moto's speedy downward spiral to irrelevance.

[yaounit @ Jul 20th 2009 6:00PM]

at least the aura looked halfway decent. this is just ugly

[Loonie @ Jul 20th 2009 6:06PM]

That thing had better either have come from the nineties or have a phenomenal battery life.

[Dragonfly @ Jul 20th 2009 6:08PM]

It's a very good thing this got scrapped. What a complete waste of time, don't know why they even bothered with this in the first place. This phone is a symbol of what's wrong with Motorola right now.

[Orinjz @ Jul 20th 2009 6:12PM]

I just don't understand what Motorola wants to be in the mobile phone biz any more. They've wasted so much time in the last two years on coming up with bad concepts that don't make it to market because they're bad, and in the mean time the phones they do put out are mostly ignored (in the UK anyway) because the competition are...well, they're actually trying to compete by giving consumers the phones they want.

The two major phone resellers here, Phones4U and Carphone Warehouse, only have one Moto phone each (cheap pay as you go) and there's only one of the big four networks (O2) that currently offer a Motorola phone. If it's like this around the world, how are this lot still in business?

[dinnerwithtomedison @ Jul 20th 2009 6:13PM]

i guess this explains why motorola ain't doing so well nowadays...

what an awful phone. worse than all of their other stuff, even!

[Weber @ Jul 20th 2009 6:16PM]

Not Ivory...IVRY!

[digitallysick @ Jul 20th 2009 6:25PM]

I think Motorola spent all that razr money on hookers and drugs

[anexanhume @ Jul 20th 2009 6:35PM]

Thank you for reminding us why you're going down in flames Motorola.

[Exile @ Jul 20th 2009 6:48PM]

I'm guessing this was made just to make everything else look better?

[jason @ Jul 20th 2009 7:09PM]

I feel like I should use it to change the channel on my 1988 magnavox tv.

[nick @ Jul 20th 2009 7:14PM]

Jokes on you, this is the Nokia N98.

[sr @ Jul 21st 2009 7:44AM]

Ha Ha, it might as well be. Moto and Nokia will be brothers in arms very soon if Nokia doesn't hear the wake up alarm.

[SJD @ Jul 20th 2009 7:32PM]

It reminds me of a handset of the bag mobile phone I used in the mid-late 80's, but without the cord

[FitFan @ Jul 20th 2009 8:13PM]

Surely you jest.

[nwind @ Jul 20th 2009 9:45PM]

It is Russian not Bulgarian

http://mobile-review.com/articles/2009/birulki-25.shtml

[Valicore @ Jul 20th 2009 9:36PM]

Blerg - I can't believe this is considered "developed." It's just terrible, TERRIBLE. What is wrong with Motorola? It's like their whole company is practicing self-hurt or something.

[Jk @ Jul 20th 2009 9:59PM]

Pssst Motorola, its not 1987 anymore. Chapter 7 is done the hall to the left.

[mocax @ Jul 20th 2009 10:03PM]

i like the V8 and A3100 though.

and the AURA, if i could afford one...

[dreamtag @ Jul 20th 2009 11:13PM]

hahaha!!!! Motorola Out of Ideas.. hey Motorola that sucks more than anything that sucks before...

[SergeyDavydov @ Jul 21st 2009 1:32AM]

Actualy, Eldar Murtazin wrote in this article,that model was canceled(good decision frankly speaking).
So relax)

Thanks for phraise "Make sure you hit that read link for the whole story -- in Bulgarian.
" it was really funy

[10minutehobo @ Jul 21st 2009 6:10AM]

Sell your other models first, Motorola.

If you can that is.

[pk @ Jul 21st 2009 7:30AM]

No wonder Motorola is falling so rapidly...

[SewerShark @ Jul 21st 2009 7:54AM]

It's a Ron Jeremy phone.

[Rick @ Jul 21st 2009 9:12AM]

Logitech called and want's their universal remote protype back.