Motorola Sholes Android phone for Verizon appears in the flesh
By Nilay Patel 
posted Jul 31st 2009 12:01PM
posted Jul 31st 2009 12:01PM
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Moto-hoo-hoo? First.
I still want oh and first!?
dang one second late
(cough)...minute(couch)
iDiot
I have said it before and I'm gonna say it again, the design sucks. It doesn't look nice or beautiful. The casing designer should be transferred, if not fired.
They should be slapped for trying to copy HTC's signature hump.
Motorola had a curved chin thing way before the G1. Ever hear about the RIZR Z8.
Well, read em and weep boys:
http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_rizr_z8-1863.php
That's not the same thing, at all. Stop trolling.
the razr has a hump.
I have to say this doesn't look as smooth as the previous pictures. Hopefully its all because of the picture. Its good to see a smiling Moto face after all those sad ones and this phone seems great but I don't think it will save Moto. Moto's been on a downward spiral for a while now.
Any product will look ugly as hell if you shoot it at a stupid angle that no one would ever use to actually operate the device.
And anything looks cheap if you wash out the colors and blur the image like that. Nothing to see here, move along.
I was never impressed with the design in terms of style. It was just a black rectangle, tapered corners and that really overused silver chrome border. Plus a slider. I still hope it delivers performance, though.
Odd that there seems to be an unlabeled button in the bottom left corner
Maybe, just maybe.
Moto got a little innovative and made that button customizable, so you could choose what it launches.
My guess is this shot is a prototype, and they haven't decided what to put there or it's up to the carriers.
My guess would be its either a track pad or a fingerprint recognizer to unlock the phone or something.
I don't see a keypad... unless you are talking about the keyboard? (keypad, only numbers, 1-9+0 / keyboard, qwerty keys)
wtf... I replied to "dave" below!
I hate that style of qwerty. They should emulate the style of a real keyboard like the g1 does. \\\\ not ||||
Moto, you disappointed me.
You could've designed this phone better.
Instead, you let Verizon step all over you and take over the design.
Come on Moto, don't kiss ass like LG.
Seriously..
I blame them for the ugly red.
moto ? i went to there funeral a few month ago ..Zombie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do phone companies not even talk to consumers?
Needs 5 line keyboard.
Keypad uses up space and achieves nothing.? It has a touchscreen; why would anyone need a keypad?
Hopefully this is just a fake while we wait for the "killer" Moto phone.
Sorry, hardware keyboard > virtual keyboard
But, touchscreen > D-pad?
Hopefully this'll be the "killer" Motorola phone in the sense that it kills their phone division.
Virtual keyboards suck. Nothing else to it. The ipod's is attrocious and constantly gives you typos, android is just as bad.
Then theres the whole point of finger prints and the such on the screen.
No KB is a no buy for me.
"Virtual keyboards suck"
But having your spacebar between the "V" and the "B" doesn't???? This keyboard looks unusable.
Apparently, this is an old version of the hardware. It seems the renders are much closer to the design of the production unit.
Here's to hoping!
hmm random colors, but still want
That is a nice phone.
It'll go good with my Nike dunk sbs
DAMN, that is some serious ugly. Should feel right at home on Verizon.
Keyboard looks iffy, but I think the device looks cool.
- K
I like this style
WTF is with the d-pad being on the right side!?!?!?!? This basically ruins any chance this phone had of being a solid platform for gaming. Even for navigation, this design fails because its on the inside and will only be used when the phone is open. I could understand this design if it were on the outside screen, as to being used in both open and closed position for easy navigation in portrait mode.
But this? This is automatic fail. It looks like the most awkward way to navigate a phone I've ever seen. Anyone who's ever held a videogame controller will vouch for this. Wow... and I thought Motorola was starting to get its act together with the Morrison... and then they do a complete 180 on the design of this phone and fuck up the layout. Bravo Motorola, Bravo.
You know its funny. Because when the Morrison leaked out, everybody complained that the D-pad was on the left side. And now that Moto releases a phone with the D-pad on the right, everybody still complains. Though from seeing the render image, this is a very nice phone. The resolution is perfect, the screen is nicely sized, and it has a keyboard with a good camera. The only thing that is left is Tegra and this phone would be on everybody's wishlist. Though someone on BGR reported it'll run a 600MHz OMPA3430 processr. Still beats the Hero though.
@ Someperson: I don't remember seeing anyone complain about the Morrison's d-pad... but you know what, I wouldn't be surprised. You're exactly right, neither design will please all and people will bitch either way. But as far as I'm concerned... I think my points are valid on why this design choice is a crippling flaw.
Although in hindsight... it really doesn't matter as I would never get a phone on Verizon. They love to control you and your phone almost as much as Apple and AT&T. But I more make this statement because I love everything else about the phone and if it were to go to other carries, ala the Razr... I'd like that d-pad to be right where it belongs... to the left.
Actually, having it on the right side isn't all that bad. Phones as a "serious" gaming platform isn't going to happen anytime soon. When I'm playing crappy little games (mostly quick PC games), it's usually "Use the arrows to move". Where is that? The right side of the keyboard. The real problem is still verizon and their "purity ring" mentality. They continue to lock down and cripple phones with their chastity belt policies. I absolutely LOVE their network but they really need to loosen their Vader choke hold.
Agreed. I have my eyes on the Morrison because of that nice D-pad. If Moto can release something like that, but much better, I'll happily throw out my son's college fund money. And I can only hope soon that there will be a N64 emulator in Android market.
I personally prefer it on the right side, to me it seems more natural.
Then again, I'm really not much of a gamer.
@ George: I never said, serious... just solid. As in, not broken. This design is broken and eliminates any chance of using the amazing Genesis, SNES, etc emulators on the android platform. I've never seen a Genesis/SNES controller with a d-pad on the right side and the buttons on the left... nor do I want to. And this goes for any gaming controller for that matter. It really makes zero sense to have it on the right side.
@ Someperson: Haha... you and me both my friend. I like the Morrison alot, however the design is very, umm, plastic crappitdy. It's barely a step up from the G1. Really the d-pad is the only thing that sets it apart. Don't get me wrong, I love my G1... but I want something that feels more finished and elegant(read: not cheapo plastic feeling).
@ Steel Froggy: I know... it really is all a matter of preference. If you were a gamer, you'd see the point. What would have been perfect would to include a trackball on the bottom or meaning, far right of the phone that is always exposed, whether the phone is open or closed... like the current Android phones... and put the d-pad on the left for alternate navigation/gaming. That design would be the closest to appeasing all.
exactly how i feel. it seems like the people that dont mind the dpad on the right dont really have much preference and would mind it on the left either. but the millions of people that like their dpads on the left cant stand them on the right. seems like it would make more people happy if they would just leave it on the left (where its supposed to be.)
The red D-Pad was probably Verizon's polite "suggestion" that red be included in the phone's design.
Let's see the software already. I'm skeptical of how Androidy it can be when it's a Verizon phone.
agreed, if it goes to verizon, it will probably be crapified. i just wish at&t would get an android phone.
nice avatar, btw
why the hell did moto put that ugly ass lip on the bottom of the phone? red d-pad? ugh...just one mor reason to stay far far away from verizon
Ugh. The rendered pic looked very cool, better than any other Android device out there by far. But this spypic? Ouch.
Looks like a prototype, to me.
I'm going to withhold judgment until I see a final build.
you mean there's a reasonable person reading Engadget? I thought knee-jerk reactions to blurry-cam prototype spy shots were a required trait.
I think the worst part of this design is the recessed screen. It's going to be difficult to get accurate touches near the border of the screen.
WTF? looks like the screen isn't flush argh make it a flush screen!
In other news, ZuneHD has multi-touch pinch zooming in IE Mobile browser
http://www.mobiletechworld.com/2009/07/31/zunehd-has-multi-touch-pinch-zooming-in-ie-mobile-browser/
Apple patent? what ? who ?
Those Apple multitouch patents seem to be much ado about nothing - LG has half a dozen multitouch capable phones available, the Palm Pre has it, and apparently the Zune HD will have it too...
I really like the red d-pad, to each there own. I am more interested to see the UI. Please Motorola do not let me down, I need a Rzr2 replacement be the end of the year.
I agree that a dpad is a good thing (better than a trackball, or nothing at all). But, I think the dig they were making was aimed at it being red, not at it being a dpad :-)
Why do all android phones need to have that ugly chin/lip at the bottom? Common, give us the (normal) designs like the winmo phones have, give it better hardware specs and functionality of the iPhone 3G(S) and put android on it -> ultimate phone.
this chin just looks useless.
i like the chin on the g1 or hero, for example.
but this one?
a no go.
*cough* iPhone clone *cough*
Seriously, this a very pathetic attempt and an all time low from the lowest of the low(MotoLOWa). This phone is ugly, the D-pad is probably even worse than the N97(and that D-pad was ultimate fail), and it tries to copy the HTC chin. Nothing but failure guys, nothing more to see. I don't know why MotoLOWa just doesn't die and rot in the corner?
there is absolutely nothing about this phone that resembles an iPhone...
@sstrunks84 but it is a glass fronted rectangle! iPhone clone!!
(this is apparently how the iFanboy mind works)
the render was /so/ much sexier..
i feel kind of heartbroken. )_:
Pretty sure that red is going to stay even if you don't want to. It's verizon's true color. It's like their "one step forward, two steps back" idea.
@sstrunks84
Let the troll have his fun. Let him make an idiot of himself and have everybody laugh at him. The only way to kill a troll is do nothing but ignore it and let it kill itself from lack of attention.
I know that it's called Sholes as an homage to Christopher Sholes, qwerty inventor, but am I the only one who thinks "shit holes" every time I read the name?
And I agree that Verizon will likely cripple it.
i didn't, but i do now.
Android Smartphone Sholes
or "ASSholes"
I could put up with a not so great looking phone if the OS was fast and responsive.
what kind of a moron would put the d-pad on the right side?!
The obvious use of a dpad is for direction control / gaming, especially given that this one isn't even usable unless you have the phone in portrait mode. Yet this/these idiot(s) decided to throw it on the left side just to make sure they lose sales? I love to use emulators on my G1, and wish I had a dpad for control, and if this one had it on the left, I would jump on it in a minute.
The D-Pad is very very useful if this device is to be used by business people. If you were editing a document or a spreadsheet then you could quickly and precisely navigate around it using the D-pad as arrow keys. And on the right matches a normal keyboard position.
With the keyboard open, the whole screen contains the document you are viewing / editing, no big pop-up on-screen keyboard to reduce your usable screen size. I like it.
i really hope some motorola representatives read this article and the comments and redesign the phone, cus this is horrible,, ugliest phone ive seen yet
If this is an actual Moto phone, Motorola will soon be out of business. That's one ugly phone!
this picture is very disappointing...
Um, and I thought then render was ugly? This thing is horrendous.
Have any screens been leaked of Motorola's new interface?
Is Motorola going to skin Android, like HTC's Sense UI?
It looks good, screw the haterz. :P
Doesn't look any different to the render apart from the protective opaque plastic coating, and the poor quality washed out blurry cam.
Again THIS IS NOT NEWS
Still take this design over the uglier Motorola Morrison.
Got me a fancy email from motorola (by being an android dev) today. They failed at BCC.. oh well..
--EMAIL--
Subject: Motorola is interested in your Android Applications
Hi Android Developer:
Motorola is interested in the the Android Applications you've developed for our upcoming Android phones.
If you're interested, please provide and send back the below information and we will add you to our a list of companies to contact for the upcoming opportunity. We will be following up with the contact name you provide with more information in a couple weeks - thanks in advance.
Contact Name:
Contact Title:
Phone Number:
Email:
Name of Android Application (s):
Thanks,
Dan
Daniel Steiny
Senior Manager, Market Development
Motorola, Inc.
809 11th Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
Direct: 408-541-6642
Mobile: 917-287-6414
MMMmmmm... sexy
verizon still sucks.
我是中国人，呵呵，来外国论坛坐坐，感觉不错
Here are the specifications - http://www.everythingwm.com/forum/future-motorola-q-smartphones/motorola-sholes-android-phone-35558.html