Say the word Motorola and people think one of two things. They either remember the iconic clamshell device, the RAZR, that changed people’s perception of thin a mobile device could be or they foam at the mouth from all the new and cutting edge Android powered smartphones they’ve released over the past year and are planning to release during 2011. The Motorola Gleam falls into the latter category. It’s a low cost feature phone with a 2.4 inch 240 x 320 pixel display, dual band GSM/EDGE, meaning you’re not going to be using this thing in America, a shockingly embarrassing 2 megapixel camera, and an external screen that shows you if you’ve missed a call or received a text message.
How much is this puppy going to cost you? They don’t say, which kind of defeats the purpose of announcing a budget device if you don’t specify which budget it even fits in. We do admit that we love our smartphones, and haven’t used feature phones since … can’t remember … but it doesn’t change the fact that today’s plunging smartphone prices should deter you from considering something so simple. The Gleam is “a little quirky” and allows you to “stand out from the crowd and make a statement” according to Andrew Morley, Vice President of Marketing for Motorola Mobility. That’s one way to sell a device, but we’re not convinced Andrew. Sorry.
What say you? Does the world need another low cost handset running Motorola’s terribly dated feature phone operating system or should we just let Chinese handset makers keep on serving the market, along with Nokia who actually manages to make money off phones they sell for the amount of money you have hiding under your living room sofa? Don’t forget the Indians too, who are eating share from both Samsung and Nokia with their home made handsets.