New Moto Q Coming To OZ

Motorola’s new Moto Q which is a cell phone and e-mail device and a competitor to the BlackBerry will be launched in Australia soon.  Peter Joblin PR director of Motorola Australia confirmed to us that the device will be sold in Australia. Motorola also say it will achieve sales similar to those of its popular Razr.

Ron Garriques the head of Motorola’s phone division told analysts at an investment conference that the company has high expectations for next week’s U.S. release of the Moto Q followed soon after by its launch in several Countries including Australia. 

Motorola, CEO Ed Zander holds the new “Moto Q”. According to Motorola, the multi-tasking device works with Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 software, features electro-luminescent keys, QWERTY keyboard, thumbwheel for single-handed control, and internal antenna.

Motorola expects to sell 750,000 Moto Qs in the first three months, 1.5 million in the next 3 months and 3 million in the three months after that. Those are the same numbers racked up by the Razr, the ultra-thin phone whose enduring success has helped Motorola pick up market share on industry leader Nokia since 2004.

“We think we’ll follow the exact same curve as Razr did,” Garriques said at the conference in San Francisco, which was Webcast.

Motorola now projects at least 300 million total sales of Razrs and their related spinoff phones over the lifetime of the product family, Garriques said.

He also said the company is talking to customers about a new line of super-thin cell phones it plans for next year called the SCPL (“scalpel”), although he did not give specifics.

The Moto Q will be available through Verizon Wireless starting May 31 for $200 when purchased with a two-year commitment to a Verizon plan. Besides e-mail capability and Windows Mobile software, its features include voice-activated dialing, speakerphone and Bluetooth capabilities.