Motorola throws back, unveils StarTac III MS900
Considering that Motorola has been yearning to duplicate the monumental success of the RAZR with, well, anything, we can't quite decide what to make of the firm's desperate / throw back attempt to conjure sales with an all new StarTac. Sure, the Moto mainstay holds a dear place in many of our hearts, and even the short-lived 2004 edition was appreciated for its nostalgic flair, but the 3.2-ounce StarTac III MS900 just seems a bit too vintage to actually enjoy in this millennium. Aside from such glaring omissions as a basic camera and external LCD, it does sport a very pocket-friendly design, simplistic style, MP3 playback, an electronic dictionary, questionable e-book functionality, GPS, and 128MB of built-in memory. Additionally, you'll find a two-inch QVGA display, mobile banking abilities, 160 minutes of talk time (300 hours in standby), and a mysterious "biorhythm" function to boot. As expected, there's no set price or release date for this blast from the past just yet, but with such niceties looming just around the corner, we've serious doubts about folks diving back into yesteryear with their new handsets.
[Via UnwiredView]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
LordObento @ Feb 27th 2007 12:10PM
This thing would be great if it has the RF of the legendary orginal. I still see people with their StarTac active, scrounding for parts/batteries on Ebay.
Michael @ Feb 27th 2007 12:16PM
How could they omit a camera? I don't see anyone paying anything for a phone with no camera, even for nostalgia's sake.
KC @ Feb 27th 2007 12:35PM
Could be the perfect government/business lackey type phone. Many businesses and government buildings don't allow camera phones, and lackeys and low level employees who aren't worthy of a blackberry (or Korean equivalent) might want this.
Also might do well on Verizon or Alltel pre-paid service in the States if it's really cheap.
Ry @ Feb 27th 2007 2:07PM
Verizon, please?
frank @ Feb 27th 2007 1:16PM
Camera schmamera. Plenty of people don't use the VGA crapcam's most MOTO's come with.
The thing that upsets me, and what makes this phone NOTHING like the original StarTac, is the stupid silver accent color.
What made the StarTac a colossal success was its stealth factor. I was a young IT consultant in Motorola's hey day and the standard outfit (for myself and the vast majority of my colleagues) was a pair of black pants and a dark merino wool sweater, often also black. The StarTac's ingenious belt holster, when positioned just behind your hip, camoflaged the duo into virtual invisibility. Coupled with vibrate mode, the phone was nearly undetectable. You had the convenience of a belt clip without the nerd factor. At some point during its reign, a newer holster was released that allowed you to rotate the phone 90 degrees, completely concealing it along your belt.
With all the shiny colors, LEDs, and other goofy crap affixed to the outside of cell phones, the stealth factor has all but been lost. The PEBL is the closest to recapture it so far but unfortunately I don't know of a similarly low-profile belt clip.
erics @ Feb 27th 2007 1:49PM
Anyone who knows someone who has or had a star tac can attest to the fact they are rabid about this phone. So i can imagine ALOT of pepole buying it. watch. second, Frank, you are a dork.
frank @ Feb 27th 2007 4:06PM
Yes, I'm a dork. No argument there.
But this isn't exactly the first time a company has tried to capitalize on the brand equity of a previous success. Aside from the lack of an external display, I don't see any similarities. I've been waiting for Motorola to do this for a while, I just hoped they'd do a better job.
Chris @ Feb 27th 2007 5:19PM
If Motorola really wants to throw back in a meaningful way, GIVE US THE MOTOFONE!!! I have a blackberry, I have a Nano, and no phone is ever going to replace either one. All I want is a phone. Thin and cheap and durable, so I don't mind carrying it in my pocket along with my blackberry. No camera, no music player. Just like the good old days (okay, not the thin part).
Why is this so hard?
itsallverbatim @ Feb 27th 2007 10:22PM
I actually wouldn't mind picking up one of these for a second line.
1) New StarTAC - T-Mobile #
2) My Treo 750 on Cingular.
Patrick @ Mar 2nd 2007 10:15AM
Its about time. There needs to be more offerings WITHOUT a camera for corporate users. Hello, you can't take a camera phone into many government buildings these days, or on some corporate campuses. I know my company is sick of being forced to buy camera phones for its employees and then seeing charges for picture messages on the bill.
emarrs @ Mar 6th 2007 11:24AM
i actually really like this. Its looks solid and that it oculd take some abuse. pretty much the exact opposite of my l7. ive been looking for a new phone and this one may be it if it falls in a nice price bracket.
Dave @ Mar 17th 2007 2:20PM
It's about time someone made a phone that works well as, well, a PHONE. I miss my old StarTac dearly. I'm really tired of phones designed for 12-year-old girls with all the extra crap that gets in the way of actually making a phone call. The external buttons on my old phone could make a call in a couple clicks without even looking at the phone. Now everything is menu driven (even voice dialing takes WAAAY too much intervention to confirm everything.) I couldn't care less about taking pictures, or movies, or texting or for god's sake, browsing the web? I want to talk. It's all exacerbated by the hideous software the carriers load on top of the interface. The person responsible for the unusable menus on Verizon phones deserves to be shot.
The phone companies need to learn that there are LOTS of places that don't allow camera phones. Try getting into a federal building or any courthouse with one. They'll make you go back to your car to dispose of it. Lots of employers don't allow them either. Verizon offers ONE phone without a camera, a Blackberry.
I welcome a phone without one, and one without an external display, which might be the most moronic development ever, when it's positioned in a belt clip right at door knob, desk corner and countertop height where it's easily cracked. Geez, when you're actually working onsite somewhere the last thing you want to be doing is digging in your pocket or extracting your phone from some stupid protective pouch to answer the phone.
The old StarTac was bulletproof and survived MANY multistory drops to concrete at a construction site without ANY damage. My RAZR was destroyed after being bumped off a desk onto carpet. BOTH screens cracked, and it crashes a lot too. Have to take the battery out to restart it.