You Can Be Too Thin Without Being Too Rich: Meet the Motofone

Though I haven't been infected with RAZR/ROKR/SLVR fever (which has no doubt created a market for four-letter domain names that end in R), it's hard to deny the appeal and utility of a ridiculously skinny, yet inexpensive phone.

At a svelte 9 mm (.035''), the MOTOFONE is the slimmest Motorola phone yet, but you can't get that skinny without sacrifice. You won't find any of the extras that most phones have now -- no music playback, no camera, and apparently no Bluetooth. Even the screen is monochromatic, using an electrophoretic display (a close relative of the same technology used by e Ink) instead of LCD.

Part of the reason for the pared-down features (and price) is that the MOTOFONE is aimed at first-time wireless users worldwide -- which is probably why the multilingual voice-prompt feature is at the top of Moto's list. And given that the African continent is a hot new market, it's no surprise that they also stress its resistance to dust and the clear visibility of its screen in bright sunlight.

MOTOFONE hits the shelves in Q4 of 2006.