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The Moto Renew in its eco-friendly box.
(Credit: Motorola)Motorola's new Tundra VA76r and Renew W233 were built with the Earth in mind. But while one was designed to save the outdoors, the other was just built to be used outdoors.
The Renew, of course, is the new T-Mobile handset that is made from recycled materials. Up close we found that it has a light--dare we say wispy--feeling in the hand. The green color is unique, not to mention very appropriate, but there's not much else to say about its candy-bar design. The 65,000 color display is about what you'd expect--it's small, and the graphics aren't terribly sharp.
You can tell instantly that the Renew's brown packaging is made from recycled materials. It's smaller than your average cell phone box and it is devoid of any fancy graphics. It's nothing more than a "feel-good"measure, but it's nice touch just the same. Just remember to go full circle and recycle your box.
The Moto Tundra is tough.
(Credit: Kent German/CBS Interactive)AT&T's Tundra, on the other hand, is wrapped in packaging. Rubber sidings give it a sturdy and durable feel in the hand. Indeed, it felt like many a Nextel phone. We wanted to throw it against a wall to see if it would washstand the blow (we're sure that it could), but the walls of trade show booths are pretty flimsy. Like its Nextel cousins, the Tundra is certified to military specifications for moisture, shock, vibration and the like. We're glad to see a true rugged phone land at AT&T.
The Tundra's keys and controls are covered in the rubbery material as well. Though that makes them a bit stiff, they're spacious and tactile. The 262,000-color display is bright and vibrant and it supports 262,000 colors. On the whole, it's a workhorse rather than a showpiece. And there's nothing wrong with that.
Compared with last year, Motorola is having a quieter CES. While a year ago the company held a high-energy media event at the swank Wynn Hotel to announce its media-friendly phones, in 2009 the company announced its new handsets via a news release even before CES began.
Yet, that's not to say the new models aren't notable. First off, is the Motorola Surf A3100. This touch-screen smartphone offers Windows Mobile 6.1 and a selection of multimedia features. The Moto Tundra VA76r is a rugged push-to-talk phone for AT&T. Besides enduring bumps and bruises, it also has Assisted-GPS. Lastly is the Motorola Renew W233. The basic phone is green in more ways than one. Not only does it sport a green skin, but also it is made from recycled water bottles. Check out our Motorola CES slide show for the three phones on all their glory.
Moto's Renew is kind to the Earth.
(Credit: Motorola)Last year at CES Motorola dazzled us with a couple of high-end multimedia cell phones. One of them, the Rokr E8, impressed us so much that it won CNET's Best of CES award in the cell phones category. This year, however, Moto is taking a more comprehensive approach with three cell phones that range from simple to complex.
On the simple side, Motorola presents the Renew W233. Its story lies not in what it offers--features are minimal--but in what it is. The Renew is made entirely of recycled water bottles (at least the plastic parts). Moto is calling it the world's first carbon neutral phone--that puts it beyond the Nokia 3110, which is made from 50 percent recycled material. The packaging is also Earth-friendly. Not only does the Renew use 22 percent less packaging, but the packaging that it does use comes from recycled paper and the ink on the manual is soy-based. Moto is also promising that the Renew will use less energy with a promised talk time of nine hours.
Features include support for CrystalTalk feature, a VGA camera, organizer features, and a music player. The Renew will arrive at T-Mobile in the first quarter of this year.
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