January 5, 2009 9:01 PM PST

Surfing with the Motorola A3100

by Kent German
Motorola Surf

The Motorola Surf is a tablet device with a phone.

(Credit: Motorola)

Motorola got a jump start on CES when it announced its new crop of phones two days before the show opens. The most high-end of the bunch is the new Surf A3100 smartphone, which offers an expansive touch screen and support for Windows Mobile 6.1. Starting Thursday in Las Vegas, it will join the Earth-friendly Renew W233 and the rugged Tundra VA76r at Moto's booth on the show floor.

Sporting a sleek, attractive design with rounded edges and chrome detailing, the Surf offers three ways for users to interact with it. They can use a stylus, a trackball, or their finger. Features on the quad-band GSM device include 3G support, integrated Wi-Fi, a 3-megapixel camera with a secondary VGA shooter, Google Maps, Bluetooth, messaging and e-mail, a media player, and video conferencing. A customizable user interface sits on top of the Windows mobile OS that will allow users to customize the UI with widgets.

The Surf will arrive first in China during the first quarter of this year. At present, Moto has no plans to bring the A3100 to a U.S. carrier.

Kent German is a senior editor for cell phone reviews at CNET. When he's not testing the newest handsets on the market, he's blogging about cell phone news for Crave. In his On Call column, he answers reader questions and gives his take on the rapidly changing mobile industry. E-mail Kent.
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Add a Comment (Log in or register) (6 Comments)
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by dingjs January 11, 2009 5:25 AM PST
I like this phone:)
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by January 11, 2009 5:41 PM PST
Expecting
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by gaochuang January 11, 2009 5:41 PM PST
I think it is iPhone killer, I hope I can try this phone earlier, I am looking forward to it.....
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by w19282 January 12, 2009 12:44 AM PST
I like and expect it!!!
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by jessica123987 February 6, 2009 6:40 PM PST
would it have the message lock like the other motorolas?
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by aclexx April 14, 2009 8:07 AM PDT
hi guys, the phone is great.. but ... the only drawback is it does not come with a chinese recognition software as opposed to the previous HTC phone which i got. however, it doesnt really lag much.. great phone at a very affordable price
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Best of CES and
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Since 2006, CNET has presented the Best of CES Awards, given to the top product in 10 categories as well as one coveted Best in Show award. See the gadgets that topped our list for this year, and find out the People's Voice winner, decided by more than 10,000 member votes.

Now accepting submissions for the 2010 Best of CES Awards.


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Each year, CNET, in partnership with the Consumer Electronics Association, produces the Best of CES awards at the International Consumer Electronics Show. The CNET editorial team recognizes the best new products at the show with awards in 10 categories, an overall Best of Show award, and the People's Voice award, which is selected by CNET's online audience.