Motorola aims to please social mobile Web users and customers focused on environmentally-sound products with two new devices debuting this week at the CES expo in Las Vegas.

The first is MotoSurf A3100, what Motorola terms a touch tablet smartphone. The smartphone, built on Windows Mobile 6.1, is aimed at meeting customers' social and work management needs by providing easy access to social networking platforms via three different navigational tools.

The 3G handset features a customizable 2.8-inch home touch screen as well as a stylus tool and trackball for screen navigation. The Windows Mobile platform provides Exchange e-mail capability and a familiar PC interface used in business environments, said Gardner.

"Users can get the information they want when they need it using the best access tool for the situation and the high speed grants immediate access to content," said Melissa Gardner, vice president for global franchise product marketing at Motorola Mobile Devices.

The second mobile phone is the MOTO W233 Renew, which Motorola said is the first 'green' mobile phone in the market. The device's casing is made of recycled plastic water bottles and is the world's first carbon-neutral phone. According to Motorola that means it offset carbon dioxide requirements in the manufacturing process using renewable energy sources.

The product news comes as Motorola continues to fight its way back into a leadership position within a marketplace dominated by Apple's iPhone and Research in Motion's BlackBerry portfolio.

It's going to be uphill battle, given Motorola's continued decline in market share and a lack of a blockbuster handset since its formidable RAZR days when it sold more than 110 million RAZR phones in just four years. As of November, Gartner research reported Motorola held an eight percent share of the worldwide mobile phone market. Nokia held 38.2 percent, Samsung had 17.1 percent and Sony Ericsson was just ahead of Motorola with 8.1 percent market share.

Analysts have said Motorola's survival depends on a product-led recovery. To that point, the handset maker pushed out a slew of new handsets last year. None, however, came close to grabbing the user traction that RIM's new devices or the iPhone 3G have claimed.

The MotoSurf device, which provides one-touch access to applications such as Facebook, is all about making it easier for people to stay in touch and manage busy lives, according to Gardner. The smartphone offers video conferencing and GPS capabilities, as well as a 3-megapixel camera, and 256MB Flash memory that is expandable to 32 GB using a Micro-SD card.

"This is targeted to active, busy individuals who are looking to stay connected to their work, personal and social lives, with one device," said Gardner. It's all about multi-tasking and keeping information at your fingertips," she added.

The Renew device is aimed at consumers interested in using products that are ecosystem-friendly, said Gardner.

"Motorola created the Renew to provide eco-conscious customers with the quality they expect from a Motorola device while empowering them to reduce their carbon footprint," she said, adding, "It is an extension of our ongoing global commitment to reduce our impact on the environment."

The eco-friendly phone provides nine hours of talk time, messaging capabilities, and 2GB of removable memory.

Adapted from Internetnews.com.

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