Motorola MPx (CeBIT '04)

Here in Hannover at the CeBIT 2004 show, we have had the chance to play around with and photograph a lot of new handsets that were introduced here at CeBIT or elsewhere in the recent past.

One such device, of course, is Motorola's new MPx. The MPx takes the concept of a "folder" design to an entirely new level, having two hinges that work in different directions. This allows the device to work like a conventional folder, and also like a communicator (like the Nokia 9000 series).

The combined keyboard/keypad on the MPx has caused a bit of a stir due to its rather unconventional design. It is to be used like a normal numeric keypad when oriented vertically, and as a alphabetic keyboard when turned 90 degrees. As such, the keys are pretty odd looking.

It is worth noting that each separate key consists of a white and black section, there are not separate white and black rows of keys. When in keyboard orientation, the white keys are what you would get by using the shift key. We've seen other designs of the keyboard in illustrations that make this much more clear, and we can only hope that design will be used on production models.

The unit that we were "using" did not have a working display. We are guessing that this is because the MPx supposedly will be running a version of Microsoft's OS that has not yet been released, an update to the 2003 version (not a brand new 2004 versions).

Enjoy the photos.

Motorola MPx at CeBIT 2004