Motorola U9 Review

Phone rating:

In a nutshell: This cute clamshell phone comes in a choice of pink or purple, and has a curvy rounded shape and soft feel. The beautiful mirror finish conceals an invisible external display that springs into life with custom animated screensavers and touch-sensitive music controls. Complete with a 2 megapixel camera, music player, memory card slot and Bluetooth, this is what every girl needs in her handbag! Beware though that the soft finish scratches easily, and we have deducted marks from our score because of the phone's habit of freezing or switching off.

Review: February 2008. Updated November 2008.

No question about it - the Moto U9 is definitely a girl's phone. It's a cute, curvy clamshell and comes in a choice of two colours: pink or purple. Weighing just 88g and petite in size, it's a phone that's been carefully designed to appeal to the senses. Not only is the shiny metallic finish easy on the eyes, but the soft-touch feel makes it a lovely phone to handle. The external display is very cool. The screen uses a mirror effect that blends with the shiny surface so that's it's invisible when not in use. A range of cool screensavers have been designed to complement the colour schemes of the phone, and give the impression that the whole surface of the phone is alive. Touch-sensitive music controls appear when using the music player. The U9 really is a sensual delight!

Motorola Aura Review

Phone rating:

In a nutshell: The Motorola Aura is the most expensive phone that we've ever reviewed. We can't say that it's value for money though. Feature-poor, albeit with a nicely-crafted metal case, it doesn't come anywhere near justifying the price, even if you can afford it.

Review: April 2009.

Rarely has a mobile phone manufacturer made such an error of timing. Releasing a £1,300 phone in the middle of a global recession - duh. Motorola have been trumpeting the Aura for months, but when we learned the price we nearly fell off our chair. We freely admit that we haven't seen the Aura in the flesh, so this "review" is just informed speculation, but to be honest we don't expect anyone to actually buy this thing anyway.

Featurewise, there's nothing special about the Aura. It has a very basic camera, an MP3 player and basic connectivity (Bluetooth & USB). With a small circular display, you can't do much with this phone other than make calls and pose.