You Might "Krave" This Phone...and then you might not

There are people in this world who are sworn Motorola heads. And if you are said Motorola head, you may be wondering where the cell phone maker has been hiding while Apple, HTC, Palm, Blackberry, and LG have been heading the smartphone craze. Pessimists may have even thought that Motorola would be knocked off the map for good, having enjoyed great hype with the Razr (remember how popular that phone was when it first came out? Now they're a dime a dozen).

Well, all ye of little faith, I present to you: The Motorola Kraze, Motorola's latest attempt at keeping up with the competition.

The Kraze is a touchscreen phone with a transparent flip. Though the phone looks nice, we are left with the inevitable question: what for? Why would a touchscreen phone need a touchscreen flip screen that really does nothing for the design or usability of the phone?

And if you're looking for a smartphone, this isn't what you want. Though the Kraze offers HTML and web browsing and allows you to watch streaming video, your organizational applications are likely to be just like those of other Motorola devices. So you're basically dealing with a regular touchscreen mobile phone.

My advice? It's probably best for those who want to look cool without having much functionality. But honestly, you Verizon subscribers (because the phone is for the Verizon service) would really be much better off saving your money and investing in a Blackberry Storm.

I'm just sayin'.

Looking at the Lotus

If you thought Blackberry was going to be the only ones releasing a flip QWERTY cell phone, you probably thought just a little too soon.

In September, LG announced the release of their new LX600, otherwise known as the Lotus.

However, unlike the Blackberry Pearl Flip, the Lotus is not a smartphone; instead, it belongs more into the messenging category with the likes of the Sidekick.

This phone seems like it would be perfect for young adults who want a professional looking phone without all the extra applications that probably wouldn't be used anyway.

The Lotus is being released sometime this month to Sprint, so all you message senders be on the lookout for it.