We had a feeling we'd get a mixed bag of reviews as soon as we first saw the Motorola Krave ZN4 -- it's one of those love it or hate it type things, you know? In some cases, reviewers chose to focus on the positives, noting that it was cute, unique, a good music player and a phone that would last and last without a recharge. Another batch of critics couldn't hold back the whip, pointing out that it lacked WiFi, packed a lackluster browser, included yawn-worthy software and offered a keyboard that was "straight-up awkward." As expected, overall ratings hovered between just below average to just above average, and it seems this phone will be exactly what you make it out to be. Moto fans will likely have plenty to cheer about, but those without a dog in the fight may want to give the writeups below a more thorough glance before dropping $149.99 and agreeing to a super-sized 2-year commitment.

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Color us as unsurprised as ever, but Motorola's unique, if not fancy, Krave ZN4 just got official. The touchscreen-based flip phone is launching today on Verizon Wireless, bringing with it two layers of touch -- one on the interactive clear flip outside and another with the full 2.8-inch touchscreen inside. You'll also find support for V CAST Mobile TV, V CAST Video, V CAST Music with Rhapsody and VZ Navigator, not to mention the 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, HTML browser and visual voicemail capabilities. It's in stores today for a buck fifty after signing away your cellular soul for two years and waiting ages for a $50 mail-in rebate to arrive in your mailbox.

Here on the right coast of the US of A, it's not quite October 14th. That factoid aside, someone has still managed to acquire one of Motorola's peculiar (in a good way) Krave ZN4s from Verizon a few days in advance of its official release date. The touchscreen-heavy flip phone looks mighty impressive in the enviable photos waiting in the read link, and early impressions from the lucky owner assert that call quality is "very good," texting on it is a breeze and the touch response in general is quite satisfactory. For those of you passing this off as a gimmick before, see if you're still feeling the same way after having a look at the in the wild shots.

[Via phoneArena]