Despite the A1600 and A1800, Motorola's soldiering on with variants of the original circa-2006 MING -- for reasons only known to the company's most senior, jaded product managers, we'd imagine -- and the A1200R's the latest fruit of those efforts. The QVGA touchscreen, 2 megapixel camera, translucent lid, and Linux core all carry over from the original, but the A1200R ups the ante with a new widget platform that lets the user customize little tidbits of information (news, weather, and so on) to be shown on the home screen. Also new to the model is an Office document viewer, but what isn't new is the fact that the US will almost certainly never get it; it's been announced in Argentina, which makes it a likely target for a variety of South American countries over the next few months.

[Via Unwired View]

Say it ain't so! Some three years after the original A1200 MING drew attention overseas with its then-flashy design and Linux OS, we're finally hearing that somewhat of a direct successor is on the way. Oh sure, we've certainly seen others in the MING family surface over the past little while, but this one follows right in line even in name. The A1210 sports a 2.8-inch QVGA (400 x 240) touchscreen, a 3.1 megapixel camera, FM radio, tri-band GSM support, Bluetooth, USB, a TI OMAP850 processor and a microSD card slot. The most interesting part, however, is the homegrown Linux build that'll reportedly be loaded on. Sadly, it's too early to tell whether that system will be all new or partially regurgitated, but the Chinese market should be able to tell in the not-too-distant future.

By its very nature, the MING series has never been the most understated lineup of phones money could buy -- but if the trick transparent cover isn't enough to turn some heads your way on your next trip to Taiwan, can we recommend this instead? It seems Moto has teamed up with Cartier in some capacity here to trick out the A1600 with enough gold and fake (well, hopefully fake) croc skin to make all but the most unabashedly flashy buyers cringe. At $28,000 TWD (about $867), it's no Vertu -- so it's kinda ironic that they've somehow managed to outdo all but the most ridiculous Vertus on the tacky luxury meter, isn't it?

[Thanks, TheLostSwede]

Update: Seems the A1600 itself might simply be a Luxury Edition in the same vein as the V8 -- Cartier comes into play with the bundled business card holder. Thanks, ZTE!

Does the MING series have a place in North America? The stylish (well, depending on who you ask) Linux-based Moto smartphones have always been designed from the ground up for the Chinese market going back to the original A1200, but from afar, it's easy to see why you might want to put one in your pocket no matter where you live; after all, they look unlike anything else on the market, they're smartphones, they're delightfully compact, and they rock touchscreens. But realistically, is it possible to make a MING your daily dialer? Read on!

Thanks to the good folks at Wireless Imports for the hookup!

New leaks out of China are consistent with previous rumors, suggesting that Motorola's 2008 phalanx of mobiles is starting to gel -- for the Asia region, anyway, and there's really no knowing whether we'll see any of these stateside. Both of the new MINGs are pictured here, bearing the A1600 and A1800 model designations as expected; the big difference seems to be dual SIM support in the A1800, along with revised styling. Speaking of dual SIM, the VE75 slider will do 'em too, adding a 2 megapixel camera and a generously sized 2.6 inch WQVGA display. The long-rumored 5 megapixel product of Moto's cooperation with Kodak, the so-called ZN5, gets pictured here as well; at first glance we can't say we're impressed, but let's not dive too deep into it seeing how the picture is the size of a fricking thimble. Finally, we learn that Moto's jumping on the TD-SCDMA bandwagon quite early, working to pump out the L800t candybar; the 220 x 176 resolution isn't going to blow anyone away, but hey, at least it'll blaze across the interwebs at the Olympics this summer. Maybe.

[Via Unwired View]

First seen last year and rumored for a Q2 '08 release, it seems like some impatient individuals in the Far East (where the handset is presumably made) decided to take matters into their own hands and have a little "launch" of their own, if you will, with a prototype unit that fell just a little too far from the manufacturing facility's tree. Unwired View turned up this A1600 MING 2 for sale in Shenzen, China, offering a fabulous glimpse at the Linux-based MING successor; turns out she sports WiFi, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and integrated GPS. Add world-band HSDPA, Motorola, and our money is yours. Honest.

It's been a rough couple months for Motorola's handset division -- rumors of a sale, two high-profile executive departures, layoffs, and that pathetic showing at Mobile World Congress -- but today it looks like the company might have some tricks left up its sleeve for CTIA. We're not sure where it came from, but this supposed marketing video popped up on YouTube with shots of several new handsets, all of which jive with rumors we've heard about Moto's upcoming devices, like the Linux-based Ming 2 and the 5 megapixel cameraphone developed with Kodak (pictured above). Other notables are a Q variant running Windows Mobile 6.1 and an odd new music slider that could be the ROKR E10. Of course, none of this is official (and Moto did release a hype-laden video just before MWC only to fall totally flat), but we'd be lying if we said we weren't hoping to see Moto try and come back around at CTIA -- we'll see what happens. Video after the break.

[Via Unwired View]

According to Bill Chen, General Manager of Motorola Taiwan's Mobile Device business, the second generation Linux-based Ming handset won't launch until Q2 of 2008. Not February as initially rumored. What's more, the handset will be introduced in high-end and entry-level configurations -- unfortunately, both are GSM/EDGE, not 3G capable. DigiTimes says that Inventec won the manufacturing contract of this MOTO Beijing designed handset. Given the unusual (for MOTO) use of a lower-case vowel in the name, there's a good chance this was never meant for Stateside consumption anyway. Too bad, eh?

What's that, you say? Reportedly, that picture you see above is the Motorola A1600, which could be the long-awaited successor to the A1200 MING. Granted, we've no proof to go along with it, but the design sure fits the mold. According to Chinese-based eNet, this bugger will sport quad-band GSM connectivity, a 3.2-megapixel camera (with autofocus), WiFi, assisted-GPS, a couple of built-in games, a "talking dictionary" and a Linux-based OS. Interestingly enough, that last tidbit certainly conflicts with other reports we've heard, but we suppose time will tell (look for a February launch) what system really ends up running the MING 2 show.

[Via UnwiredView]

Don't be fooled -- not only is this not a real MING, it's also not a Motorola and you probably won't be able to use it in your neck of the woods. The PG2000 takes come cues from the Moto A1200 but adds PHS support in addition to a dualband GSM radio, making it perfect for the unusual standard that sees some love in Asian nations. Features include a QVGA touchscreen, MMC slot (huh?), 2 megapixel camera, and we're guessing some variant of Linux, just like the real deal. No word on pricing or availability, though it got shown around at the 2007 Taipei Computer Applications Show -- so if you happen to be around Taiwan, you might just get a glimpse of it.

[Via Mobilewhack]

Details are still hazy on what form the MING may take if and when it enjoys an official US launch, but Boy Genius is reporting now that it won't have much in common with its Asian sibling. It looks like the device will mercifully see a 3G upgrade -- advantage, AT&T -- but some might be disappointed to hear that its Linux-based JUIX soul will apparently be tossed out in favor of Windows Mobile. The reason? In its current form, JUIX can't handle the stresses of high-speed data that come with WCDMA, so Windows Mobile has to swoop in and save the day. Still no word on when it may launch, but now that we know it's likely just another somewhat generic Windows Mobile device, our excitement's tempered just a smidge.