Earlier this month, the almighty RAZR fell from the top spot as America's best selling handset. Now, we're finding that the RAZR3 / Ruby has been canned. Granted, the move isn't all that surprising -- after all, Moto's known for awhile now that it simply can't keep tweaking the RAZR instead of, you know, innovating. But honestly, if this signals that the company is serious about moving forward and possibly adopting Android on the double, we won't shed a tear. Okay, maybe one, but only after all the lights are out.

[Via UnwiredView]

While it's cool that owners of the venerable Nokia 6010 and Motorola RAZR are forward-thinking enough to be recycling their unwanted, ancient handsets en masse, we've actually got a question for Nokia and Moto here: is this a title you're proud of? Seems like a double-edged sword since your models are getting tossed by the thousands, but hey, at least they're being tossed in an ethical way. Phone recycling firm ReCellular reports that the 6010 and the V3 (along with LG's VX4500) are the most commonly-recycled handsets of the moment -- pretty amazing when you think that the original RAZR was $500 on contract when it first launched, and now it's getting scrapped for traces of precious metal. How the mighty have fallen, eh?

According to a report from NPD, sales of cellphones have shifted in a manner which should shock and stun even a casual observer. Apparently for the first time in years, Motorola's ubiquitous RAZR has been overtaken in consumer sales... by the iPhone 3G. This is a watershed moment for handset sales in the US, marking not only a shift away from the dominant market leader, but a turn towards more complex, full-featured devices. The news comes hot on the heels of NPD's previous findings, which still placed the RAZR in the top spot -- though with ever-decreasing numbers. In that same report, the iPhone found itself in second place, but it appears that flagging interest in the inescapable dumbphone coupled with the recent iPhone PR blitz have put Apple's moneymaker into the top position. The news is also buoyed by recent reports that Apple has overtaken RIM as the number two smartphone vendor, and a J.D. Power study which found affection for the device waxing in the extreme. Overall, however, handset sales fell 15 percent year-over-year, and LG managed to snag the top brand position, with two models in the top five. Still, if there already wasn't a clear indication of the market moving towards both smartphones and touchscreen devices, this should give everyone a clearer picture of both the public's wants, and the power of Cupertino's ad-men. Full PR after the break.

No need to defog your spectacles, what you just read there in the headline is the truth. Astoundingly enough, Motorola's nearly archaic (in cellphone years, anyway) RAZR V3 is still the top-selling handset in the United States. Of course, it helps that it's highly subsidized on practically every carrier from coast to coast, but we're still a little stunned that it's selling this well nearly 2.5 years after Moto moved its 50 millionth unit. The rest of the top five isn't nearly as shocking, with Apple's iPhone snagging the silver, RIM's BlackBerry Curve grabbing the bronze, LG's Chocolate at number four and the BlackBerry Pearl at five. With the original RAZR still selling so well, one would think Motorola could just tweak it slightly and issue a second iteration for even more windfall profits. Er, wait.

We're going to confess a dirty little secret here: when we first started playing with the VE20, we didn't realize it was being branded and marketed as a RAZR. As we used it, though, it quickly became evident -- no one had to tell us this was a kindred spirit of the V3. For better or worse, the shape of the phone -- everything from the tapered upper edge of the display to the "chin" beneath the keypad -- looks and feels like an obvious evolution. You might call it a stepping stone in between the V3 and the V9, and considering that the V3 gets closer to its last breath on store shelves with each passing day (or so we hope), Moto and Sprint need something to slot in there beneath the mighty RAZR 2.

Call us insane, but for what the VE20 is, we liked it. It doesn't pretend to be a do-all, end-all superphone, nor does it try to wow you with its premium materials; it's just a decent midrange flip with what seems to be excellent build quality. The screen is exceptionally bright, clear, and rich, and the V9-aping secondary touchscreen is a nice touch (pun intended, of course). One area of concern: it froze up on us once, necessitating a restart, and the music app was completely broken in our tester. Our guess is that this'll be resolved in retail units or via a quick firmware update shortly after launch -- at least, it frigging better be.

The VE20 is available today for $99.99 on contract after rebates.

The Zero Day Initiative has revealed that a vulnerability exists in older RAZR firmware versions that could potentially -- under very rare circumstances -- allow some baddie to execute arbitrary code on your beloved phone. Basically, you'd have to accept an MMS from someone you don't know, it'd have to contain a JPEG with a specially malformed EXIF header, and of course, you'd have to be running an outdated version of your phone's firmware. In fact, ZDI reported the problem to Moto way back in July of last year and only revealed it to the public last week, giving 'em plenty of time to cook up a fix -- which thankfully, they have. Everyone did their part here, it seems, so don't even bother trying to exploit this one, criminals of the world. You know who you are.

[Via IntoMobile and CNET]

For better or worse, the relentless barrage of RAZR 2 variants might only be getting started. Motorola's South Korean outpost has teamed up with SK Telecom to release the RAZR 2 Pink Silver, featuring an "espresso" hued keypad teamed with a light pink case for folks who want to whisper their fashion sense, not scream it -- or, in Motorola's words, for a "confident young generation." Look for it now in SKT retailers if you happen to be in the area.

[Via Unwired View]

In case you hadn't noticed, Virgin Mobile rocks an ever-so-slightly higher end lineup north of the border than it does in the US, and to that end, it's just released the RAZR 2 V9m. We all know the drill here by now: 2 inch external QVGA display with music controls, 2.2 inch internal QVGA display, stereo Bluetooth, EV-DO, microSD expansion, and a 2 megapixel camera, all of which are ready to sit just above the KRZR in Virgin's stable. Grab it now for $149 CAD (about $147) on a three-year deal.

[Via Mobile In Canada]

We've just received a fresh round of release dates on AT&T, and if we had to pick a single word to describe the theme here, it'd be "colors." Shades upon shades of phones -- both new and old -- will see a release on AT&T in the next couple of months, starting with the Sony Ericsson Z750a, the first 3G Sony Ericsson to be released by a carrier in the States (but not in North America -- that honor belongs to Rogers); it'll hit in your choice of gray, pink, or purple in early April. The now-ancient UTStarcom 5700 finally sees release toward the end of April more than a year after we first saw it in the FCC's business, giving a lower-end choice to the Windows Mobile faithful. Finally, May should bring about the LG CU720 Shine in black, following its initial offerings of silver and red.

Oh, and it looks like the Motorola Z9 and the black Centro should be widely available pretty much any minute now -- stay tuned. Strangely missing from the list is the Vu, though that doesn't necessarily mean it won't be released by the end of May, it merely means that AT&T's not sure yet. Surprise, surprise.

[Thanks, Kal]

At this point, we're simply running out of metaphors for the egregious ways in which Motorola is abusing the industrial design of the original RAZR. Yes, Moto, we get it, it was a game-changing phone -- in 2004. Heck, we'll even give it a free pass for 2005 and 2006. But a new one in 2008? Seriously? Sure enough, the new V3s variant rocks out with CDMA support on the 800, 1900, and 1700MHz bands, making this the first RAZR of any sort to support AWS. Cricket just launched its first AWS phone, so we wouldn't be surprised to see this one land over there, too. Oh wait, our bad, Motorola did change one thing about this phone: the "A" has been dropped from the name. The manual calls out the V3s as the "MOTORZR," possibly in preparation for a broad new marketing campaign that's virtually identical to the old, but with even fewer vowels. Your guess is as good as ours.

Grab your Kleenex, folks, because we've heard today that a couple of seemingly timeless pillars in AT&T's lineup might be breathing their last few breaths of in-store air. First up, the Pearl 8100 is due for replacement on all the networks that still offer it, with the 8110 and 8120 models taking their place depending on individual carriers' dispositions toward WiFi, and we're hearing that AT&T will be phasing out the older units this month in preparation for an April launch of the GPS-equipped 8110.

Next -- and here's a shocker -- rumor has it that AT&T is also starting to close the door on the original Motorola RAZR V3. Not to worry; naturally, you'll still be able to get those great circa-2004 looks by picking up a V3xx, but the old-skool units appear to be on the verge of overstaying their welcome. Frankly, the writing's been on the wall there for a year, if not longer, so we're not sure that this is much more than a formality. We'll keep you updated on this one as soon as we here more.

[Thanks, Kal and Matthew]

Hello, Fido! Welcome to, oh, about two months ago. We know that you live in Rogers' ginormous shadow, but let's try to be more on the ball, k? From the looks of your RAZR 2 product page, you're still a little sleepy, too: "Cristal [sic] Talk" isn't how Moto spells it -- and as curious as we are about "pear to peer gaming," we're pretty sure you meant "peer to peer." Anyhoo, unlike Rogers' V9, it looks like Fido is getting the same pinkish color scheme that AT&T is rocking -- for better or for worse -- and features the usual V9 goodness: HSDPA, A2DP, a 2 megapixel cam, microSD expansion, and so on. Speaking of microSD, Fido throws a 2GB card into the deal, but being a couple months behind the bleeding edge doesn't come cheap -- it'll run $150 on a three-year contract after $125 rebate.

[Via Mobile In Canada]

Alright, Motorola faithful, listen up: AT&T's got a few goodies in store for you. Nothing we didn't already know about, really, but in light of the recent upheaval, it's a little reassuring to hear that stuff is still on track. It turns out that the Z9 -- a phone we heard about merely once before returning to the ether to mature for many, many more months -- is apparently on track for a January release alongside the updated V9 that will bring GPS and Video Share to the RAZR 2 formula. Oh, and that V365 replacement we'd mentioned a while back? Yep, it's still cookin' (with the code name "Hurricane," we hear) and may be billed as a higher end handset with crazy signal strength and some sort of industrial-grade metal housing. Anyone getting excited about that one?

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Seriously, are there any North American carriers left at this point that don't carry the RAZR 2? Yeah, we know there are a few that still don't, but wow, we've gotta admit we're impressed with Motorola's ability to seal the deal here. Telus' version of the V9m appears identical to Alltel's, featuring a dark blue shell, GPS, EV-DO, microSD expansion, and a 2 megapixel cam. Telus naturally bundles its full suite of ARPU-enhancing goodies like Telus Mobile Radio and Mobile TV -- so if you think the $249.99 CAD (about $265) you're paying upfront on a three-year contract is the only way Telus is going to make some coin off of ya, you're dead wrong.

[Via Mobile In Canada]