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]

It may be no match for its MAXX cousin, but the scrappy lil' Motorola V3xx (alias "MOTORAZR xx") does alright for itself -- especially this side of the pond, where folks are still relatively starved for HSDPA-equipped handsets. The latest FCC filings reveal that the V3xx will be heading to (or at least tested by) Cingular, which we can say with some confidence thanks primarily to a user's manual absolutely riddled with Cingular references. With just a 1.3 megapixel external camera and that please-make-it-stop original RAZR styling, the V3xx seems ultimately destined for one of the lower tiers in Cingular's 3G lineup, but the presence of a secondary forward-facing cam indicates that it could also end up being one of the first to support video calling.

[Via Phone Scoop]

As expected, a variety of goodies officially greeted us for the first time today on T-Mobile -- but if you're not a Motorola or Danger fan, said variety really isn't so varied after all. Out of the Motorola stable, we have the Miami Ink-themed "Cherry Blossom" and "Dragon" tattooed RAZRs, both of the old-skool V3 variety, which'll set you back $90 after rebates. The upgraded V3t (in any color you like, as long as it's black) comes in at $150, while the flagship Dolce & Gabbana V3i runs $300 on contract. Turning our attention to Danger's offerings, the special Sidekick 3s will run $350 in both LRG and Diane von Furstenburg varieties, a $50 premium over the standard issue.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

With all the CDMA RAZR love that seems to be going around these days, why not spread some over to the MVNO folks, too? That seems to be the thinking with Amp'd, anyway -- never mind the fact that the darned thing's K1m successor is out and about -- as an Amazon slideshow page for a T-Mobile branded V3 variant seems to reveal. Everything seems perfectly kosher right up until the second-to-last photograph, which curiously reveals "Amp'd Mobile" emblazoned across the back. Now, last time we checked, Amp'd was a CDMA MVNO and doesn't do much business with those crazy GSM T-Mobile types, so we're guessing some absentminded Amazon employee just put up the wrong pic. To be fair, the V3, V3i, V3c, and V3m are all barely distinguishable even to a trained eye -- but shouldn't the giant carrier logo silkscreened onto the phone be some sort of clue?

[Thanks, Will]

It's no secret that Sprint will be going all Moto on us in the next few weeks, but we didn't realize how soon -- or how red -- their initial offering would be. Sources are telling us that Sprint will be announcing a red RAZR (the V3m, we're guessing, like the mockup above) to benefit AIDS charities, presumably in cooperation with Bono's Red organization, much like the red SLVR before it. Normally, we'd lash out at Sprint for being so late to the RAZR game with this one, but since it's for a good cause, we're going to bite our tongues just this once.

Pardon us for letting the V3xx get lost in the sea of Moto product announcements last week, but can you really blame us? Visually, it's the same old V3. Sure, it's got EDGE, HSDPA, A2DP, and a 1.3-megapixel camera, but again: visually, it's the same old V3. We salute the RAZR for everything it's done for Motorola and the industry as a whole, but c'mon guys, now that you've popped out some fresh styles, do we really need to keep this thing on life support? Whatevs; we'll take our 3G Motos MAXX-style, thankyouverymuch.

[Via Phone Scoop]

It's hard for any phone to out-do the legendary StarTac, but Motorola's posterchild -- you know which one we're talking about -- has officially sold 50 million units. Since the Hong Kong debut way back in 2004, the RAZR has dominated the mobile scene, and with a figure like that, you have to give props to the ingenious engineering, er, marketing team behind it. The handset really hasn't changed much over the years, and its lamentable success is due in large part to buyers' infatuation with colors; the ability jump-start sales by varying the paint job gave Motorola a bonafide cash cow, enabling everyone and their mother (literally) to jump on the ultimate mobile bandwagon. And with the possibility of more colors on the horizon, the question beckons: when will the madness end? While the 50 million unit milestone is commendable, we're not shy about spending our time looking towards the future.

[Via Mobiledia]