So try and put yourself in a Ferrari owner's shoes, if just for a moment. You're filthy rich; likely too rich for your own good, and possibly rich enough to have extraordinarily eccentric taste. What phone's in your pocket? A mere commoner's Motorola Z8? Of course not -- odds are you're sporting a Vertu or two -- but Moto is hoping to keep you in the fold with a specially branded version of the same, tired, old Z8 that launched nearly a year ago. For what it's worth, the phone features all manner of Ferrari badging, gets slathered in the classic rosso corsa that graces an overwhelming majority of Ferrari's works of rolling art, and features preloaded Ferrari media, but that really doesn't change the fact that it's a flippin' Z8, now does it? Granted, this isn't the first time Motorola has partnered with the legendary Italian marque having pushed out a branded MOTORAZR MAXX V6 back in the day, but something tells us Enzo drivers aren't carrying those, either (just a hunch). Find it in the Ferrari Store and through Moto's European retail channels starting in the first quarter.

[Via Unwired View]

Motorola's multimedia powerhouse "kick slider" Symbian handset has gotten reviewed over at mobile-review.com. We appreciate the extreme detail Eldar and his crew go into when reviewing handsets, and the Z8 review is no different. Although this recently announced handset is not yet available from what we can see, it looks to easily be one of Motorola's flagships soon. Mobile-review's breakdown on the Z8 is that it's a handset with no competition (based on its form factor combined with feature set) along with it having one of the best displays available on any handset. Add to that the Z8's improvements in the UIQ interface, a better iTap text input system, that QVGA screen, 2 megapixel cam and A2DP Bluetooth and it all adds up to a very well-rounded handset. One caveat: you'll have to get used to the form factor if you're not a slider fan.

He did it, British climber Rod Baber made a cell mobile phone (apparently using a MOTORIZR Z8, not a satellite phone) call from the top of Mount Everest. In fact, he made the record breaking call twice: the first to a voice mail account, the other to his wife and children. He even sent a text message to Moto which read, "One small text for man, one giant leap for mobilekind - thanks Motorola." Real cute, Rod. The Motorola sponsored "world record" was made possible by a Chinese mobile base station installed with a line of sight to the north ridge. Officially, the calls were made at 29,035 feet (about 8,848 meters) in temperatures of -22 degress fahrenheit (-30 degrees centigrade) -- so cold that Rob had to tape the batteries to his body just to keep them active. We're not sure where he stored the banana-shaped Z8. Of course, anyone who has ever made a call from a commercial aircraft (hey, it happens) knows that it's really not a record, but who are we to argue with Guinness?

[Via BBC, thanks Mook]

Yeah, the RAZR 2 is alright, we guess, but we're not idiots -- and that's exactly what Motorola appears to have taken us for over the past week leading up to today's announcements. Not only did Motorola's team drone on endlessly about the MING, GSM Q (now known as the Q8), the Q9h, the Z6, and the Z8 -- even daring to cast some in a new-announcement light -- but it now seems that the multimedia powerhouse CEO Ed Zander was getting us all fired up over last week was the aforementioned Z8. Yes, the very same Z8 that was announced months ago at 3GSM. Next time, Ed, cut to the chase and let us know when you're going to be rehashing an old phone to hype your conference, kthxbai.

We just got the chance to go mano a mano with the MOTORIZR Z8 here at 3GSM. Whether you call it a kick-slider or banana, one thing's for sure: it feels good pressed up to the face. Just check the pics to see how greasy close it's been to the legions of sweaty geek-cheeks here in Barcelona. Eww, man sweat -- but ohhh Symbian.

What a difference a profile shot makes, eh? Say hello again, to Motorola's 3G MOTORIZR Z8 -- the first ever "kick slider" sporting a new form factor meant to more confortably fit the profile of your face. This pup packs a Symbian (yes, Symbian) OS and up to 3.6Mbps HSDPA data in a 15.3-mm thin form factor. It delivers a 1.4 x 2-inch, QVGA 16 million color display and 2 megapixel camera around back (VGA cam up front for video calls) with the ability to record in either MPEG-4 or 3gp (for MMS). It also sports 90MB of internal memory with MiroSD expansion to store even more pictures, video, or MP3 audio; A2DP stereo Bluetooth audio; and up to 5-hours of 3G talk time or up to 16 days standby. Again, no mention of such trivialities as the frequencies supported, but the BSkyB partnership is a pretty good hint that the UK and Europe will be first in line for the Z8 when it pops in April. More pics after the break.

Sorry we don't yet have any hard info on this thing, but you know what a front-facing camera means, right? Say hi to the 3G MOTORIZR (or RIZR, if you will), the Z8.