Motorola adds new Q colors

Motorola Inc. on Monday unveiled new color versions of its MotoQ smartphone -- licorice and lime -- that will be available by summer.

The announcement was made on the first day of the CTIA Wireless trade show in Las Vegas, a competitive campground where industry giants launch their best products.

But for Motorola, it was just new colors.

"So it's another color," said Jane Zweig, chief executive of Columbia, Md.-based The Shosteck Group, which analyzes the wireless industry. "It's not going to save them."

Introducing new colors instead of innovative phones has been one of the biggest complaints about Motorola from Wall Street. The troubled mobile devices unit already has exhausted its pallet for its ultra-thin Razr phone and others.

Those barbs, along with financial and market share woes, have led the company to announce last week it would split into two publicly traded companies by next year.

Besides the new colors, Motorola also said it has upgraded the display screen and keyboard to make it easier and faster for typing and sending messages, said Kristi Lundgren, MotoQ product manager based in Libertyville.

"People wanted more than a black smartphone," said Lundgren. "They're pulling it out of their briefcase and their purse. So they're looking for more color."

The newest versions of MotoQ will be available from Alltel and U.S. Cellular this summer. Verizon Wireless will offer MotoQ with its VZ Navigator GPS system later this month. Prices for the phone vary with rebates and required two-year service agreements.

Other analysts say Motorola must develop a viable low-end product.

"The longer they take, the more intense will be their losses," said Jordan Zounis, telecom analyst with Morningstar Inc.