More than two years have passed since Motorola unveiled the Ming A1200. This smartphone came as a huge surprise to the industry because it was Motorola’s out of the box attempt to create a remarkable product - and when we say remarkable, we mean Seth Godin remarkable. They took in a fantastic aesthetic design and merged it with Linux on a mobile phone - something pretty new in 2006. This year, Motorola unveils the spiritual successor to the Motorola Ming A1200; say hello to the MOTO A810.

The new A810 keeps the familiar layout of the previous Ming, but it doesn’t use Linux as its OS. Instead, the developers have created a proprietary Linux-like operating system that upon first glance, isn’t really different from the previous version.

In terms of form factor, the A810 is very different. Although both keep the slate style layout, the A810 doesn’t come with a flip cover. Note that the previous version’s flip cover also housed the antenna which you could see from the transparent casing - an aesthetic beauty! In this case, the MOTO A810 houses an internal antenna. The buttons of the A810 are very minimal with two call buttons and a main menu button at the bottom center of the unit. The side of the unit contains a sort of jog dial / device lock mechanism. In terms of specs, the MOTO A810 comes with the following:
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I christen thee the “MotoMing!” Sure took a while. I have a unit on review straight from China. The Ming (whose boring name is the A1200) is a Linux based PDA phone that hails from the old Motorola smartphone designs. The new Ming looks absolutely fantastic. If we were to grade the Ming’s aesthetics, it would have to rate a 5/5, 100%, 10/10 .. well you get the picture. If you want to see the complete specs of the A1200, then click here.

In 2008, Motorola has released the spiritual successor of the Ming, which is christened as the MOTO A810. Check it out.

Seriously, the Ming’s form factor is to die for. Take a look at the sleek semi-see through protective flip case that isn’t just an aesthetic boon. The Ming’s flip actually shows off the antenna which leads to the earpiece hardware. See that? Wow.

The Ming is subject to fingerprints and other icky stuff because of its material, which is some sort of hard, smoked transparent plastic. Take a look at the picture below to see what I mean. These particles were highlighted after an hour’s commute in my pocket.

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