Motorola bows Krave ZN4 "clear-flip" touchscreen phone

Yep, Moto's latest is yet another touchscreen handset, but with a twist: a clear-plastic flip that's fully touch-enabled. Interesting.

Available now on Verizon Wireless, the long-rumored Krave ZN4 ($149 with a two-year contract) might look familiar to anyone who's seen Motorola's old, Linux-powered Ming phones—and indeed, both handsets have the same, transparent plastic cover.

But Motorola apparently decided to throw a curve ball with the Krave, imbuing its flip with touch-sensitive capabilities that let you access several multimedia features (such features as streaming videos, the music player, GPS, and the photo album) even when the phone is closed. (A network of wire mesh baked into the flip carries any touch signals, as well as audio for the embedded earpiece.) That's a pretty neat trick—but in its early review of the Krave, CNET complains that the flip tends to get in the way when it's time to tap out messages on the Krave's internal, 2.8-inch (and haptic-enabled) touchscreen. Huh.

Anyway, the Krave works on Verizon's 3G EV-DO network, good for streaming video, full-track music downloads, and speedy Web browsing; the handset also supports Verzion's MediaFlo-powered Mobile TV service. Also on board: A two-megapixel camera, GPS, SMS and picture messaging, voice recognition, Bluetooth, and up to 8GB of microSD memory expansion. The ZN4 also comes equipped with an accelerometer that'll automatically turn the screen when you hold the phone sideways. Missing from the package: Wi-Fi.

Related:
Press release
Motorola Krave ZN4 full review [CNET]