Photos: Motorola Razr 2 V8 and V9, Rokr Z6 and bendy Z8

In what can only be described as a cave, Motorola on Wednesday unveiled a variety of new handsets, set to hit UK shelves some time soon. After a rather lengthy introduction that involved businessmen trying to act like comedians, we finally managed to get our hands on the new phones, which come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

To start with, we were given a quick hands-on with the Motorola Razr 2 (or squared, we're not sure) V8, which is a thinner, shinier and frankly better version of the original Razr V3. On the front of the V8 there's a large colour screen that displays text messages and the music player, among other things.

The V8's external screen (pictured) also has touch-sensitive controls that vibrate when you touch them, giving you the sensation that you're touching a real button. Other features include a new and improved user interface, which seems much better than any of its predecessors, and a text-to-speech system, in case you're driving and want to hear a text message.

Next up was the V9, which is similar to the V8 on the outside, but slightly thicker. The main differences between the two handsets are that the V9 runs on a similar user interface to its predecessors and comes with HSDPA and 3G connectivity. It also comes in a dark red colour, whereas the V8 comes in a dark bluey-grey hue.

After battling our way through the mountain of other journalists attending the event, we managed to get our hands on the Rokr Z6. This music-centric handset is a slider phone that lets you store up to 1,000 songs on it via an expandable microSD card. It supports USB 2.0 for fast music transfers and comes with stereo Bluetooth (A2DP).

Last but not least, we got our tech-loving mitts on the Z8, which you may remember we saw out at 3GSM earlier this year. This bendy slider phone, designed to fit better against your face, is aimed at media junkies who want to carry movies on their phones. There's 80MB of internal memory, with the option to expand via microSD HC.

Other features include a video player that plays video at 30 frames per second, the ability to send photos and videos to sites such as Flickr and YouTube, and Motorola has done a deal with Sky, which means not only can you watch certain Sky channels on the Z8, you can also remotely program your Sky+ set-top box at home. Handy.

Motorola also announced the Motorola Q 9, a BlackBerry-style handset, which we have a full review and pictures of here.- Andrew Lim

Update: A Motorola Rizr Z8 review is now on the site.
A Motorola Razr 2 V8 review is also now on the site.

The Motorola Razr 2 V8 has a stainless-steel frame that makes it strong, even though it's so thin.

Similar to the original Razr V3's layout, the V8 has a flat keypad and relatively large colour screen. As you can see, however, the lip at the bottom of the keypad is much smaller.

From the side, the V8 looks really impressive and, unlike many other thin phones, feels quite solid.

The V9 looks very similar to the V8, but is thicker and comes in a dark red colour.

The inside of the V9 is almost identical to the V8's, except for the keypad dividers that curve at the edges.

The V9's profile isn't as thin as the V8's, but for a 3G phone it's pretty skinny.

Motorola has gone for a vibrant orange colour on the Rokr Z6 -- fashion statement or hideous mistake? You decide.

The Z6 isn't as thin as the new Razrs, but some people will prefer the slider form factor.

Behold the Symbian-based Z8. For more pictures of the Z8 click here.