Motorola RAZR2 V8 Luxury Edition
Motorola's V8 has been dipped in gold, covered in snakeskin and endorsed by David Beckham. The quadband clamshell has 2GB of non-expandable memory and a 2-megapixel camera, and comes with a pouch, Bluetooth headset and swanky suede wipecloth.
Motorola's V8 Luxury Edition handset is the swanky one in the RAZR2 line-up. Though all three models -- the V8, Luxury V8 and V9 -- sport identical super-slim silhouettes, there are two main differences as far as specs are concerned. Both V8s are quadband GSM handsets while the V9 is HSDPA, and the V8s have 2GB of non-expandable memory instead of the V9's 45MB-plus-microSD-slot combo.
With the V8 Luxury Edition, the focus is on fashion. Well, David Beckham's idea of fashion, which is nothing if not distinctive. The handset is accented with 18-karat gold, and the back surface offers a tactile matte snakeskin finish. If that's not quite serpenty enough for you, it also comes with a patent black snakeskin pouch and matching lanyard with what looks like a gold coin attached. A suede wipecloth and teeny Bluetooth headset -- with custom gold-rimmed case for charging -- seal the deal.
Super-rich soccer star and clotheshorse David Beckham caused a Sydney Optus store -- and the pavement outside -- to be clogged with rabid fans when he made an appearance at the handset's launch in November this year. Between flashing his pearlies for the paparazzi throng, Becks talked up the V8, saying he had "a certain amount of input" into the handset's design.
For more on the RAZR2 line-up, read our review of the Motorola V9.