New Delhi: Global wireless communications major Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), has announced the global launch of its ultra-slim Motofone handset from India, enabling Indian consumers, for once, to be the first to own and operate a global product.

Motorola says it will use the Motofone to connect the next billion mobile phone users. The product is available for the GSM mobile technology while the CDMA version will be out before the end of the year.

The new handset was unveiled jointly by K.Sridhara, member, Technology, Telecom Commission, government of India, and Allen Burnes, corporate vice president, high growth markets, mobile devices, Motorola.

As Motorola''s thinnest phone yet at approximately 9mm, Motofone is positioned as a value-priced handset with an extensive core feature set, while appealing to sophisticated design tastes and incorporates a flat keypad, a range of colours and innovative materials.

The product is based on Motorola''s new SCPL design platform and will be "the first of a new breed of handsets designed to disrupt today''s communications landscape by cutting across price tiers, product segments and international markets," says Motorola.

"Today''s global debut of Motofone in India marks a major milestone as Motorola continues its drive to connect the next billion handset users," said Burnes. "Innovatively designed to meet the needs and tastes of consumers such as those right here in India, Motofone is a signature handset that specifically addresses the universal desire for connectivity."

Specifically for the Indian market, Motorola is further enhancing Motofone''s features by providing voice prompt options, apart from English and Hindi, in another six local languages - Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telegu, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali.

Motofone offers an intuitive interface built with icons and voice versus text, as well as voice prompts in local languages, the handset makes it easier and friendlier for first-time users to navigate, place a call, and retrieve messages. Its large, high contrast screen, powered by a revolutionary ClearVision display, provided by E Ink Corporation, makes it easier to use the phone outdoors as its changeable electronic ink display is just as easy to read in bright sunlight or dimly lit environments from virtually any angle - just like paper.

"E Ink is unleashing the design freedom of Motorola which enables disruptive innovation," said Russ Wilcox, CEO of E Ink Corporation. "Today''s launch marks a big milestone in the display industry as it shows that electronic paper displays are entering the mainstream."