Motorola announces its Fire smartphone

US MOBILE PHONE MAKER Motorola has announced its budget Android smartphone the Fire or XT316.

After releasing what it claims is "the world's most powerful smartphone" in the Atrix, Motorola has put out a phone for the consumer with a lighter pocket.

Fei Liu, SVP of mass market consumer products at Motorola said, "With a fun, beautiful design and a great package of social media options, Motorola XT316 gives busy users the smartphone experience they crave at a price they can afford,"

The Motorola Fire will come with a 2.8in QVGA touchscreen and a full Qwerty keyboard. It will run Android 2.3 Gingerbread and have the name "Spice Key" in Latin America.

We don't have details of its processor but we do know that it will have 256MB of RAM and 512MB of internal storage. The Fire will also have a 3MP rear facing camera and interchangeable "fashion jackets", or covers to you and me.

Motorola quotes a "best in class battery life" of eight hours talk time and 30 days standby time in 3G mode. The Fire will have WiFi as well as 3G along with other technology such as FM radio, GPS and an accelerometer.

Apparently the Fire can change between predefined modes for work and play using the Moto Switch user interface.

The Fire will be 13.45mm thick and weigh 110g. We have only a vague availability date of "later this Summer" and no pricing. µ