­Motorola has shown off a luxury model mobile phone - the AURA. The company says that its form recalls the timeless beauty of luxury watches with the introduction of the world’s first circular display on a mobile device.

Technical precision and mechanical excellence are met with a Swiss-made main bearing and more than 200 parts that create a seamless opening for the handset. The phone is capped with a Grade 1, 62-carat sapphire crystal lens – one of the most scratch-resistant materials on earth.

“AURA is Motorola’s latest endeavor into the high-tier mobile device space and is the result of our continued inspiration to innovate in design, imagination and state-of-the-art handcraftsmanship,” said Jim Wicks, corporate vice president and director of Consumer Experience Design, Mobile Devices, Motorola. “From the moment AURA owners hold their phones, they elevate their own experience in luxury and unmatched quality.”

The front piece of the phone takes nearly two weeks to create. In that time, the stainless steel is sculpted, electro and hand polished, chemically etched and PVD coated.

The Swiss-made main bearing, gears composed of Rockwell 50-55 hardened steel and 130 precision ball bearings work in tandem to drive the assisted-opening blade, an effect more like opening a luxury car door than accessing a mobile device. Its custom-engineered rotating mechanism is composed of more than 200 high-precision individual parts, and the gears are protected from harsh conditions with the same coatings used in high-performance racing engines.

AURA is expected to be available around the globe beginning in Q4 2008.

Motorola AURA Open

Motorola AURA Closed

Source:cellular-news