The Motorola Aura (styled AURA) is a series of luxury mobile phones from Motorola, which is part of the 4LTR line. This series was announced in October 2008 and made available for purchase by December of that year. Though originally intended to be a series, only one phone, the Aura R1, was ultimately released. However, three additional special editions of the Aura R1 were released throughout 2009: the Aura DiamondEdition, Aura Celestial Edition and Aura Diamond Edition. The Aura was marketed as a luxury device, with a price tag of US$2000. It was made from premium materials, such as stainless steel and sapphire, in order to appeal to a larger audience. It was also packaged in a wooden box to make it look more special.
The AURA phone features a circular display with a high resolution of 300dpi. The user interface is specifically designed for this circular display, using the MotoMagx operating system from Motorola. One of the device's unique features is its swivel-like opening mechanism. This mechanism uses Swiss-made gears, made of Rockwell 50-55 hardened steel, and 130 precision ball bearings.[1]
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| Motorola Aura R1 | |
| Manufacturer: | Motorola |
| Available: | December 2008 |
| Screen: | circular TFT screen, 16 million colors, 480px in diameter |
| Camera: | 2 megapixel camera (1600×1200 pixels) with video |
| Memory: | 2 GB internal memory, no Memory card slot |
| Networks: | 2G only, GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
| Battery: | Li-Ion 810 mAh, Talk time capacity: Up to 7 h 20 min. |
| Connectivity: | Bluetooth 2.0, USB |
| Size: | 96.9 x 47.6 x 18.6 mm |
| Form: | Swivel |
| Weight: | 141 g |
| Music: | MP3, AAC, WMA, WAV, AAC+ |
| Related: | Motorola V70 |
| Other: | Stainless steel housing, Assisted opening blade mechanism with Carbon-carbide coated gears, voice memo, chemically engraved textures. |
The R1 was announced in October 2008 and put in production in December 2008. The launch price was approximately €1,420 (UK£1,200, over $2000) due to its premium materials and packaging. The phone featured GSM technology, 2GB of internal memory, and a user interface optimized for its circular display, which was a 1.55" screen with a high resolution of 300dpi.
Two Aura special editions were announced at Mobile World Congress 2009: DiamondEdition and Gold Edition. Both of these were styled by luxury designer Alexander Amosu. The DiamondEdition was adorned with 90 diamonds around the circular display whereas the Gold Edition featured a 24-carat gold-plated housing.[2] Both editions received a limited release due to its exclusivity.
Motorola released a special edition in July 2009 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing. Motorola helped create some of the equipment that enabled the Apollo 11 astronauts to communicate with Earth. The special edition phone came with pre-loaded pictures, audio, and video content from NASA. The handset came with a laser-cut inscription and nine post stamps to commemorate the mission. The first unit produced was gifted to Neil Armstrong.[3]
October 2009 saw the release of Aura Diamond Edition, a device upgrade with 18 carat gold plating and 34 diamonds around its screen and navigation buttons. Due to the more premium materials, it had a US$5,730 price tag at launch.[4] Both the Diamond and Celestial editions were showcased at Mobile World Congress 2010.