Motorola’s latest saviour – a camera phone. Don't they know it's already been done?

Sometime ago Motorola announced that it is to work in strategic collaboration with Kodak. The first result of that partnership is to be the Motozine ZN5, a five megapixel camera phone that will hit the US market next month. It has no 3G capability.

In an over-excited press release, Motorola waxes lyrical about photography and positively gushes about the Kodak patented image optimisation technology that will be part and parcel of the new handset. It seems the Motozine ZN5 will come pre-loaded and pre-configured with Kodak gizmos so that consumers will have easy access to Kodak's online and PC services.

Frankly, the announcement seems to do little more than throw into stark relief Motorola's lack of imagination. To begin with Motorola says it wants to "set a new benchmark for a mid-tier device." Not exactly a gut-grabber that aim, eh? The stock market certainly didn't think so anyway.

Were the Motozine ZN5 to be the first of a new suite of products as the company radically redesigns its entire product portfolio it might be well and good - but there is no indication that the Chicago-headquartered handset manufacturer intends to any such thing. As far as we know today, this is just a one-off punt at a market sector already more than adequately covered and served by other manufacturers. It's yet another "me too" product.

It seems peculiar to be eulogising about five megapixel inbuilt cameras when many other manufacturers are already moving up to the eight megapixel range and have plans to go above even that. OK, Kodak's image optimisation maybe the bees knees but Motorola will have a hell of a job on to convince consumers that a five megapixel camera can inherently produce better and more detailed shots that an eight megapixel enabled handset can, but it seems determined to try to do so.

Basically, Motorola is taking downmarket the five megapixel cameras that are currently built-in to some of its higher range handset models and putting them into cheaper phones in the hope that subscribers will be attracted. It's an enormous gamble.

According to Motorola's blurb, the new handset is EDGE-enabled, and the camera comes with an inbuilt Xenon flash. The device also features WiFi capability, Bluetooth, an FM radio a version of Windows Media Player and a web browser. Rumours have it that the device can also be used to make voice calls.

OK, so you take a brilliant five megapixel photograph.