Motorola has been busy over the last year, and has showcased 3 new handsets, which should be released over the next few months via different carriers. First off, we have the Motorola W233, which has the distinction of being the first handset to be made from recycled water bottles, which is probably a sign that Motorola is going green too. The device has a carbon neutral footprint, so you wouldn’t be harming our environment too much and it also costs 20% less to manufacture, something that Motorola will certainly be happy about. Features of the W233 include dual-band 850/1900 GSM/EDGE, 9-hours of talk time, CrystalTalk, microSD card expansion and some basic messaging features.

The Surf A3100 is a touchscreen phone that should usher the older Ming out of the doorway. The phone should be available in Q1 in select Asian markets, though there isn’t any mention whether we’ll be getting this phone in North America. Features of this phone include Windows Mobile Profession 6.1, 2.8-inch display, stereo Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3-megapixel cameara, microSDHC card expansion, aGPS, quad-band GSM/EDGE and 850/1900/2100 tri-band HSDPA.

Finally, there is the Tundra VA76r, which is a rugged clamshell that meets military specifications. The phone will be available via AT&T and have features such as push-to-talk (PTT), CrystalTalk Plus, 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, microSD card slot, aGPS, quad-band GSM/EDGE and dual-band 850/1900 HSDPA.

Fancy Motorola’s $2,000 Aura phone? Well, if you can’t afford it, then you’ll just have to settle for pictures of someone else unboxing the phone, right? While what you want is the phone, you’ll have to pay attention to the box too, as it’s a pretty sturdy thing, which means that you’ll probably want to keep the box around to show people that you’re flush.

Motorola certainly hasn't enjoyed the recent credit crunch, and it has been forced to speed up the planned layoff of 1,500 employees, and the number has even increased to 1,900. The layoffs will save the big M an estimated $800 million in 2009, and in these times, it certainly is a lot of money, though there is no telling how badly this will affect morale. Most of the layoffs will be in the mobile devices segment.

Word has got out that Android's Cupcake branch of updates and fixes will be making it to the G1 and could be available in the future as an over-the-air update. Of course, just because the updates might be available for the G1, it doesn't mean that T-Mobile will decide to implement them, though there is no reason not to. Hopefully we'll be seeing some cool updates for T-Mobile's G1 in the near future.

Minor details regarding Motorola's upcoming "Renew" phone have surfaced. The phone tries to show that Motorola is going green, as it uses sustainable materials in its design and packaging, and the phone itself is pictured with a green and white body. Aside from that, there isn't much more information regarding the MOTO W233 Renew, but we're certain that you aren't going to lose any sleep waiting for the additional information.

Cellpassion have dug up some information regarding a mysterious Motorola EM326g. There isn't much information regarding this device just yet, aside from the notes that it will be available in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America.

Motorola has come up with a new touchscreen phone, dubbed the Motorola Prizm. The Prizm will be marketed in South Korea, and hopefully the rest of the world after that. While there isn't any mention of pricing just yet, specifications of the phone have surfaced, which include:

• DMB support
• E-wallet function
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• USB 2.0 connectivity
• Bluetooth 2.0
• Memory card slot
• 2.8" 260k color TFT touchscreen at 240 x 400 resolution
• 3 megapixel camera

Motorola obviously isn't enjoying the current financial crisis, and it's doing what it can to try and weather the storm. Next up on the list of cost cutting would be to reduce the amount paid to co-CEOs Greg Brown and Sanjay Jha, both of whom will “voluntarily” get 25 percent pay cuts in 2009. Brown will also miss his 2008 bonus. Jha will have his bonus reduced by the amount of Brown's forfeited bonus, and take the balance as restricted-sale stock instead of cash. Times are hard, it's certainly not the best of times for everybody, and it remains to be seen which companies will still be standing after this economic crisis blows over.

A bunch of Motorola's 2009 cell phone lineup were leaked yesterday, but it looks like it doesn't stop there, as Motorola has a couple more phones up its sleeve, namely the NIAGRA, FAIRBANKS and the HARMONY. The NIAGRA is an upwards sliding phone similar to the RIZR, while the FAIRBANKS is a rugged PTT phone, and finally, the HARMONY is your usual clamshell.

More details of Motorola's A3000 Atilla have surfaced, as the device has been approved by China's telecommunications authority. The phone tends to veer towards ugly, and it doesn't have any cutting edge specifications either, featuring a 3.5-inch QVGA touchscreen display, quad-band GSM and EDGE, a Qualcomm 528MHz processor, microSDHC card expansion and a 3-megapixel camera. Sadly, there is no mention of 3G, Wi-Fi or GPS.

Motorola certainly isn't enjoying the economic crisis, but it looks like it's going to knuckle down and do what it does best, which is churning out mobile phones. Boy Genius has managed to snag pictures of Motorola's 2009 lineup, and judging by the pictures, there are some interesting phones to be launched by the big M. Two of the more noticeable phones in the lineup include the FLASH and the CALGARY. The FLASH looks something like an angular iPhone, or even Lenovo's upcoming OPhone. The CALGARY will have a sideways-sliding QWERTY keyboard, with keys that are RAZR-like. Other phones include the RUSH 2 and the INFERNO. There aren't many details of these handsets going around at the moment, aside that these devices will all be headed towards Verizon Wireless sometime in 2009. Is this a “make-it-or-break-it” move by Moto?

When it comes to iDEN phones, there aren’t too many cool ones out there, but these leaked press pictures of Motorola’s i9 look to ensure that there will at least be one cool looking iDEN phone out there. The phone looks to have a RAZR-like design, which should certainly be popular with users. Touch-sensitive buttons can be seen on the outside of the phone, making the phone have an emphasis on music. The i9 also has a 3.1 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash at the back, and is rumored to have GPS and Bluetooth as well. Sprint Nextel will most probably be the carrier of this phone, though there are no details of when this handset will be available. Seeing that the press shots have been leaked, an official release can’t be too far away.