- [Mr. Mobile] A first of its kind circular screen.
A stainless steel casing that took two weeks to etch
and a Swiss inspired mechanism
that ensures it opens just as smoothly in 2020
as it did in 2008.
I'm Mr. Mobile and this is the Motorola Aura.
A rare artifact from back in the days when phones were fun.
(upbeat music)
Now despite the fact that it comes
from the same four letter lineage
as the Pebl, Slve, Rokr, and of course, Razr,
you probably don't remember the Motorola Aura
and there's a good reason for that.
First of all it debuted at the staggering price
of $2,000 U.S. dollars, or nearly $2,400,
adjusted for inflation.
On top of that its lanch in October 2008 was perfectly,
terribly timed with the sub prime mortgage crisis
that kicked off the great recession.
Launching high end specialty phones
into a market crippled by an economic crisis,
boy I sure am glad Motorola's luck has changed.
Oh, boy.
Now the reason this pricey indulgence is worth a look to me
is because it's the closest the mobile world has gotten
to an heirloom product.
Look at the phones I was carrying when the Aura launched,
and iPhone 3G and a Motorola Renegade.
Sorry you have to say it like that, it's the law.
Each of those while great in its own way,
was also made of the utilitarian stuff of 2008,
plastic, rubber, and the Aura bucked those trends.
Take the housing, instead of plastic, stainless steel,
with a PVD coating that's been chemically etched
in a process that Motorola says took two weeks.
The keypad aluminum, with a spin finish morray,
that recalls the Razr and this display.
It's not just that
it's the first circular TFT LCD on a mobile phone,
this thing had an effective resolution of 300 dpi,
which was unheard of at the time.
It would be another two to four years,
before screens of this sharpness became the norm.
Just look at how beautifully this Apollo 11 medallion is,
a very intentional out of box choice by the way,
which I'll explain in a minute
and what I love most about the Aura
is that it doesn't stop at high end features,
it always sticks a flourish on top.
This for example, this is not glass.
It's 62 carat sapphire crystal, very difficult to scratch
and it's not a flat plate, but domed.
That means light refracts as it passes through,
bending at the borders,
making the display look even more like a physical object.
Even when it's off,
this thing is just fun to move around in your hand
and look at.
That domed sapphire was inspired by the world
of the high-end time piece
and analogy that continues around back.
Take a peak through this window
as you might on a pocket watch with a skeleton dial
and you'll find a mechanism,
just as you would on a pocket watch
and honest to goodness Swiss made baring
with over 200 pieces
and hardened steel gears coated in tungsten carbide
an over engineered way to open a phone, yeah absolutely,
but as I said in the intro,
it works just as well now as it did 12 years ago
and it's absolutely addictive.
As Motorola seemed to forecast in it's user manual,
repeatedly opening and closing the blade
can inadvertently answer and end a call,
basically telling you not to mess with it.
We know it's fun, don't play with it too much.
That's right, it's a fidget spinner for rich people.
Now despite the heirloom potential of this hardware,
the biggest reason technology
doesn't get passed down through the generations
is it ages too quickly, right.
Just take the camera.
Framing shots through a circular viewfinder is fun,
if difficult and the sensor is cleverly mounted horizontally
so you can hold the phone upright
and still get a landscape photo.
That's a trick Motorola would bring back
for some of it's 2019 smartphones,
but the fixed focus to mega pixel camera doesn't hold up
and hey, remember when you had to tell the phone
that you wanted to save the photo you just took.
Otherwise it would go ahead and delete it for you.
Yeah, good times.
In my opinion Motorola wouldn't get a handle
on good software design until the Moto X,
five years after this.
So you have this slow un intuitive interface
that you have to navigate with these tiny buttons.
Even back in 2008,
companies were already shipping scroll wheels on phones,
Motorola included.
So it's weird to me that the Aura,
which lavishes so much attention on it's circular screen
makes you muddle through with this D-pad for ants.
In most parts of the software the circular motif
just gets ignored, apps are square,
the menus are just lists of texts,
really just a lot of opportunities here.
Folks, I did try to get the Aura working
so I could make a phone call.
I got a a SIM adaptor kit from Amazon,
because back in 2008, SIMS were actually,
physically larger
and I charged the phone up
until it's embedded ring light glowed a steady green,
but try as I might I could not get the phone
to see the T-Mobile network.
Not that this 2G phone would be
terribly useful for much longer.
Eventually even the storied GSM technology it depends upon
will be sunset in favor of more modern networks
and that's why you don't see many companies
making the effort to build phones as exquisite as this one.
Sure you had Nokia's Vertu handsets,
and the Aura also recalls
the novel Runcible handset from Monohm,
but Virtu got spun off and then went bankrupt
and Monohm claims it's still working on the Runcible,
but it's four years overdue,
despite the fact that they have thousands of dollars
from gullible rubes like me.
The point besides, you should be careful
which indigogos you back.
Technology just moves too quickly
for anyone but the super rich
to drop this kind of money on a fashion piece.
That said, the Aura wasn't the failure you might expect.
It spawned several variations through 2009.
Some with diamonds, some gold plated,
and this one, the celestial addition.
Yeah, Motorola built this
to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing,
which the company had actually helped with back in 1969
as a communications vendor.
So this variant of the Aura came with custom wallpapers
and ringtones,
- [Radio] We copy you down eagle.
- [Mr. Mobile] And reportedly
one was actually given to Neil Armstrong as a gift.
I don't think it was engraved steely-eyed missile man,
but I hope it was.
The Aura is an interesting contrast
to the last phone I featured in this series,
Samsung's Matrix phone,
which felt cheaper than it looked.
The Aura is kind of the opposite.
It feels even more expensive than it looks.
Maybe that's the reason it hasn't depreciated in value
that much since release, another rare achievement.
We don't yet have a pocket watch of phones,
or an heirloom of mobiles,
but once upon a time, we sure got close,
back in the days when phones were fun.
Special thanks to Motorola for loaning this handset
for this video
and sorry friends, it's not for sale.
In fact, it'll shortly be on a truck back to Chicago.
As usual, of course Motorola got no copy approval,
or early preview of this video.
They're seeing it for the first time right alongside you
and speaking of device loans,
I lucked out and got a handful of exciting ones
for episode three of When Phones Were Fun.
So make sure to flip out your screen
and point your hiptop to that subscribe button,
because next week, we're checking out the T-Mobile Sidekick
and you're not gonna wanna miss it.
Until next time, thanks for watching.
Stay safe at home for now,
but in spirit stay mobile my friends.
(winding music)