Available in late November, the Motorola i930's cosmetics are attractive enough, with its metallic keypad set against a jet-black background. The handset also feels rugged enough to take a great deal of physical punishment.

Measuring 3.5 x 1.9 x 1.2 inches and tipping the scales at a hefty 5.9 ounces, the Motorola i930 sports a 180-MHz Motorola processor, 32 MB of internal memory, 32 MB of flash memory, a SecureDigital memory card slot, an infrared port, and a built-in speaker for conference calling.

In addition, the smartphone is equipped with two color screens: a 4,000-color external display offering a 96 x 65 resolution and a 2.2-inch internal display that can display 65,000 colors at a resolution of 176 x 220 pixels.

The onboard Clearvue function allows you to view Microsoft Office documents, Acrobat files, and digital images easily, while the Pocket Internet Explorer handles Web browsing.

The phone runs on Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, not the most-recent version of the operating system , which is Windows Mobile 2005.

Microsoft's Pocket Outlook program is on tap to manage e-mail, calendar, contacts, and to-do tasks.

In addition, the handset sports Windows Media 10, which means that music lovers can load their favorite tracks on a memory card and then play them continuously while on the go.

On the downside, the handset's digital talk time from a single battery charge is puny at less than three hours. Data speeds also are limited to what conventional GSM/GPRS can support.

But some businesses might be able to save money by using Motorola i930 handsets and Sprint-Nextel's push-to-talk services, available within the U.S. and when communicating with compatible handsets in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Peru.

Moreover, the walkie-talkie-style service also could be a boon for families with members scattered across international borders.

Although the Motorola i930 is not a bad choice overall, the 800-MHz BlackBerry 7520 -- which also provides Sprint-Nextel customers with push-to-talk capabilities -- might be a better selection for some because of the Blackberry's integration of a Qwerty-style keyboard and GPS navigation capabilities.

Product Name: Motorola i930

Specs: 180-MHz Motorola processor; 32 MB of internal memory; 32 MB of RAM flash memory; a SecureDigital card slot; an infrared port; a 4,000 color external display offering 96 x 65 resolution; built-in camera and camcorder; and a 2.2-inch internal display that delivers 65,000 colors at a resolution of 176 x 220 pixels.

Pros: Walkie-talkie-style, push-to-talk capability; multimedia player; global roaming capability.

Cons: Digital talk time is miniscule at less than three hours; data speeds are limited to what conventional GSM/GPRS can support; does not come with the latest version of Microsoft's smartphone operating system.

Bottom Line: Stands apart from the pack in many ways, but its technology is perhaps a step behind.

Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Price: $499.99

www.motorola.com