Editorial: What happened to the US-spec Motorola MOTOROI?

Motorola, in case you haven't noticed, hasn't done much in the way of high-spec gear since the announcement of the original Droid way back in October of last year -- and, well, that's a problem for a company that's in the midst of trying to kick-start a recovery to get its corporate split off on the right foot. The so-called Sholes Tablet -- alternatively known as the XT720 or the MOTOROI -- had seemed destined to become Moto's next volley thanks to comments by SK Telecom and Motorola execs at the phone's Korean launch, even going so far as to call out a March launch window, but March has come and gone and the phone is nowhere to be found. Heck, we even found FCC evidence that the phone would be hitching up with T-Mobile, but that was way back in January and we're on the cusp of Summer now.

We understand that delays happen in this business -- in fact, delays always happen -- but these protracted, phased roll-outs around the globe are never good for a product's image since the last markets to get the product have been exposed to it (thanks in part to yours truly) for months. This would be a killer high-end device for T-Mobile USA, but it's got to launch immediately; the Nexus One's been out there since January, and we can pretty much guarantee that Google doesn't intend to back down with the superphone assault. We suppose it's possible that the Sholes Tablet will actually reemerge as the "Nexus Two" -- Sanjay Jha wants to offer a Nexus-branded phone, after all -- but however it comes out, it's got to happen right now. Trust us, Motorola -- you've got a golden opportunity to learn from Sony Ericsson's mistakes on this one.