Motorola unveils new smartphone in London

A member of the media holds a new Motorola RAZRi smartphone with an Intel processor during the press launch of the device in London on September 18, 2012. AFP PHOTO/ANDREW COWIE

LONDON—Motorola Mobility unveiled Tuesday its new Intel-powered RAZR i mobile phone, which it hopes will compete against Apple’s iPhone 5 and Samsung’s Galaxy S III in the competitive smartphone market.

Motorola, which was purchased by Internet giant Google for $12.5 billion last year, announced its latest smartphone at a press conference in central London.

The RAZR i, which is the first Motorola phone to feature an Intel processor, can achieve speeds of 2.0 gigahertz, according to the group.

The phone was introduced almost one week after tech giant Apple launched its new iPhone 5, which is a lighter, thinner and more powerful version of its iconic mobile device.

The new Motorola smartphone, which has a 4.3-inch edge-to-edge touchscreen and uses Google’s Android software, will go on sale in Europe and Latin America in October.

“It’s our biggest launch since the original RAZR,” said Andrew Morley, Motorola Mobility’s general manager for UK and Ireland.

“We are launching the product on selective markets in October: France, UK, Germany, Mexico, Brazil (and) Argentina,” he told reporters.

Motorola added that the battery of its new smartphone would last for 20 hours.

“The battery is 40 percent more powerful than the iPhone 4S,” said Jim Wicks, head of design at Motorola Mobility.

Apple’s hotly anticipated iPhone 5 won more than two million orders in just 24 hours, following its launch last Wednesday.

On Tuesday, meanwhile, South Korea’s LG Electronics launched its new flagship smartphone called Optimus G.