Motorola VE1

Year: 2009
Prototype level: Cancelled
Codename: Ruby

Overview

The Motorola Ruby VE1 was an unreleased clamshell smartphone developed around 2008–2009 as a potential successor to the RAZR line. Despite its conventional flip-phone form, Ruby was based on Symbian UIQ and combined smartphone functionality with a distinctive dual-display design. The external 2-inch display was touch-sensitive and could also serve as a viewfinder for the 5-megapixel camera, which was mounted in the hinge. When the phone was opened, the camera could be repositioned for video calls and self-portraits. 

Ruby reached an advanced hardware stage, but its software was reportedly far from finished when the Symbian UIQ programme was abandoned. Motorola subsequently cancelled the project as the company shifted its smartphone strategy towards Android. Although the Ruby hardware later lived on in the CDMA-based Motorola V13/Moto Klassic released in South Korea, that was a different commercial device and not the VE1 prototype itself.