Autoblog

From its headquarters in Maranello, Ferrari has traditionally operated two divisions: one that makes exquisite road cars, and another that competes in motorsports. More recently, however, a third division has emerged, with the responsibility of conducting the company's ever-increasing marketing enterprise. The Global Branding Division itself seems to be following two tracks: licensing products as exclusive as the road cars and targeted towards their owners, and marketing merchandise to the Scuderia's enormous fan base.

Take for example the ever-popular Ferrari wrist watches: the company teamed up with Swiss watchmakers Panerai to offer a line of exquisite timepieces at big prices, all the while offering the common racing fan a less complicated, lower-cost wristwatch. Ferrari appears to be offering branded mobile phones along the same strategy: the company teams up with Vertu to offer exclusive four-figure devices to Ferrari owners, and with Motorola for more cost-effective (but assuredly still plenty pricey) cell phones.

The latest to fit into the strategy is this Ferrari-edition Motorola Z8, complete with red accents and Ferrari logos, and loaded with special content, including videos, ring-tones and wallpapers. For some reason it even comes loaded with "The Bourne Identity" in mobile format.

Prices haven't yet been released, but while the Vertu sells for thousands, the previous Motorola RAZR Maxx V6 Ferrari Challenge retailed for a more manageable $524. The Motorola Z8 Ferrari will be available from Ferrari Stores and select Motorola retailers. Unfortunately for anyone reading this and thinking it would make a great Christmas gift for a certain special someone, it won't be available until after the new year, so consider putting a personal voucher in with the card instead.

[Source: Kataweb via Unwired View, Motorpasion and CarScoop]

Rand McNally & Company, North America's biggest commercial map company, is rolling out a turn-by-turn, voice-guided navigation service for GPS-enabled mobile phones. Curiously named MONA (for MObile NAvigator), the service costs $9.99 a month.

Mated to a computer-based online application, MONA provides a number of features that let you use your computer to help manage your nav service, including tools for entering your destination addresses online for automatic downloading to your phone, and a trip planning function.

Currently the service is only available for Nextel users of Motorola phones, but expect broader availability to follow soon. For more info on the service, follow the link.

[Source: Rand McNally]

Martha McKay of the Wichita Eagle recently tested the VZ Navigator, a GPS navigation system offered by Verizon for its Motorola V325 cell phone. The service became available in January.

In a similar manner to TechnoRide’s testing of OnStar’s Turn-By-Turn service, McKay entered her destination address into the cellphone, which downloaded directions to the unit. McKay then followed “Michelle’s” voice prompts and found herself driving a half-mile past her destination to the Bergen County Jail. A Verizon representative later explained that the VZ Navigator’s mapping directions are provided by Navteq Corp., and such inaccurate information was probably an aberration.

Uh-huh. McKay at least can take some comfort that VZ Navigator didn’t guide her over a cliff. Share your sat-nav experiences (good and bad) with your fellow reader in 'comments.'

[Source: The Record via The Wichita Eagle]

Pininfarina has signed a deal with Motorla to design cellular phones for the company over the next three years. The design house, famous for penning Ferraris and Maseratis, will put ten designers on the job of making mobiles as sleek and sexy as their automotive counterparts. The design house had been dealing with the phonemaker via a short-term agreement under which it tendered two designs per month. Interestingly, cell phones design now makes up 30-percent of Pininfarina's non-automotive business, a medium in which the company only began working in two years ago.

[Source: Reuters UK]

Motorola recently announced its intention to launch something called iRadio that will combine hundreds of commercial-free internet radio channels and your own personal music collection. The “solution” will allow you to enjoy your music at home, in your car or while hoofin’ it. iRadio will utilize high-speed internet, Bluetooth technology and a mobile phone to create a continuous listening experience. The company’s example is that you can start a song on your car radio exactly where you stopped it on your living room stereo.

Motorola was intentionally vague in its press release, but we’re guessing this is a veiled indication that the company will release a new phone capable of not only storing digital music, but also purchasing music via a provider’s high-speed data network and transferring the music via Bluetooth to other devices, perhaps Bluetooth-enabled cars. Lots of missing pieces to this one, however, so we’ll leave any additional speculation to our boys over at Engadget and Engadget Mobile.

[Source: Motorola]