Moto’s V3i goes for gold

Part shameless publicity act, part marketing masterstroke, this limited edition gold handset (above left) marks today’s launch of the new Motorola RAZR V3i.

It’s not actually made of gold but when we tell you that only a thousand are being made and they’re all to be sold through Dolce & Gabbana boutiques, you can guess that this one won’t be coming free on contract.

Should your local D&G boutique sell out, you might consider bagging one of the standard black ones (above right). Looking startlingly like the original RAZR – hailed chaviest phone of the year – the updated model adds a megapixel camera and MicroSD slot.

In a similar vein to the Aston Martin goodies that came on the limited edition Moto V600, this model’s blinged up version adds a D&G badge and wallpapers.

The good news is that both versions come loaded with iTunes. The bad is that Moto hasn’t learnt any lessons from the ROKR. The gold and black versions are both limited to a capacity of 100 tunes and they’re still USB 1.1 – so expect a paint drying experience while waiting for tracks to transfer from your PC.