The Motorola Rival A455 cell phone has a 2.2-inch LCD screen (176 x 220 pixels, 65K color depth) that's complemented by round directional navigation rocker that's surrounded by send/end keys. The Motorola Rival A455's full QWERTY keyboard slides out from its side and the screen auto-rotates to landscape view. To dial a number with the slider QWERTY keyboard closed, press the Dial Pad key (placed above the green Send key on the left side of the face) to bring up an alpha-numeric keypad on the screen. You can then dial your number by simply tapping the numbers on the touch-sensitive screen.

Out-thumb your friends with IM-style texting that organizes messages by contact, displaying them in a chat-like format. Messaging is made even faster with a backlit QWERTY keyboard that shows only the characters and numbers you need to use while texting in the dark. One-touch access to text message composition, emoticons, symbols and IM or email lets you quickly chime in and contribute to the chatter. Keep all of your important conversations handy by holding up to 500 text messages in your inbox and outbox.

The Motorola Rival A455 phone includes a digital audio player that's compatible with MP3, WMA and unprotected AAC/AAC+ formats. You can create and manage playlists directly on the phone as well as easily sync music from your PC to the Motorola Rival via an optional USB cable. You can store music on optional MicroSD memory cards, and the Rival is compatible with cards up to 8 GB in size.



Handsfree communication is easy thanks to the integrated speakerphone. This Motorola Rival phone provides the latest version of Bluetooth connectivity--version 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), which makes pairing with the included headset as well as other Bluetooth devices a snap. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking--surf the Internet, send email, and access files from a server (additional charges or subscription applicable).

The 2-megapixel camera can capture still photos in four resolutions (1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480, and 320 x 240 pixels as well as a small Picture ID size to add to your phonebook). It also features up to a 7x digital zoom (depending on resolution setting), white balance settings (Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Darkness), a self-timer, and multiple color effects. You can also capture video clips in QCIF resolution (176 x 144 pixels) for as long as you have available memory on an inserted memory card.

The Motorola Rival has all the bases covered when it comes to messaging, too, with support for sending and receiving text, picture, and video messages as well as mobile instant messaging (IM). There's also a complete e-mail client on the device for POP- and IMAP-based accounts. And of course, the QWERTY keyboard makes it a snap to type your messages.

This Motorola Rival A455 cell phone weighs 4.4 ounces and measures 3.8 x 2.0 x 0.71 inches. Its 940 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 5.3 hours (320 minutes) of talk time, and up to 510 hours (21+ days) of standby time.