Gadget Of The Week: Motorola ROKR E8

Forget two-way sliders, three-way sliders, and other Swiss Army Knife approaches to the physical design of cell phones - the Motrola ROKR E8 takes the usability of sliding phones and the aesthetic of the iPhone and combines them into a slick glass-surfaced phone that gives tactile button feedback while boasting an interface that morphs from camera to personal music player to traditional Motorola phone keyboard layout.

The tactile feedback comes not from nubs that would obscure the display and look out of place when not in cell phone display mode, but from tiny vibrations beneath each "virtual button" that simulates the sensation of dialing your phone. The face itself is completely smooth.

So far it seems like the ROKR E8 comes with EDGE and Bluetooth but no WiFi or 3G connectivity, which could be a buzzkill. Nevertheless, the ROKR E8 represents just a taste of the kind of ante-upped ingenuity we'll be seeing in this most decidedly post-iPhone world. Check out Gizmodo for a video of the CES demonstration, complete with sexy British presenter.