The phone introduced on Monday is about 50 percent thinner than the top rival phones that have tiny keyboards built into them, Motorola said.
The "Q" pits Motorola, which trails only Finland's Nokia in the mobile phone market, directly against Research In Motion Ltd. and Palm Inc., which make some of the most popular keyboard phones for business users.
Shares of Motorola closed up almost 3 percent and Research In Motion closed down almost 5 percent on Monday after reports that Motorola would unveil a competing product at an event here in Rosemont, a Chicago suburb, on Monday.
"Given the success of Motorola's Razr ... in the market right now, its understandable that some people are worrying about that," Kona Shio, an analyst with research firm Conscius Captial Partners said.
Motorola's Q is based on software from Microsoft Corp. and can support e-mail from a variety of third party applications, including Microsoft's, Motorola said. It expects the device to go on sale in the first quarter of 2006.
The company said it also plans on Monday to reveal details about its long-awaited music phones, which are expected to include elements of the Razr's design and the capability to download and store digital music. Those phones are expected to sell under the brand name ROKR.
Motorola delayed showing off the first of the ROKR phones, which is expected to support the iTunes music service from Apple Computer Inc., a few times this year amid rumors it is having trouble convincing operators to sell the phones.
Cingular Wireless, a venture of SBC Communications and BellSouth, has had talks about the possibility of selling a phone with iTunes, Reuters recently reported.
Motorola also said on Monday it would build network equipment based on WiMax, a technology standard that is being developed to cover entire cities with high-speed wireless Internet access to home computers and eventually mobile phones.
The company, which said recently it would work with No. 3 . wireless operator Sprint on the development of WiMax, said it would increase the amount of research and development resources devoted to the technology.
It did not say when it expects to sell products based on WiMax, which is expected to have a much wider reach than WiFi, a technology that is in most new laptops and provides wireless Internet access in small venues such as coffee shops.
Motorola also introduced a version of its home video phone that can support video messages as an alternative to more traditional voicemail messages. The phone, which it is bringing to market with WorldGate Communications, will go on sale later this summer.
Motorola plans to hold its annual analyst day here on Tuesday. Its shares closed up 54 cents at $ on the New York Stock Exchange. Rim's . shares closed down $ at $68 on Nasdaq. (Additional reporting by Jeffrey Hodgson in Toronto)
