Overheard in the Motorola mobile development building:

“Sanjay! I’ve got it! I’ve got the idea that will be our next RAZR-level success!”

“.. Let’s hear it.”

“Okay, spec-wise, nothing too spectacular. 2.5 inch screen, Bluetooth 2.0, microSD support, QWERTY keyboard, blah blah blah. Here’s the stunner.. you ready for this? Drum roll, please!”

“…”

“… We’ll make it awkwardly proportioned! Can you believe that? It’s like a normal phone, but shorter! No, no, wait. Not ’shorter’. It’s squat.. People will eat it up!”

And that, my friends, was how the Motorola Hint QA30 was born. Take a standard QWERTY candybar slider, screw with the scaling, and kerplow – you’ve got a new device to sell. Coming to Alltel, pricing and launch date unmentioned.