Our sales representative for the Motorola Talkabout series stopped by the office earlier this week and brought with him news of an exciting new radio that they will be adding to their lineup later this year - the MS350R!
The Motorola MS350R will be a truly waterproof radio - meeting IP-67/JIS-7 specifications. This radio will tolerate being fully submersed in up to one meter of water for 30 minutes! Of course, having a waterproof radio doesn't mean a lot if it is lying at the bottom of a lake, so Motorola's engineers have taken special care to ensure that the radio will also float!
Adding the waterproof feature meant that Motorola had to change the appearance of the radio somewhat. The MS350R will be slightly larger than other radios in their line and will not be compatible with their standard charging base (although it will use the same battery pack as current higher-end models). They have also eliminated the standard power/volume knob at the top of the radio in favor of buttons on the front. A loop for attaching a lanyard has been added to the top where the power/volume knob traditionally resides.
The MS350R is expected to become available in 2011 between the second and third quarters. The suggested retail price for this model is $99 and will include two radios, two NiMH battery packs, and a two pocket drop in charger. Other features of the radio will be very similar to the current Motorola MR355R (repeater channels will be included).
Update: The Motorola MS350R is now in stock and ready to ship on your order!
Other Lineup Changes For 2011
The addition of the MS350R is the only "major" change to Motorola's Talkabout lineup in 2011. There are, however, two small changes that I will point out.
A new value pack, the Motorola MR350RVP, will be introduced at some point. This value pack will contain two Motorola MR350R radios, but instead of the standard black faceplate, the radios will be equipped with a "wood grain" faceplate. The value pack will also include two earbuds and a car charger. Suggested retail price is $99.
At some point during the year, the Motorola EM1000R radio will be discontinued. The replacement model is the Motorola MJ270R, which is already available.
The repeater frequencies are: [CH 15R] RX- 462.5500 TX-467.5500 [CH 16R] RX-462.5750 TX-467.5750 [CH 17R] RX-462.6000 TX-467.6000 [CH 18R] RX-462.6250 TX-467.6250 [CH 19R] RX-462.6500 TX-467.6500 [CH 20R] RX-462.6750 TX-467.6750 [CH 21R] RX-462.7000 TX-467.7000 [CH 22R] RX-462.7250 TX-467.7250.