Moto's Karma is mid range chameleon

Here’s something you don’t see very often – a new handset announcement from Motorola. Chasing the social networking bandwagon a little later than everyone else, the Moto Karma QA1 is a more consumer focused BlackBerry-style device.

Targeted at teens and young adults, the Karma features a full slide out QWERTY keyboard and homescreen access to Facebook and MySpace.

The gadget is available in the US on AT&T’s 3G network for $79.99 after mail-in rebate with a two year service agreement for voice plans of $39.99 a month or higher and a $20 a month data or messaging plan.

“Unique visitors to Facebook from AT&T’s MEdia Net portal grew over 100 per cent in 2008,” said Michael Woodward, vice president of the mobile phone portfolio for AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “Karma’s one-click access to Facebook and MySpace will resonate with customers who are committed to keeping up with social networking sites on the go.”

The device also features GPS and a 2 megapixel camera, 100MB of storage and an SD card slot – nothing to really make it stand out from the crowd.