After a year in which the S companies - Siemens, Samsung and Sharp - have significantly eaten into the market share of Nokia and Motorola, the two original giants of the GSM mobile phone handset industry are finally hitting back.

Nokia's scattergun approach of delivering a huge variety of handsets to the market has yielded at least two or three classic mobiles.

Now it is Motorola's turn to restate its design credentials. After a quiet year in 2003, characterised by camera phones that just weren't as flashy or as well-featured as their rivals, and interesting but rather bulky 3G phones, the American company has set its sights on the mainstream market.

In Krakow, Poland, this week it took the wraps off a trio of handsets; one of which could well become its most high-profile phone in years.

The handset, the V80, takes its design cues from a fashion phone dating back two years - the V70. Although shorn of all but the most basic features, the V70 became a cult hit, with fashionistas loving its unique rotating head cover and compact size.

In reality, the only thing the V80 takes from the V70 is its spinning cover, though even this has been tweaked so it flips round automatically rather having to be pushed. The rest of the phone is teeming with features, from Java for downloading games to the ubiquitous camera.

The shape of the phone is also very different. With the screen closed, its oval shape is reminiscent of one of those large tins that contain old-fashioned mints.

Taking up much of the phone is a large 176x220, 65k colour screen. This, like much else on the handset, can be customised so a favourite image can be displayed as a screensaver. The quality of the screen is a leap ahead of Motorola's recent models, such as the V525/V600, and is approaching the industry standard on camera phones; the Sharp GX20's screen.

Above the screen is a four-way nipple-style rocker switch that controls the handset's interface in conjunction with the fiendishly small soft keys that surround it. Motorola has finished the handset in a very contemporary shade of black.

The fun begins when you give the rotating cover a nudge. It then flips round 180 degrees with the screen now at the top of the handset and the number keys, which are tucked away under the screen, now accessible.

Cleverly, if users stop the screen at 270 degrees, it automatically fires up the handset's integrated camera, thereby revealing the V80's first trump card - the ability to take images in landscape as well as portrait modes.

In terms of features, the V80 is in line with other high-end camera phones such as the Sony Ericsson T610 and the Nokia 3650. There are plenty of facilities and users can customise everything from the pictures on the screen to the noise the handset makes when the screen flips round. Whether customers will use all the facilities is a moot point.

For the record, the phone is triple band, features Bluetooth for connecting up wireless headsets and car kits, boasts a connectivity suite including compatibility with POP3 email accounts, Java for downloads, WAP and a video player. Battery life is also good for a phone of this type, though Motorola's estimation of the handset's talk time of up to 240 minutes is a little generous.

Then of course there's the camera. As cameras on phones go, it's a reasonably good one. It takes VGA (640x480) quality images that are reasonably detailed and boast fairly vivid colours.

The camera works better in low light conditions, such as inside bars, than many of its rivals. Users can tailor the exposure to suit the conditions of the room and home in on their subject via a 4x zoom. Being able to shoot landscape images is a neat touch - they don't look too hot displayed on the phone, but do have more presence when sent via email or viewed on a PC.

I suspect the only real quibbles users will have with the V80 revolve around its usability. Motorola has significantly improved its interfaces and menu system so the phone is relatively simple to use. Accessing those menus, though, involves pressing soft keys that are too small and tricky to use. In common with other phones, the joystick is a little overeager too, and it is easy to end up cycling through a menu that you didn't actually want to access.

Still, these are minor quibbles. Overall the V80 is an impressive handset and is sure to be among the most coveted phones of the first half of 2004. Sure, there will be phones with better cameras and more advanced features arriving very shortly: few, though, will be as stylish and as fun as the V80.

· The V80 will be on sale in March or April for around £150 with a pay monthly contract.