There’s no denying that Motorola are hurting right now: declining sales have forced them to consider selling off some or all of their cellphone business, and company CEO Greg Brown has been forced to step in and take direct control of the mobile division in a last-ditch attempt to guide them back into profit. Motorola’s showing at the Mobile World Congress this month could make or break them, and it’s the Z12 kick-slider – a rumored collaboration with Kodak – that many are predicting will be their main champion.

The Z12 would be an evolution of the MOTO Z10 multimedia handset that so impressed Vincent in early January only using Kodak’s recently-announced 1.4 micron 5-megapixel CMOS sensor. It’s an important deal, because it could see the Z12 remaining svelte yet promising the same image stabilisation, rapid auto-focus, red-eye reduction and even facial recognition that the latest dedicated compact cameras deliver. In keeping with the Z10’s ambitions as a pocket-sized film studio, the Kodak-equipped Z12 would be able to shoot still images up to ISO 3200 and video in full 720p at 30fps.

Further rumor pegs the Z12 as having a larger, touch-enabled screen, as well as WiFi and GPS, which would target it directly at Nokia’s N95. Motorola are also thought to be planning some sort of MotoTV announcement, based on this viral video.

You can guarantee that Vincent will be checking out Motorola’s stand when he attends the Mobile World Congress, so keep reading PHONE Mag to see if the Z12 really can turn the company around.