Motorola ROKR E8 Review
MOTOROKR E8 review
In the Box
· MOTOROKR E8 handset
· 1 3.7V Lithium Ion Battery
· Motorola MicroUSB AC charger
· MicroUSB Data Cable
· Stereo Headphones
· Carrying pouch
· 1GB MicroSD card
· Various guides and CDs
Specs
This thin quad band GSM/EDGE (800/900/1800/1900) music phone features a transformational keyboard using ModeShift technology. Only the keys that you need are displayed on the glass surface depending on it’s function. There are 3 modes; camera, music and phone. When you’re using the music player, all of the numbers go away, and music controlling icons appear. A Haptic technology simulates the feel of individual physical keys using a vibrating sensation, very similar to that one would expect when pushing keys. Other features include 2 GB of internal memory plus a MicroSD memory card slot, 3.5mm headphone jack, stereo Bluetooth, touch scroll wheel, and key lock switch. Finally, Linux-based software, a QVGA display and 2 megapixel camera round out the list of features. The E8 is sold on T-Mobile and is $199 with a new 2 year agreement.
Technology: GSM/EDGE
Frequencies: 800/900/1800/1900
Weight: 3.77 oz
Dimensions: 4.57″ x 2.11″ x 0.43″
Cubic Volume: 4.14″
The battery in the E8 is a meager 930mAH Lithium Ion BK60 model. Don’t let the small size fool you though, the stated standby and talk times are quite accurate. 10 hours of talk time and 12 days of standby time is what you get. When using the device, the haptic feedback provided by the phone is generally quite good. However, the center scroll wheel is difficult to use with any degree of accuracy. I also found the D-pad to be more difficult to use than other phones due to the lack of physical buttons. I regularly clicked on choices in menus that I didn’t want, or overshot my target icon. I think a lot of it had to do with the sensitivity of the pad, which with updates, could be resolved in the future.
Hardware
Starting on the front, the E8′s glass surface looks fantastic when illuminated. By simply powering the phone on, you see how the ModeShift changes the buttons that are available. It is interesting looking at what the camera flash can do, all the locations of buttons are highlighted, which is something almost impossible to see with the naked eye.
Phone Mode
Music Mode
Camera Mode
On the left side are the volume rocker and dedicated camera button
On the right side are the MicroUSB charging port and power slider allowing for quick access to lock the phone.
On the top is the 3.5mm headset jack.
On the back are the 2.0MP camera and speaker grill for listening to music without headphones.
Overall
When most people look for convergence in their phones, music is often at the top of the list. The Motorola ROKR E8 does a great job of making the experience of listening to music on your phone easy and enjoyable. Add in the negligable impact to battery life when doing so, this is one music phone you may actually use.
