introduction

What is this? Can it really be?… a phone created from Motorola, who’s infamous for not having created a good handset for over 3 years? Have they really come out of their rut? Well… the short answer is no. Unfortunately, the ROKR E8 is a device released by Motorola which went right under the radar of just about everybody, myself included. And I say that because I actually remember the marketing for this device when I had wandered into a T-Mobile store a while ago and yet I never once thought twice about the darned thing. However, when bored on craigslist, and looking for something I could trade my Sidekick 2008 for, I came across it again. And I instantly became hooked on it. I just had to have it. And sure enough, I got it.

design

The ROKR appears to be a slab of dark glass at first glance. It’s parallelogram profile and lack of any “real” buttons on it’s face only contribute to it’s minimalistic aura. It’s quite astonishing considering that most candybar-style handsets are unable to achieve simplicity without sacrificing functionality. For example, look at how the iPhone was created: only the most necessary buttons were included, the rest were thrown away in favor of a touchscreen.

But what if you want a device with lines as clean as an iPhone but prefer the user-experience of physical keys? That seems to have been the design principle behind the E8. When turned off or in standby mode, the device appears to have no display or keys at all… the only interruptions to be found are the silver crescent and directional toggle (neither of which have any give to them which would hint to their actual purpose). It’s this eery and unassuming persona that makes the E8 so tempting to play with.

Of course, at this point you’ve probably turned on the device or awakened it from standby. All of a sudden keys appear out of the blackness that existed before! Only a moment ago these were completely invisible to the eye no matter what angle the device was being held. This is no cheap trick… the keys really do disappear for good when the device is turned off.

However, things get yet more tricky, as pressing one of these keys results in a tactile response never before felt from a touchscreen device. The keys seem to have some give to them, and an accompanying physical click. Releasing the key seems to bring the key back to it’s original state as it clicks back up. How is this accomplished? I believe a sophisticated capacitive screen is at work here, which either has a special piezo-electric ability to depress. Because once the device is turned off, all of the magic stops.

Pressing the music button results in yet more magic. All of the keys transition to music controls, and the previously visible keys completely vanish. Pressing the empty vastness where they used to exist results in nothing… only the newly visible keys work now. And did I mention the scroll wheel? That silver crescent is actually 2/3 of a scroll wheel, and can be operated similarly to an iPod…. with the exception being that it’s not a complete circle, and thus has a deadzone at the bottom.

There exists yet one more key layout dedicated to camera controls… which I should think is rather wasted on such a lowly-spec’d camera module, but should prove as an excellent testing ground for a future Motorola handset.

Located on the back, the camera takes a rather unassuming location with an opening quite similar to that of the iPhone. (More on that later.) The top of the device is adorned with a rather pronounced 3.5mm stereo headphone jack (in addition to a lanyard/neck loop). The ROKR E8 comes with a rather stylish (and not too bad) set of headphones that have a built-in microphone.

Unfortunately, the MicroSD card slot is located underneath the battery cover, and only accessible when the battery is removed. Perhaps this isn’t such a bad thing, given the device already has a significant amount of built-in memory. Also seen in the picture is the red slot that serves as the loudspeaker grille… it has little nubs on the far ends which lift the device off of a flat surface so as to avoid muffling the speaker. A nice touch.

usage

I have to say… the E8 is unlike any other device I’ve ever owned. Using it is so similar and yet so different from anything else. The menu, for example, is on one hand very plain and generic and the other beautifully minimalistic. (It’s pictured above.) Only further complicating matters is the ability for the scroll wheel to be used in this setting, usually without making a mess of things, either. The software is so much more advanced from the Motorola devices I’m used to (like the RAZR line), that I was completely taken back. Indeed, this is for a reason, as the ROKR E8 runs a highly modified version of linux instead of a very simple Java based operating system. And it’s because of this that such an active modifying community exists dedicated to this system.

The screen is bright and well contrasted- or perhaps that is because of the themes Motorola has given the device- and the keys are always amazing to look at. I’m a bit confused about the little nubs located over each numeric key, as I find that they don’t do a whole lot. This is a device I find myself using my fingernails a lot on, and as such the nubs don’t do a whole lot. And yet… without them the device would seem unusual an a way I can’t quite express with words.

As a whole, the phone is quite well built. It’s size is just about perfect, and doesn’t feel awkward when held up to the head. Unfortunately I cannot comment on audio quality, as I never used the phone functions (since I do not have T-Mobile). (See my review of the 3G Storm to understand yet more reasons for the omission of this part of the review.) It’s build is quite sturdy and feels like it would live up to a lot of abuse, although I have to worry about scratching on the front due to mine coming with one already on the screen.

I did find some annoyances with the phone, though. First off, the power/hold-switch is rather awkward to use, and requires the use of a fingernail or pointed object (such as the point of a pen). Also, the system isn’t the most speedy. Granted, I don’t mind watching the screen as it transitions from phone to camera mode, but the fact that pushing the camera button resulted in a 5 second delay before anything happened at all is simply unacceptable. This has been fixed in a software update, but the lag of 2 seconds is still significant in comparison to modern handsets.

conclusion

I’m not sure if you can tell, but I am absolutely crazy about this handset. It’s design is thought-provoking and inspiring, and the user experience is completely unusual (in a good way) from everything else out there. In fact, after playing with this phone for a couple of minutes, I couldn’t help but wonder aloud why Motorola couldn’t make all of their handsets this good.

You may or may not know, but I’m not the biggest fan of the iPhone. Granted, I love it’s SMS application to the point of almost acquiring another just for that one feature. But it’s “chubby” design and widespread adoption are two factors I simply cannot deal with. That and I like buttons. I don’t care about an overpopulated application store or always-on internet. In fact, I don’t even subscribe to a data plan, so I couldn’t use such features even if I wanted to.

I almost feel as if I’m the type of consumer that the designers behind the E8 were thinking of. It’s like the design team for the iPhone was split in half, with part wanted to cater to me and half wanting to make what we now all know as the infamous touchscreen phone to be found all over the place. The ones who catered to me wanted a consumer that liked the appearance of a touchscreen, but would rather sacrifice it for physical buttons due to the lack of a suitable compromise. Someone who didn’t need always-on internet. A user that would revel in something groundbreaking because it truly was, rather than mere hype.

You might be asking why I think that the design team of the original iPhone has something to do with this phone. Well, that’s quite simple… the lens on the back of the E8 looks remarkably like that of the iPhone. And the scroll wheel is remarkably similar to an iPod yet functions perfectly well in a phone environment. The headphone jack is centered at the top, exactly where it was on the original iPhone. Of course, it’s obvious that this wasn’t actually designed by the iPhone team, but you get my point… this device was aimed as a different type of consumer.

It’s for that reason that I’m amazed at this device. Motorola can make cool devices, if they put their mind to it. The Motorola ZN5 is an example of what happens when Motorola becomes inspired but doesn’t follow through. It too has a “morphing” keypad, but it’s execution is cheap and that’s likely the reason for it’s apparent failure at capturing much of a market. The ROKR E8 was released with firmware that was buggy and very slow, but has since been refined to a very usable state.

If I were to make some demands for a handset based on the E8, I would be wishing for the stuff of fantasy- that’s how complete this handset already is. A full display would be nice, but only if it features the virtual keys that this one is equipped with. A high-spec camera with autofocus would be a nice addition as well, but that might chance the physical dimensions of the device.

In short… this phone is amazing. It has some flaws, but for the price you can nab one of these now, it’s a bargain.

The Motorola ROKR E8 weighs just 100 grams and has measurements of 115 x 53 x 10.6 mm. The gadget has compatibility of several data transferring technologies, such as v2.0 Bluetooth with A2DP technology, class 12 GPRS and class 12 EDGE and USB, which permit the users to share and transfer
music, videos and data from his or her device to other compatible devices.

Like many of the motorola mobile phones it also comes boosted with 2 mega pixels camera which can capture unforgettable and beautiful images of your friends and relatives. Furthermore, the reliable battery of Motorola ROKR E8 mobile phone delivers up to 300 hours of standby power backup when in a fully charged condition. When it comes to internal memory, the gadget comes with a built-in 2 GB of internal memory, whereas external memory can be expanded up to 4 GB by using a MicroSD memory card.

The gadget has a smooth 2.0 inches TFT screen that displays pictures in 256K colours and a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. It is powered with standard Li-ion battery which delivers approximately 5 hours of talktime and 300 hours of standby time when fully charged. The handset comes integrated with 2.0/x HTML and WAP enabled browser that can be used to access the Internet at a great ease without any interruption.

For the users’ ease, the gadget comes with several messaging applications such as, SMS, EMS, MMS, Email and Instant messaging, so the users can remain in touch with their near and dear friends. The Motorola ROKR E8 is featured with WAP browser feature that the users can use to access the world wide web any time, anywhere. The gadget works on Quad band technology that further works on GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800 and GSM 1900 frequencies.

CARACTERÍSTICAS

Novedoso scroll avanzado para navegar facilmente sobre tu playlist
Inovador tecnologia haptics ofrece respuesta tactil cuando un botón virtual es oprimido
2Gb de memoria interna y posibilidad de agregar 4gb más en su slot micro SD
Soporte para Microsoft™ music ecosystem
Jack stereo 3.5 mm y stereo Bluetooth inalámbrico (A2DP) para poder usar tus auriculares bluetooth o stereo bluetooth en el auto
Cámara de 2.0 megapixeles con zoom de 8x, función multi-shot, captura de video y playback
Modo Avión para música ininterrumpida durante un vuelo, accesible inclusive sin SIM-CARD
MIDI, MP3, AAC, AAC+, Enhanced AAC+, WMA, WAV, AMR-NB, Real Audio (RA) v10
Tecnología Crystal Talk™
Navegador FULL HTML

ESPECIFICACIONES

Dimensiones: 115×53x10.6mm
Banda: Quad Band; GPRS/EDGE class 12
Peso: 100 grams
Batería: 970mAh
Pantalla: 2.0″ QVGA 240×320 (excelente)

CONNECTIVIDAD

Stereo Bluetooth Class 2, USB 2.0 Hi-speed, GPRS Class 12, EDGE Class 12

CONTENIDO DE LA CAJA:

Teléfono ROKR E8 Nuevo y Libre para cualquier empresa
Cable de datos Motorola MINI-USB
Auriculares con jack 3.5mm
Memoria Micro SD de 1Gb
Manuales y Presentación
CD Drivers Windows

¡PRECIO LANZAMIENTO!
439 U$D

Realizamos envíos a todo el país previo depósito bancario.
Se pueden conseguir importantes descuentos por pedidos de 5+ unidades.

¿DUDAS?… CHAT CELULAND

CARACTERÍSTICAS

Novedoso scroll avanzado para navegar facilmente sobre tu playlist
Inovador tecnologia haptics ofrece respuesta tactil cuando un botón virtual es oprimido
2Gb de memoria interna y posibilidad de agregar 4gb más en su slot micro SD
Soporte para Microsoft™ music ecosystem
Jack stereo 3.5 mm y stereo Bluetooth inalámbrico (A2DP) para poder usar tus auriculares bluetooth o stereo bluetooth en el auto
Cámara de 2.0 megapixeles con zoom de 8x, función multi-shot, captura de video y playback
Modo Avión para música ininterrumpida durante un vuelo, accesible inclusive sin SIM-CARD
MIDI, MP3, AAC, AAC+, Enhanced AAC+, WMA, WAV, AMR-NB, Real Audio (RA) v10
Tecnología Crystal Talk™
Navegador FULL HTML

ESPECIFICACIONES

Dimensiones: 115×53x10.6mm
Banda: Quad Band; GPRS/EDGE class 12
Peso: 100 grams
Batería: 970mAh
Pantalla: 2.0″ QVGA 240×320 (excelente)

CONNECTIVIDAD

Stereo Bluetooth Class 2, USB 2.0 Hi-speed, GPRS Class 12, EDGE Class 12

CONTENIDO DE LA CAJA:

Teléfono ROKR E8 Nuevo y Libre para cualquier empresa
Cable de datos Motorola MINI-USB
Auriculares con jack 3.5mm
Memoria Micro SD de 1Gb
Manuales y Presentación
CD Drivers Windows

¡PRECIO DE LANZAMIENTO!
439 U$D

Realizo envíos a todo el país previo depósito bancario
Se pueden ralizar atenciónes importantes por pedidos de 5+ unidades

Cualquier consulta será respondida en la brevedad

In the few months since I started this blog, Motorola somehow found my site and has lurked it enough to leave several comments. The first comment was a blatant ad for Motorola, whereas the next two actually commented on what I wrote (which I can appreciate). Curious as to why I would even be on their radar (I did blog about a phone handset once), I clicked on the link. It led me to a site for the company’s new phone – the “Rokr E8” – which I assume is supposed to be a badass version of “Rocker” (a la “Razr” and “Slvr)” but is literally SO two-years-ago.

Displayed prominently in the center of the screen, the new phone looks shiny and sleek. And (most importantly) its site seems to promise a participatory/interactive experience. But sadly, it just seems that way. All Flash, no interaction. There are buttons to the side of the page that change the Rokr’s screen display, but there’s no user control or engagement otherwise.  Basically, the site is aesthetically-pleasing but disappointingly anticlimactic overall.

Even the music player doesn’t function like a music player should. Out of several displayed song titles on the playlist, only one automatically starts up (and you can’t even choose or change it) – “Touch Your Button Carnival” by Wyclef Jean. Okay, but then it makes no sense because I can’t. touch. the buttons. on the phone.  Trust me, I tried clicking everything, but to no avail.  So no, Motorola, I will not “touch your button” because you won’t let me. Well, that and I was planning on getting a Blackberry as my next phone anyway.

Motorola Rokr E8 is the new music phone from Motorola with some new features like touch sensitive controls and morphing keypad. Mobileburn reviews Moto Rokr E8 and gives us an opinion about the phone with this video.

Product page

Mobileburn

Handset vendors in the world’s fastest growing mobile phone market – India, have worked out the strategies, to be ready for the onslaught of the iPhone.

US-based Motorola, which already has an array of smart phones in the country, recently launched ROKR E8 in India. A music phone, it has features such as FastScroll navigation wheel (a navigation wheel like that in iPods) and haptics technology that transforms the device from a phone to a music player in one touch. This is in addition to other touchscreen phones including the MOTOMING A1200 and MOTOROKR E6.

Sony Ericsson is launching several new models in the high-end segment. Some of these include the X1i (a touchscreen phone with Qwerty keyboard and GPS facilities) under its Xperia series, the W980i (Walkman range) and C905i under the Cyber-shot range (with an 8-mega pixel camera).

Nokia, the leader with over 40 per cent of the global market share, is gearing up to offer touchscreen products soon. The Finnish company, which sold 60.5 million devices globally in 2007, has already rolled out 13.3 million converged devices in the second quarter of 2008.

Samsung is expecting its SCH-M800 Instinct, a high-end touch screen mobile phone, and Samsung F700 (another smart phone) to take on the new iPhone.

Vishal

Motorola Rokr E8

Wow, this summer is really the season for new, innovative, and often touchscreen, cell phones– iPhone 3G, LG Vu and Dare, Samsung Instinct… the list can go on (and can be read about here). However, one particular carrier is noticeably absent from that prestigious list: T-Mobile. Not to fear, though, the Motorola Rokr E8 is here– well on July 7 it will be, according to Cnet’s blog Crave– and its generating a lot of excitement; it already won top awards at the Consumer Electronics Show this year, including the People’s Voice award and best upcoming cell phone product (discussed by us earlier). But this phone is very different from the previous models we’ve discussed in the past for this summer…ITS NOT A TOUCHSCREEN! Yes, you heard me. Rather, this phone attempts to become the ultimate Music player Cell phone, or what we call the Mp3 phone for the sake of conciseness. Ever. Hit the more link for details!!

What makes this phone different?

I sympathize with those unfortunate T-Mobile subscribers who have been waiting anxiously for the announcement that has yet to come. But life still goes on; it may not be the touchscreen of your dreams, but the the music player cell phone integration on the Rokr E8 will indeed rock your world– and it does have some “touch” functions embedded if thats still bothering you. Dont believe me? Let me show you.

Mode “Shift” Technology– unprecedented in a cell phone at least, it illuminates only the keys relevant to the mode you are currently in–phone, Mp3, camera– giving the impression of a new device after each change in mode, and more importantly, providing a very clean layout, unlike many non-touch screen cell phones loaded with keys one on top of the other.

Haptics Keypad–while the keys are essentially touch rather than physical–only a light bump protrudes for the buttons– this fun feature sends a vibration feedback when buttons are pressed digitally. (thats the “touch” feature)

Fastscroll Navigation– see that white, frowning crescent in the middle of the phone? Well, its not the moon nor one of the iPods most famous hallmarks– the scroll wheel. Although it obviously misses out on the full wheel (could be patent reasons), the 3/4 wheel is still very comfortable and far better than many alternatives found on other phones.

Other Features:

• Aesthetically appealing and intuitive interface (Linux/Java OS operating system instead of Motorola’s regular OS)
• Similar dimension to a standard phone
• 2GB built in memory with a memory card slot–thats already 1000 songs, and the 1 GB micro-SD card included as a “free” gift from T-Mobile ups that to 1500 (keep in mind: depending on the size of your memory card, you could hit somewhere around 1700 songs!)
• T-Mobile “My Faves” support
• Stereo Bluetooth– wirelessly listen and connect your phone to headphones or car speakers (stereo headset included by T-Mobile for wireless playing T-Mobile also includes a stereo headset in the box that you can play your music off of)
• 2 inch colorful display– decent, though clearly not meant for some of the intense stuff done with the iPhone and others
• USB 2.0– fast transfer of files, and particularly music (T-Mobile includes a USB cable in the box)
• Moto’s CrystalTalk technology– greatly improves call sound quality (I know from having it on my Razr 2, this thing really helps)
• 2 megapixel camera with video capture and playback– like the display, standard but not particularly good
• Windows Media Player 11-Supported Mp3 Player–sync your music directly from your computer to your phone (similar to iTunes and iPhone- though you can also use a different media player if you want)
• Built-in FM Radio
• Compatible with regular headphones (3.5mm headset jack)
• $199 price w/2 year contract from T-Mobile — the exact same as what the other carriers charge for their touchscreen phones–the 8 GB iPhone 3G on AT&T; LG Dare on Verizon; and Samsung Instinct on Sprint (which is actually going for $130 but needs Sprint’s $70 a month plan like iPhone 3G)

So the looming question– which new phone to follow during the summer– has now become even greater. The latest list of choices: the LG Vu or Dare, Apple iPhone 3G or Samsung Instinct, and the Motorola Rokr E8 (even though it differs from the others in that it doesnt really claim to be a touchscreen, its still a very viable choice). Let your thoughts out in the comments.

Want to know even more? Go to T-Mobile’s “Coming Soon” page.

WIRELESS

Nokia has brought to the U.S. its N78 smartphone, a 3G-capable device that also features integrated Wi-Fi connectivity, a 3.2-megapixel camera and a microSD slot that holds 8 gigabtyes of music. Priced at $560, the unlocked handset does not have a QWERTY keyboard or a traditional dial pad, but instead relies on four raised keys for input. (InformationWeek 6/24)

Motorola’s ROKR E8 mobile phone, which will be available July 7 for just under $200, features a keyboard that changes depending on what function users are doing at the time. The keyboard offers typical phone options when it’s being used to make a call, for instance, but then dynamically morphs into different arrangements when it’s time to take a photo or listen to music. (The Wall Street Journal 6/25)

The secret sauce on the ROKR E8 is its keyboard, which changes when it’s used as a phone, music device and camera.

Ya lo dijo Sabina hace unos cuantos años en una de sus legendarias canciones. Sin embargo, parece que aún hay algunos que no se han enterado. Pero, ¿qué hago yo hablando de canciones y de princesas en un sitio como éste?, os preguntareis. No, no me he equivocado de blog. Aunque no lo parezca, este post va de tecnología, de teléfonos móviles para ser más exactos.
Esta mañana, Motorola ha presentado ante la prensa dos nuevos terminales -el ROKR E8 y el MOTO U9- que, si no llega a ser por la campaña de marketing que la compañía pretende hacer con respecto al segundo, podría describir en bastantes líneas todas sus bondades multimedia, que no son pocas. Sin embargo, tras descubrir atónita, no sólo yo, sino una gran parte de periodistas, algunas de ellas mujeres, la forma en la que Motorola va a intentar llegar a su público objetivo, no me queda otra que dejar a un lado la tecnología. Total, como soy mujer y sólo me preocupa el color y el diseño de mi teléfono…

En primer lugar, la compañía trasladará a las revistas de prensa femenina, a través de publicidad, una idea principal: el U9 es “el móvil que llevaría una princesa”. -¿Lo llevará ya Leticia en su bolso?, me pregunté al instante. Y, no contentos con ello, extenderá su campaña a Internet, con banners y con la creación de una página propia para la ocasión bajo este nombre: www.sebuscaprincesa.com. En dicha web, las mujeres podrán responder a una pregunta que, si no llega a ser por Motorola, yo jamás hubiera caído en ella y que, seguramente, marcará un antes y un después en la vida de cada una de nosotras: “¿Eres una princesa rosa o púrpura?” (en relación a dos de los colores en los que se presenta el U9). Y para dar respuesta a dicha cuestión tan trascendental, la página pondrá a nuestra disposición un test, “ya que a las mujeres nos gusta tanto hacer los test de las revistas femeninas”, según una portavoz de la compañía, así como contenidos actualizados para que las mujeres puedan “cotillear”, y cito la palabra literal dicha por la misma portavoz, todo lo relacionado con la campaña. Pero esto no es todo, ya que las féminas que entren en la web podrán participar en un concurso en el que el premio será un vestido diseñado en exclusiva para la ganadora por David Delfín. Si, no habéis leído mal. Ese diseñador que nos pone sacos en la cabeza, sogas en el cuello y viste a las mujeres con un look andrógino.
Así que, después de salir de dicha rueda de prensa, no he podido dejar de darle vueltas a mi condición femenina que quizá, y después de escuchar cómo son las mujeres, no lo sea tanto. En estos momentos no paro de preguntarme ¿Quiero ser princesa rosa o púrpura?, ¿Por qué no suelo hacer los test de las revistas femeninas?, y, si resulta que prefiero el color negro para mi teléfono, ¿ya no soy princesa? ¿Qué soy entonces, la mala de Blanca Nieves?
Bueno… ya sabemos todos a dónde van las chicas malas…es un consuelo.

Motorola today drummed up attention by announcing that the ROKR E8 music phone would ship first to the US as a gift at the Oscars. Echoing its practice from last year with the RIZR Z3, the nominees for the top directing and acting roles get a special version of the phone with a special blue (male) or red (female) false iguana-print box as well as a ROKR S9 HD Bluetooth stereo headset. Each box is personalized to include the actors’ and actresses’ individual names and their potential Oscar wins. Despite the luxury treatment, the ROKR E8 itself is untouched and features the same changeable interface, direct Windows Media Player 11 sync over USB, and stereo Bluetooth audio as the reference version. Motorola has not said when the E8 is likely to appear beyond the February 24th Hollywood event, though last year the RIZR Z3 launched with T-Mobile roughly a month after the cellphone maker first introduced the phone through its Oscars gifts.

Source : Electronista

From talk to music in one touch, ROKR E8 features cutting-edge, easy-to-use controls that allow a smooth transition from phone to MP3 player to imaging device. Motorola designed ROKR E8 to deliver an uncompromised consumer experience for music or talk. Using breakthrough ModeShift technology from Motorola, the quad-band GPRS/EDGE device presents users with only the controls they need, at the time they need them, instantly transforming from music player to phone to imaging device with the touch of a button. Simply move a thumb across the FastScroll navigation wheel to search for music (music mode), contacts (phone mode), calendar (phone mode) and multimedia (imaging mode). A perfect blend of art and science, the face of the E8 is a sleek, seamless panel that features the first haptic touch pad from Motorola, which provides vibrating, tactile feedback when the user touches virtual buttons.

LIBERATE YOUR MUSIC LIBRARY
ROKR E8 is designed for music. The device enables the ultimate freedom in loading songs from multiple sources and is compatible with standard connectors, software and accessories. Compatibility with Windows™ Media Player™ 11 on the PC allows users to easily transfer their favorite music onto the device, access to more than 200 online music stores and simple drag-and-drop organizing of songs, artists, albums and playlists. Discovering and downloading new music has never been easier with the ROKR E8’s built-in FM radio (optional 3.5mm headphones must be plugged in) and the Song ID feature that recognizes and displays tune information2. Share music with friends over the built-in speaker, break free from wires with stereo Bluetooth® wireless technology3, or use a favorite set of standard stereo wired headphones using the 3.5 mm headset jack.

The ROKR E8 is expected to be available in Q1 2008. For more information regarding pricing and product availability in your region, please contact your local Motorola representative, or register for ROKR E8 email updates.

FEATURES

* ModeShift technology transforms the device from phone to music player to imaging device with the touch of a button
* FastScroll navigation wheel allows for scrolling through songs, contact and image library with the slide of a thumb
* Innovative haptics technology provides tactile response when a virtual key is pressed
* 2GB internal memory4; optional external memory support up to 4GB capacity
* Microsoft™ music ecosystem support
* 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, stereo Bluetooth wireless technology (A2DP)3
* 2.0 megapixel camera with 8x zoom, multi-shot feature, video capture and playback
* Airplane mode to play uninterrupted music in the air, even without a SIM card
* Talking phone offers a voice readout of text messages while dialing number or when receiving a call
* MIDI, MP3, AAC, AAC+, Enhanced AAC+, WMA, WAV, AMR-NB, Real Audio (RA) v10
* Crystal Talk™ technology
* Full HTML browser

SPECIFICATIONS

* Dimensions: 115×53x10.6mm
* Band: Quad Band; GPRS/EDGE class 12
* Weight: 100 grams
* Battery: 970mAh
* Display: 2.0″ QVGA 240×320

CONNECTIVITY

* Stereo Bluetooth Class 2, USB 2.0 Hi-speed, GPRS Class 12, EDGE Class 12

Der schwarze Riegel versteht sich vor allem auf eins: Das Abspielen von Musik. Das ROKR E8 bietet Unterstützung für eine Vielzahl an Audioformaten, darunter MP3, AAC, WMA, WAV und Real Audio. Die Musiktitel lassen sich über den Windows Media Player 11 einfach auf das Handy aufspielen, organisieren und zu Play-Listen zusammenstellen. Wer darüber hinaus Musik hören will, kann auf das eingebaute FM-Radio zurückgreifen. SongID hilft einem dabei, Informationen zu Interpret und Album des gehörten Stückes abzurufen. Der interne Speicher ist mit zwei Gigabyte großzügig bemessen und lässt sich bei Bedarf über eine microSD-Karte auf bis zu vier Gigabyte erweitern. Glanzstück des neuen Musik-Handys ist seine innovative Touchscreen-Tastatur mit wechselnden Bedienelementen je nach Betriebsmodus. So steht zum Telefonieren oder Schreiben von SMS eine herkömmliche Telefon-Tastatur zur Verfügung, auf Knopfdruck verwandelt sich die Bedienoberfläche in die eines Musik-Players. Im ausgeschalteten Zustand erscheint die Oberfläche glatt und ohne sichtbare Tastatur. Für einen sicheren Umgang geben die Tasten bei Berührung über Vibration ein kurzes Feedback. Mit dem Navigations-Wheel lässt sich schnell durch Kontakte, Play-Listen oder Bilder-Galerien scrollen.

Motorola, el tercer fabricante de móviles del mundo, presentó nuevos modelos, en un intento por esquivar las críticas por no renovar su célebre Razr. Los productos más importantes fueron, por un lado, el Rokr E8, enfocado a la música y que se controla con botones virtuales que vibran al tacto. Por otro lado, el Moto Z10, que es capaz de editar vídeo y puede almacenar hasta 24 horas de grabaciones, todo un intento por seducir a los consumidores jóvenes.

Vía elmundo

Some phones struggle to find a unique selling proposition – something that differentiates it in the market from everything else. The Motorola ROKR E8 is not one of those phones – because the ROKR E8 comes with a very snazzy dynamic keypad that changes depending on which feature you are using.

If you are using it as a phone, then the ROKR E8 shows a conventional numeric keypad – if you’re using the camera, then it shows camera controls, and for multimedia playback the ROKR E8 shows music keys. Motorola calls this technology ModeShift and in the case of the E8 is is combined with a speed sensitive “FastScroll” navigation wheel, which makes it easy for users to scroll through media libraries or menu options.

The virtual keypad is enhanced with Motorola’s haptics technology – pressing the keys actually does result in some physical reaction, even though they’re completely flat and motionless. When switched off, the ROKR E8’s keypad is totally blank.

Motorola aren’t saying exactly how the ROKR E8’s ModeShift keypad works – looking at the positioning of the virtual keys, it does appear to be a logical extension of the fixed hidden controls that we first saw on the LG Chocolate, with each button in a unique position. This makes more sense than the expensive Optimus Maximus approach where everything is an individual active display.

Get past the clever keypad, and the Motorola ROKR E8 turns out to be a pretty capable multimedia phone. It can play back MP3, MIDI, AAC, WMA, WAV, AMR and RealAudio music formats, comes with 2GB of internal memory (expandable to 4GB with a microSD card) and it has a landscape format (wide) 2″ 320 x 240 pixel display for video playback. The ROKR E8 can also be used with a variety of wired and wireless headsets and speakers. There’s an FM

Courtesy: Mobilegazette

Copyright ©2007 Arun Chullikkal. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

El fabricante de teléfonos móviles Motorola tiene previsto estrenar en abril el terminal ROKR E8, su alternativa mundial al iPhone de Apple, que incluye reproductor MP3, teléfono, cámara digital y acceso a Internet.

Además, el terminal se estrenará en el mercado en formato libre, sin asociarse a ninguna operadora, aunque en países como Reino Unido, Francia o Alemania, en los que una compañía de móviles distribuye de forma exclusiva el iPhone, Motorola tratará de cerrar acuerdos con las operadoras rivales.

Fuentes de la compañía estadounidense explicaron que la tecnología Morphing que incluye el terminal permite que el dispositivo se adapte al uso que se necesite en cada momento con solo presionar un icono de la pantalla táctil. Así, en caso de que el usuario elija el modo ‘teléfono’, en la pantalla aparecerá un teclado con números y letras, para poder realizar llamadas, enviar mensajes de texto, etc.

Además, estará dotado con el sistema Hactic, que consiste en que el terminal vibrará cuando el usuario pulse alguno de los iconos o teclas que aparezcan en la pantalla.

Apple estrenó el iPhone en Estados Unidos el pasado verano y su desembarco en Europa no tuvo lugar hasta el mes de noviembre, cuando llegó a Reino Unido, Alemania y Francia. Está previsto que el terminal del gigante estadounidense llegue a España la próxima primavera.

Fuentes de Motorola expresaron su confianza en que Telefónica será la operadora que distribuirá en exclusiva el iPhone en el mercado español, por lo que la compañía tratará de cerrar acuerdos con sus rivales para comercializar el ROKR E8.