Motorola ROKR E8: Moto rises back from dead
MotoROKR E8The ailing Motorola brand is back with a few sick new devices at CES. MotoROKR E8 is among the new products that has Motorola back on its game.
Things have been looking grim for Motorola lately. Most of its Rokr line of music phones has been garbage and Razr has been a falling star while customers switched to competitors LG and Samsung. Then there was the embarrassing recall of Moto’s Sidekick Slide.
The only Slide for Moto in ‘07 was its brand
At CES this week, Motorola presented some well received handheld devices like the MotoROKR E8 and Moto Z10. But it’s the E8 that has created the buzz that could make it one of the hottest gadgets of 2008.
E8 is a quad-band, GSM-GPRS-EDGE phone, just as comfortable in North America’s wireless networks as it is around the world. The glossy black handset is decked out in the latest Haptic touch-key technology. Its smooth surfaces are unbroken by standard cell phone buttons and dials because E8’s controls are all touch-sensitive.
MotoROKR E8 - Greatest Hits
- Linux/Java OS
- Supports Microsoft Media Player 11
- 2-inch LCD at 262,000 colors
- 2GB internal memory
- Bluetooth and USB 2.0
- 2 mega-pixel camera
- HTML browser
As a music phone the ROKR E8 doesn’t simply slap a few keys on the sides and call it a day. Motorola has a new feature it calls ModeShift.
ModeShift is a slick system that literally morphs your phone into an MP3 player, and back again. One touch of a button and the cell phone number keys disappear, replaced with complete, easy-to-use MP3 player functions. It uses a backlight scheme to illuminate only the controls you need for its current mode.
No more cramped real estate on a shrinking device with tiny media controls you can barely press with a thumbnail. You can probably expect to see the same ModeShift feature used in future Moto products and imitated by competitors. Now it’s Samsung and LG’s turn to follow Moto, again.
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I am an ex-employee and can tell you that the future range of products are fantastic.
The E8 was in the pipeline well before the iPhone was launched and is a music "phone" with a keyboard you can actually use. The battery lasts more than a few hours as well!
The stereo bluetooth will be the best on the market (A2DP) so listening to music will be a joy. Moto has a real leading edge here when compared to other handsets. Go and listen for yourself.
Who created the best phone on the market!!! And it is Steve's new phone that I will be buying next month...
Why?
Because I know he makes the best technology on the market... and well I like using the best.