Motorola ROKR E8 First Impression Cell Phone Review - Value & Conclusion
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Mark Brezinski Published on January 08, 2008 Comment on this |
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Value
It's hard to say if the phone is a value yet because the price is to be announced. The phone is due sometime before Q2 rolls around, however, so this information should be available soon.
Comparisons
Motorola Razr2 (any carrier, really) - The ROKR E8 looks like it'll do exactly what the Razr2 was trying to, but do it better. The Razr2 could've been considered professional-looking, but this device most certainly won't be. The Razr2 had more sensitive touch controls, but the feedback pales in comparison to the E8.
Sony Ericcson w580i - The W580i would beat the ROKR in a music duel, as the ROKR's lag got in the way of getting a song to play quickly. We also tend to like the W580i music software better than
Apple iPhone - The iPhone has better touch controls by far. It's also a better media device because it has better software and more built-in memory. The iPhone trumps the E8 in both functionality and aesthetics.
Who's It For
Business User - While the ROKR E8 has many advanced features that other multimedia-oriented handsets don't, it just won't be enough for business users.
Budget Callers - Budget callers wouldn't look twice at this flashy (potential) wallet buster. Even if a carrier picks it up and it winds up reasonably priced, it most certainly won't be a budget device.
Chatty Teenager - Chatty teens will absolutely adore this phone. It's a great-looking handset with neat touch buttons and can double as a decent media player.
Media Maven - Media mavens will also like this phone. It has good music software, solid on-board memory, and an interesting take on dedicated media controls.
Conclusion
As we mentioned above, the stand-out feature on the device is the haptic feedback, but unfortunately that's just something you'll have to wait to experience. We liked the morphing keypad, but the idea could have been carried much further than it was. The music software seemed good, and the rest of the software was better than average. We felt the combination of lag and touch buttons that weren't very sensitive made the phone feel sluggish, but we were looking at a preproduction model. Hopefully both of these features will be fixed up in the final version.
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