The Motorola RIZR Z8 is an ambitious product. It takes the ultra-slim RAZR phone into the high-end world of the 3G smartphone. This is a phone that has the same kind of features as the brick-like Nokia N73, yet it's hardly any thicker than the original RAZR phone. It's Motorola's first Symbian phone since 2005, and the most highly powered of its current range of phones.
Physically, the Z8 is a development of the RIZR Z3, being a slimline slide phone. It's slightly thinner than the Z3, at just 15mm, but is wider and longer. The shape of the phone is unusual, as the rear edge of the phone is angled slightly when opened, giving it the appearance of a clamshell. It's an interesting design twist, making the phone easier to grip and more comfortable to hold to the ear than a conventional slider. The screen is excellent, being a bright TFT display with an amazing 16 million colours and one of the highest resolutions around. At 2.2 inches across, it's a very good size too - significantly larger than that of the RIZR Z3. The keypad gives good positive feedback, but is slightly cramped, and may be a problem to use if you have very large fingers.
Technically the Z8 is far more advanced than the older generations of RAZR phones. It's a 3G phone with a high-speed HSPDA data speed of 3.6 Mbps, making it possible to download video, music and emails at broadband speeds. It also enables high quality video calling, using a full VGA-resolution second camera running at 30 frames per second for a flicker-free video calling experience. A 2 megapixel camera is provided for high resolution still photography, and this is equipped with a flash for low-light photography. The camera is fixed focus though, so cannot compete with the camera of the Nokia N73 or Sony Ericsson K810i, which both have autofocus cameras.
Musically, the Z8 is very well equipped. The media player supports music in MP3, AAC, AAC+ & AAC Enhanced formats in high quality stereo. The music player handles playlists and shuffles, and can synchronise with your PC via high-speed Bluetooth or USB 2.0. There is support for a wireless Bluetooth stereo headset (not supplied) or a conventional stereo headset. The media player also supports video playback of course, and in fact the phone is supplied with a MicroSD memory card containing The Bourne Identity (one of our favourite films!). The Z8 supports memory cards with up to 4 Gbytes capacity - sufficient for around 1,000 songs. On top of that the onboard user memory is a very generous 80 Mbytes.
We've already mentioned the high-speed HSPDA data access (3.6 Mbps), available in 3G regions. With 2G, EDGE is supported with download speeds of up to 236.8 kbps. An Opera web browser is supplied, with full mobile HTML support and the phone can handle email too. The phone is quadband (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) so is usable worldwide.
As a Symbian phone, there is potentially a wealth of third party applications available, making the Z8 more like a mini-laptop than a phone. However, Symbian systems lack the simplicity, speed and robustness of a simple phone interface. The Z8 exhibits many typical Symbian problems, e.g. a tendency to freeze or shut down and slow menus. Motorola phones are traditionally harder to use than phones from other manufacturers, and the Z8 is particularly challenging - be prepared to spend time consulting the user guide or online forums. While we're pointing out problems, we'll also mention that the battery life is pants!
The most similar competing phone is possibly the Nokia E65, which is also a 3G Symbian slide phone, but with more of a business focus. The Motorola RIZR Z3 is a budget version of the Z8, lacking the 3G and smartphone capabilities. The Motorola MAXX V6 is a 3G clamshell phone that shares many of the features of the Z8, but isn't a smartphone. If you want the best Motorola currently available, then the Z8 is probably the phone for you, but be aware that a 3G Symbian phone demands more from its owner than a normal phone! Be prepared to spend time learning how to use the phone, and be aware that the operating system isn't 100% robust.
Features of the Motorola RIZR Z8 / MOTORIZR Z8 include:
- 3G Symbian smartphone
- 2 megapixel camera with LED flash and 8x digital zoom
- Video camera (30 frames/second)
- 3G video calling (using second VGA camera)
- Display: TFT, 16 million colours, 320 x 240 pixels (2.2 inches)
- Music player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, AAC Enhanced formats)
- Hands-Free Speaker Phone
- Speaker independent name dialling / voice commands
- Speed dialling
- Messaging: SMS, EMS, MMS, Email
- Pre-loaded games
- Caller ID with image
- Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB 2.0
- Memory: 80 Mbytes plus MicroSD card (expandable to 4 Gbytes)
- Opera HTML web browser
- Data: GPRS Class 10, EDGE, HSPDA (3.6 Mbps)
- Quadband (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) plus 3G (WCDMA 2100)
- Size: 51 x 110 x 15 mm
- Weight: 112g
- Talktime: up to 5 hours (3G)
- Battery standby: up to 16 days
- Music Playback: up to 12 hours
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