I was waiting for andem to correct the text part, however, I can't wait for it anymore...
Enjoy.
Well, I've been using the phone about a week now. And I will have to say, I'm little impressed with it. That's because I wasn't expecting "HIGH" quality on it. So the ROKR E1 from Motorola, it's the phone with i-Tunes. Basically, it's an upgraded version of a previous model from Motorola, the E398.
Reminder : I'm using the retail version from Rogers Wireless. The phone comes with the CD-ROM i-Tune software, stereo headset, headset adaptor, 512MB TF memory card, SD adaptor, USB cable, battery and a travel charger. Please note, I was using the Sony Ericsson S710a, so most of my comparison will be based on that model.
Reception : ROKR is tri-band 850/1800/1900mhz, so with 850 and 1900, reception is not something to worry. However, if I compare to my S710a, ROKR seems to be a bit weaker. I mean the different might not be obvious, but I've went through some places to test out both phones.
Sound Quality ( Ear Piece ) : This is the first thing that impressed me. I've had always thought that my S710a gave me the best sound quality and volume. But the ROKR beats it. Sound quality, they're both the same, but volume wise, wow.. ROKR is really great!! Better than any Motorola that I've owned before! Loud and Clear. (period)
Sound Quality ( Speaker Phone ) : Motorola has already made a very good job on their speaker phone with the VXXX series. But on the ROKR, it's just better. ROKR is the i-Tune phone, meaning its selling point is MP3, so that's why the speaker phone has to be great. Every time it rings, you can feel the "string" in the phone. The speaker sounds like a 3D speaker. Then again, it is for sure not as great as a Hi-Fi system. But for a phone, it's really great. And if I compare to my S710a, ROKR beat it with the loudness.
Sound Quality ( stereo headset ) : ROKR comes with the stereo headset, and it's great. Actually, I got not much to say on this, it sounds really like a MP3 player. However, it doesn't have an equaliser, so as simple as that. You can't boost up the bass or anything. It has only 7 level of volume as well.
Features : ROKR is fully packed features. MP3 player, JAVA, Bluetooth, picture/video camera with flash and other basic stuff. However, I'm quite disappointed since it's not quad-band, it's only tri-band 850/1800/1900. Then I again, I don't plan to travel with this phone however, quad-band is a Motorola patten, they should keep it on all their phones. It doesn't have EDGE. Camera is only 0.3MegaPixels. There is a cool but kind of useless too, "Club Light". It's a feature so you can make the phone flash when you're at a club or listen music. You can set it up from 1 to 10 minutes, and sensitive from 1 to 7. The both sides of the phone will flash according to the beat of vibration.
Camera : Well as I've mentioned previously, it's only 0.3MP. Which is the typical camera as all standard phones today. Pictures quality isn't bad when you have enough lights. When you're in the dark, even the "light" under the camera won't help much.
Software : There is a big disappointment on it. Regular browsing around, the speed is "OKAY". However, it will be extremely slow when i-Tunes is running. And you must use one application at a time, meaning that you can't play games while using the i-Tunes.
MP3 player / i-Tunes : Well the way they made it looks really similar to iPod. In which, you can difference them by Playlist, Artists, Albums, or all songs. And you can also hide the i-Tunes menu, in which it will brings you back to the initial page (wall paper) and with the 4-way navy key, you'll be able to control the i-Tunes. Left - Previous, Right - Next, Up - Pause/Play, Down - Back to i-Tunes menus. While playing the songs, it will have all details of the songs, such as name of the song, artist of the song, and the picture of the album, but that it depends on how you set it up when transferring the songs from the PC to the phone.
Keypad : Fairly great to use, the number pads are big, easy to press. Like any other Motorola, it will only light up in the dark, and it's bright!! Side keys are great too, I remember back in the days when I was using my V600, I'd always hit one side keys by accident. On this model, this didn't happened, well at least not until now.
Bluetooth : I HATE MOTOROLA'S Bluetooth, IT'S REALLY SLOW. I tried sending a MP3 ringtunes from S710a to the ROKR, the ringtunes was about 30 seconds, and it took 5 to 10 minutes to have it complete transfer. From a S710a to another Sony Ericsson, it will take max 20 seconds. That's a HUGE minus right there. As for headset usage, I was using the Motorola H500, I could go in different room without any problem. However, if I go on different levels, it will start acting not clear, however, it still won't disconnect when i left my phone in the basement and i'm at the second level.
What I like about the ROKR : Great speaker, great keypads, and great features for its price.
What I don't like about the ROKR : Slow screen reaction, slow in menus, poor camera quality.
Overall : It is a great phone for its price, it's $99 on a 3yrs terms at Rogers Wireless. But if you want a MP3 phone, I'll suggest to wait for the SonyEricsson W600i, 256MB internal memory, but way better software.
That's it for now, I'll possibly adding something new once awhile until i stop using the phone.
Review by : kalok
Date : 21st of November 2005
Enjoy.
Well, I've been using the phone about a week now. And I will have to say, I'm little impressed with it. That's because I wasn't expecting "HIGH" quality on it. So the ROKR E1 from Motorola, it's the phone with i-Tunes. Basically, it's an upgraded version of a previous model from Motorola, the E398.
Reminder : I'm using the retail version from Rogers Wireless. The phone comes with the CD-ROM i-Tune software, stereo headset, headset adaptor, 512MB TF memory card, SD adaptor, USB cable, battery and a travel charger. Please note, I was using the Sony Ericsson S710a, so most of my comparison will be based on that model.
Reception : ROKR is tri-band 850/1800/1900mhz, so with 850 and 1900, reception is not something to worry. However, if I compare to my S710a, ROKR seems to be a bit weaker. I mean the different might not be obvious, but I've went through some places to test out both phones.
Sound Quality ( Ear Piece ) : This is the first thing that impressed me. I've had always thought that my S710a gave me the best sound quality and volume. But the ROKR beats it. Sound quality, they're both the same, but volume wise, wow.. ROKR is really great!! Better than any Motorola that I've owned before! Loud and Clear. (period)
Sound Quality ( Speaker Phone ) : Motorola has already made a very good job on their speaker phone with the VXXX series. But on the ROKR, it's just better. ROKR is the i-Tune phone, meaning its selling point is MP3, so that's why the speaker phone has to be great. Every time it rings, you can feel the "string" in the phone. The speaker sounds like a 3D speaker. Then again, it is for sure not as great as a Hi-Fi system. But for a phone, it's really great. And if I compare to my S710a, ROKR beat it with the loudness.
Sound Quality ( stereo headset ) : ROKR comes with the stereo headset, and it's great. Actually, I got not much to say on this, it sounds really like a MP3 player. However, it doesn't have an equaliser, so as simple as that. You can't boost up the bass or anything. It has only 7 level of volume as well.
Features : ROKR is fully packed features. MP3 player, JAVA, Bluetooth, picture/video camera with flash and other basic stuff. However, I'm quite disappointed since it's not quad-band, it's only tri-band 850/1800/1900. Then I again, I don't plan to travel with this phone however, quad-band is a Motorola patten, they should keep it on all their phones. It doesn't have EDGE. Camera is only 0.3MegaPixels. There is a cool but kind of useless too, "Club Light". It's a feature so you can make the phone flash when you're at a club or listen music. You can set it up from 1 to 10 minutes, and sensitive from 1 to 7. The both sides of the phone will flash according to the beat of vibration.
Camera : Well as I've mentioned previously, it's only 0.3MP. Which is the typical camera as all standard phones today. Pictures quality isn't bad when you have enough lights. When you're in the dark, even the "light" under the camera won't help much.
Software : There is a big disappointment on it. Regular browsing around, the speed is "OKAY". However, it will be extremely slow when i-Tunes is running. And you must use one application at a time, meaning that you can't play games while using the i-Tunes.
MP3 player / i-Tunes : Well the way they made it looks really similar to iPod. In which, you can difference them by Playlist, Artists, Albums, or all songs. And you can also hide the i-Tunes menu, in which it will brings you back to the initial page (wall paper) and with the 4-way navy key, you'll be able to control the i-Tunes. Left - Previous, Right - Next, Up - Pause/Play, Down - Back to i-Tunes menus. While playing the songs, it will have all details of the songs, such as name of the song, artist of the song, and the picture of the album, but that it depends on how you set it up when transferring the songs from the PC to the phone.
Keypad : Fairly great to use, the number pads are big, easy to press. Like any other Motorola, it will only light up in the dark, and it's bright!! Side keys are great too, I remember back in the days when I was using my V600, I'd always hit one side keys by accident. On this model, this didn't happened, well at least not until now.
Bluetooth : I HATE MOTOROLA'S Bluetooth, IT'S REALLY SLOW. I tried sending a MP3 ringtunes from S710a to the ROKR, the ringtunes was about 30 seconds, and it took 5 to 10 minutes to have it complete transfer. From a S710a to another Sony Ericsson, it will take max 20 seconds. That's a HUGE minus right there. As for headset usage, I was using the Motorola H500, I could go in different room without any problem. However, if I go on different levels, it will start acting not clear, however, it still won't disconnect when i left my phone in the basement and i'm at the second level.
What I like about the ROKR : Great speaker, great keypads, and great features for its price.
What I don't like about the ROKR : Slow screen reaction, slow in menus, poor camera quality.
Overall : It is a great phone for its price, it's $99 on a 3yrs terms at Rogers Wireless. But if you want a MP3 phone, I'll suggest to wait for the SonyEricsson W600i, 256MB internal memory, but way better software.
That's it for now, I'll possibly adding something new once awhile until i stop using the phone.
Review by : kalok
Date : 21st of November 2005