What you need only when you need it? Now that’s novel for a music cell phone and that’s what you get with the morphing keypad on the Motorola ROKR E8.
But you’ll have to pay an arm and part of a leg for the fancy finger work and incredible battery on this T-Mobile handset.
The handset is Motorola’s foray into haptic touchpad world. The word haptic is defined as the branch of psychology that investigates skin-sensing data.
Such a touchpad is also found in the Samsung Instinct, which is known as the iPhone 3G rival.
But you’ll have to pay an arm and part of a leg for the fancy finger work and incredible battery on this T-Mobile handset.
The handset is Motorola’s foray into haptic touchpad world. The word haptic is defined as the branch of psychology that investigates skin-sensing data.
Such a touchpad is also found in the Samsung Instinct, which is known as the iPhone 3G rival.
The face of the Motorola ROKR E8 brings alive vibrating, tactile feedback when the user touches virtual buttons.
Price
Premium features on the ROKR E8 translate into interested users needing to pay a premium for them.
Following a suggested retail price of $349.99 from T-Mobile, a $150 instant discount and then a $50 mail-in rebate, the E8 comes down to a price that may price some people out of its consideration: $149.99.
Feature List
Morphing keypad (the controls you need when you need them)
Music player with external controls
FM radio (optional 3.5-millimeter headphones must be plugged in)
Song ID feature recognizes and displays music information
Compatible with Windows Media Player 11 on the PC to transfer music
2.0-megapixel camera with 8X zoom and a multi-shot feature
Bluetooth short-range wireless (i.e. for a wireless headset)
Text messaging, instant messaging and picture messaging
Airplane mode to play uninterrupted music in the air
Alarm clock, calculator, calendar and address book
Ringtones, wallpapers and games
Video capture and playback
Full HTML Web browser
Voice-activated functions
Predictive text input
Speaker phone
Quad-band technology
Expandable microSD memory storage to 4 gigabytes (1 gigabyte memory card included)
Talking phone offers a voice readout of text messages while dialing a number or when receiving a call
FastScroll navigation wheel (scrolling through songs, contacts and images with the slide of a thumb)
myFaves capable (unlimited any-network calling to any five people with a T-Mobile myFaves plan)
Price
Premium features on the ROKR E8 translate into interested users needing to pay a premium for them.
Following a suggested retail price of $349.99 from T-Mobile, a $150 instant discount and then a $50 mail-in rebate, the E8 comes down to a price that may price some people out of its consideration: $149.99.
Feature List
Motorola ROKR E8
Image © Motorola
While many cell phones don’t go beyond 5 hours of rated talk time, the Motorola ROKR E8 found a way to pack in an incredible 7.5 hours of rated talk time and up to 12.5 days of standby time when not using the handset.
Size, Weight
The ROKR E8 measures in at 4.5 inches by 2.1 inches by 0.4 of an inch and weighs in at a relatively light 3.5 ounces.
Differentiation in the Marketplace
While the Motorola ROKR E8 is a cell phone, music phone and imaging phone, the handset makes no mistake in its marketplace differentiation: a morphing touchpad and a longer-lasting battery.
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