Above – Motorola Z8 Home Screen 
 
Sony Ericsson
 
I have always thought that by keeping an eye on certain things, I’ll
learn more and be one step ahead. Yesterday Sony Ericsson, and today,
Motorola, proved me wrong: whatever they say, whatever they
advertise, don’t believe them! Just wait to be proven. On paper and
on the technical sheet, the phones look astounding: HSDPA, HSUPA, 3
inch screen, etc. In reality, by going to Sony Ericsson stand you
find out that the products are available, but….because there is
always a but: Xperia X1 is so unstable that it can’t be used. I mean,
not at all. They took out the batteries because it was embarrassing.
This and the fact that the only function working normal was the
welcome screen with those 6 squares moving around. Some people said
it’s a secret new UI and that’s the reason SE tries to keep Xperia X1
under wraps. It might also be so. But talking to a consultant almost
an hour convinced me that it’s the same old problem: they are not
ready to launch this program. Not now, not next month, not th 3rd
Quarter of this year. This little guy told me that even at their
training when they were hired, the Xperia X1 wasn’t functional. It
crashed immediately when you entered the menu. I’ll post a little
demo done on a regular monitor touchscreen just to show us how
versatile the new Windows Mobile 6.1 will be. But other than that,
see for yourself: just a dummy. Not to mention that in picture looks
better than in reality. The plastic seems and feels cheap. The
aluminum face looks like a thin plastic film, not like the aluminum
polished face or the rubberized back of a P1. The buttons were ok and
it’s smaller than you might think. Also quite light.
 
Xperia X1 
 
 
 
 

There were also the W980i, W 350i, Z 770i, etc. Most of them had bugs and
couldn’t be operated normal. It took as 5 minutes to be able to
listen to a song on a   Z 770i and the consultant had to restart it 3
times to make it work.

 
Z 770i (prototype – note the black finish and the sign "123" at the bottom)
 
 
 
W980i 
 
 
 
 
There is also the low/medium Walkman line: W350i but it was poorly
manufactured and very, very simple. It has a small flip with
play/pause/next button on top of it and it’s very slim.
W 350i 
 
 
 
 
SE accessories

 

 
 

 
 
 
Other than that, a huge interest from the public. Everyone was trying
all the phones, curious like babies. The Walkman brand attracted huge
crowds when presented and everyone was happy to give it a try. The
W980i in particular was like a magnet and it seems to me like SE is
creating the trend in mobile phones design right now. All I could
hear around me was : “wow, look at that lines!”, or “look, the
orange light is pulsing on the beat!”. Little gimmicks that will
make the world go round.

 
 
  

Motorola

 
Motorola is represented by Motorola Germany which is a shame. I can’t
understand the lack of interest in CeBit. They have a small place
when you can try out 6 or 7 phones like U 9, Razr 2 V8, Razr 2 V8
Luxury Edition, Z8 and Z 10. And that’s all. Some of them weren’t even
powered, I had to ask the only consultant (!!!!) to plug a charger
into one, so I can try it for 5 minutes. While the first ones were
usual Motorolas with an awful menu and smallish screens, the Z8 and
the Z 10 represent a step ahead. But a small one. After years of
making flip phones (remember Kramer and the others ahead of it?) they
still haven’t learned that even if it’s a good solution implemented
right, the moving parts always break down! Easily! Quickly! I
understand it’s a gimmick, a fashion design but still. The upper part
of the Z series bend a little when you open it, so the phone bends on
your face when you’re talking to someone. Slide it back up and it’ll
straighten again. Looks nice, feels nice. The plastic on Z 10 is
silver/black. The silver looks cheap, the black is getting prints all
the time. But the menu (UIQ operating system) looks nice and I had no
trouble operating it. It’s small and light. The screen is bright
enough and on Z8 that green/yellow colour attracts attention. Both of
them have a “Today” screen like SE. It shows you the meetings you
have, the tasks, the date/hour, the profile you’re on, the song
you’re listening to and also provides a shortcut in case you wanna
cal someone from your agenda.
Important tech data: Z 10, dubbed “The Mobile Film Studio” –
HSDPA, 2,2” QVGA display ,320×240 and 16 million colours,3.2 MP
camera, Bluetooth, 119 grams, UIQ powered supporting up to 32 GB
Micro SD card.
Interesting tech data: Z 10, dubbed “The Mobile Film Studio” –
HSDPA, 2,2” QVGA display ,320×240 and 16 million colours,3.2 MP
camera, Bluetooth, 119 grams, UIQ powered supporting up to 32 GB
Micro SD card.
 
 
 
 

Z8: HSDPA, 2,2” QVGA display ,320×240 and 16,7 million colours,
BT, 117 grams, also UIQ powered supporting up to 4 GB Micro SD card.

   

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I also wanna mention the ROKR E8, the second try-out for Motorola in
the mobile music industry. The first one, if you remember , ROKR, was
a total failure. This one is “fashion conscious”. It has a
pollished finish – all around! Looks like a Star Trek comunicator.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take pictures when it was on. I
managed to squize 2 minutes of battery time and then it died on me.
The screen was small but nicely organized.
Tech data: 107 grams, FM radio, WM Player compatible, USB 2.0, 2GB
internal memory, Micro SD up to 4 GB, email client. The finishing and
the materials used are both superb. That’s one thing one can expect
and appreciate at Motorola.
 
 

 

 
 
There is also a middle bracket music phone, the ROKR Z6. The only thing I
noticed was the Orange color which I didn’t like and the bad
finishing and poor plastic used.
 
 
 
Samsung Soul is next! Also the Flickr badge was updated with new pictures.