Why You Can Trust CNET Motorola Rizr Z8 - black (Unlocked) review: Motorola Rizr Z8 - black (Unlocked)
Motorola Rizr Z8 - black (Unlocked)
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
So far we've been duly impressed with Motorola's Rizr series. Both the Rizr Z3 and the Rizr Z6tv sported well-made, stylish designs; attractive features; and admirable performance. So it was only natural that we were eager to test the most high-end Rizr yet, the Motorola Rizr Z8. Armed with multimedia features and support for (European) 3G networks, the Z8 also offers a unique slider design that cradles the curve of your head. Though it all sounded very exciting, in reality the Z8 is a tricky beast. Though it certainly delivers in the features department, and it offers satisfying call quality, the characteristic design doesn't always translate to easy usability. Also, its pokey performance wasn't endearing. Although it's a quadband world phone, the GSM Rizr Z8 isn't optimized for North American 3G networks. As such, it's only available unlocked here for around $350. To find accessories for this phone, see our cell phone ringtones and accessories guide.
Design
From the outset it's clear that the Rizr Z8 is a grown-up Rizr. Despite sporting a black skin and casting a larger profile (4.32 inches by 1.9 inches by 0.6 inch; 3.95 ounces) the Z8 looks quite similar to its predecessors when closed. You'll see what appears to be the same navigation array and large display. There's a new camera lens above the display, but otherwise the slider phone doesn't give too much away, at least at first glance.
But for those who are patient, the Z8 holds some a few surprises. Unlike most slider handsets, which do not cradle the natural shape of your head, the Z8 offers something completely new. When open, the Z8 will bend in the middle to form a slight curve that angles inward. The resulting effect is similar to a flip phone or a banana, if you will, where the bottom end of the phone bends down to your mouth while the earpiece is positioned next to your ear. The "kick slide" mechanism (as it is called) has a comfortable and ergonomic effect, and is certainly innovative. Also, it allows you to rest the phone evenly on its side when open.
On the other hand, the opening mechanism is a tad tricky. Though it opens effortlessly thanks to a convenient thumb grip between the toggle and the display, it's not so easy to use the grip when closing the phone. Also, if you try to push down the top end of the phone, you'll need more effort than usual to do so. Both quirks are because of the bending design of the Z8, which makes it difficult to close the handset with a simple push. Instead, you'll first need to bend the top half of the Z8 back until the phone is completely straight. Then, you can slide it down as normal. It's not a huge deal, but it's certainly worth noting, so it's advisable you try the handset first. On the other hand, the Z8 on the whole has a solid construction.
The display measures 2.25 inches and supports a rich 16 million colors (320x240 pixels). It's a bright, crisp display that shows colors, graphics and animations well. Also, we like the Symbian UIQ menu interface, which is a nice break from Moto's traditional design. Some options are organized in scattered places--the wallpaper option isn't under the main settings menu--but otherwise, we had few complaints. The backlight time does not appear to be adjustable.
Unfortunately, we didn't approve of the Z8's navigation array, which consists of a four-way toggle with a central OK button, two soft keys, a Clear button, a dedicated menu control (called the Home key here), and the Talk and End/Power buttons. Though they have the same basic design as on the other Rizrs, the keys and toggle are smaller and less tactile. All of the controls are stiff and none gave off a distinct "push" feel when pressed. Also, while raised ridges separate some of the keys, it was difficult to navigate by feel. Shortcuts are rather limited. You can designate the right soft key to give one-touch access to a user-defined feature and you can choose from a selection of six predetermined shortcuts to sit permanently on the standby screen.
The keypad buttons are flat with the surface of the phone, though tiny raised ridges give the individual keys some definition. It takes some practice to dial or text quickly, and the keys, like the navigation array, are somewhat stiff. There's a bright backlighting, but we recommend that you first give the controls and keypad a test drive to make sure you like them.
On the left spine of the Rizr Z8 are a volume rocker, the Moto smart key, and the microSD card slot, while a camera shutter, a shortcut to the Media Gallery feature, and the mini-USB port sit on the right spine. Though the controls are large and user-friendly, the card slot and USB port jut out slightly from the side of the phone. It's just a hair's amount but it was right where we rested our finger when we were holding the phone in our hand. As a result, our finger kept rubbing up against the raised area. It's not uncomfortable, but it is something we couldn't help but notice and it breaks the otherwise clean lines of the Z8. You'll have to judge for yourself whether you think it's a problem. On the rear side of the phone are a second camera lens, a flash, and the battery compartment. And in a unique move, the microSD card slot is located behind a separate cover. That means you can swap out the SIM card without removing the battery.
Features
The Rizr Z8 has a phone book with room in each entry for eight phone numbers, two e-mail addresses, three URLs, two street addresses, a job title, a company name, a birthday, and notes. You can save callers to groups or you can pair them with a photo of one of 23 polyphonic ringtones.
The Moto handset's essential features include a vibrate mode, a speakerphone, text and multimedia messaging, a limited world clock, an alarm clock, a to-do list, a voice recorder, a calendar, a calculator, a notepad, and a file manager. On the higher end there's Bluetooth with a stereo profile, PC syncing, and USB mass storage. Voice dialing and commands are lacking, however, which is disappointing.
The Rizr Z8's 2-megapixel camera takes photos in three sizes (large, medium, and small) and two quality settings (standard and fine). Other options include six lighting modes, a self timer, a multishot mode, a flash, four color effects, sharpness and white balance settings, an 8x digital zoom, and eight shutter sounds (plus a silent option). As mentioned previously, the camera offers two lenses, one on either side of the phone. When the slider is up, the front lens, which only has a VGA resolution, is activated for taking self-portraits. When the slider is down, the rear camera is active. It's a nice touch and we liked being able to toggle between the lenses without rooting through a camera menu. And speaking of menus, the camera's interface is easy to understand, particularly with the pop-up menus.
The camcorder shoots clips in three sizes (SCQIF, QCIF, and QVGA) with sound, and you can choose from three quality settings (low, medium, and high). The remaining editing options are similar to those on the still camera. When finished with your work, you can save it to the phone's memory, or send it on to a friend via Bluetooth or MMS. Photo quality was decent with bright colors and sharp objects. The flash also helps for dim situations. Video quality was better than we've seen on many phones. Though it could still be a tad jerky, the phone's ability to record and play videos at 30fps makes a noticeable difference. The Z8 offers 80MB of user-accessible memory, which is quite respectable, but we suggest you use a memory card for maximum storage. The Z8 can handle cards up to 4GB.
Though you might be surprised that you could watch a movie on a cell phone, you can do just that on the Rizr Z8. In the main menu you'll find a Mobiclip player that can play films, or just about any other content you might desire, including podcasts. Our phone came with a full-length version of The Bourne Identity on the included 512MB microSD card. Alternatively, you can play videos or music on the Z8's generic Moto media player. You can organize tracks by playlist, but besides an airplane mode, there's not much in the features department. Likewise, the player doesn't support album art or visualizations. On the whole, it's rather underwhelming for this caliber of phone, though we like that you can use music tracks as ringtones.
You can personalize the Z8 with a variety of wallpapers, screensavers, and sounds. You can download more options, and additional ringtones, with the Opera Web browser. Our handset came with one Java (JSME) game, Asphalt2 3D.
Performance
We tested the quadband (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) Z8 in San Francisco using T-Mobile service. Voices sounded natural, and the volume was sufficiently loud, but we couldn't help but notice that the audio was patchy on a few occasions. During those instances, either the sound cut out for just a few seconds or the volume dropped somewhat lower. Though we never lost track of our conservation and the fade-outs had no distinct pattern, it was an issue that occurred more than once.
On their end, callers said they could hear us well. They could tell were using a cell phone, but that's hardly unusual. Their only complaint was that we had to keep the Z8's microphone close to our mouth in order to be heard properly. If we held the handset even a slight distance away, our friends had trouble hearing us. Automated calling systems could understand us, but be careful when you call a service that picks up right after dialing (with no audible ringing). For example, when we called United Airlines' phone number, it picked up so quickly that the Z8 didn't recognize that we had made a connection. As such, we couldn't adjust the call volume nor could we press a number key to activate an automated menu.
Speakerphone calls were quite good; the volume was loud and neither party reported any significant issues. The Z8 comes with an included Motorola S9 stereo Bluetooth headset. That's generous of Motorola as the S9 is a nice product in most regards. It worked well with the Z8.
Video quality on either media player on the Mobiclip was quite good. Though we wouldn't be comfortable watching a 2-hour film on such a small display, the 30fps playback allowed for TV-like resolution. Motions were fluid, and there was no pixelation. The sound quality was also decent, thanks to the large speaker at the bottom end of the Z8. Similarly, the music quality was also enjoyable.
The menu interface was rather pokey at times. Certain functions took much too long to open and there was a delay of a few seconds when opening applications in the main menu. Particularly bothersome was the messaging application. When we opened a phone number and then selected the option to send it a multimedia message, the delay was so long (15 seconds) that we though the Z8 froze. It certainly was our least favorite aspect of the phone.
The Rizr Z8 has a rated battery life of 5 hours talk time. The promised music playback time is 12 hours. According to FCC radiation tests, the Motorola Rizr Z8 has a digital SAR rating of 0.91 watt per kilogram.