Motorola ROKR E1 questions answered
by Peter Rojas 
posted Sep 14th 2005 at 12:55PM
As promised, we've got some answers for your Motorola ROKR E1 questions, we tried to hit as many of these as we could:
The speakers are great (for a cellphone), but it's hard to get a decent stereo effect from them since they're less than two inches away from each other.
Bluetooth stereo headphones?
Won't work with them, sad to say, the ROKR E1 doesn't support A2DP or any other stereo Bluetooth profiles.
Sound quality?
Sound quality is superb, among the best we've heard in a musicphone.
Song transfer time?
It took about 42 minutes to transfer 100 songs. The ROKR only has USB 1.1, so it takes an unreasonably long time to copy stuff over.
What happens when you get a call? Does auto-resume work as advertised?
Yup, it does automatically pause when you get a call. Doesn't actually auto-resume when your call is over, you do have to click to have the music restart.
How much memory does the phone have?
It comes with a 512MB TransFlash memory card and a piddly 5MB of internal memory.
Does it sync with iCal?
It syncs with both Address Book and iCal. The E1's datebook can be a little (read: a lot) tough to find.
What is iTunes like synching over Bluetooth?
You can't sync iTunes over Bluetooth.
Can I load more than 100 songs on the memory card?
Yes, you could use a card reader to copy more than 100 songs to the card, but iTunes on the phone won't play them. You'd have to use the phone's other media player.
Is there an unlocked version available?
Not to our knowledge.
Can it sync photos with iPhoto?
Not that we could find.
Can you use songs as ringtones?
No, and it's a little frustrating, too. They probably did this so that Cingular could protect its ringtones business.
My question is what the hell is the rest of the OS like? Does it have a scheduler? A calculator? An alarm clock? Does it have profiles that can be set automatically at different (a feature I loved about my SK2 that I broke without insurance on it!!!) times of the day?
The rest of the OS is pure Motorola, i.e., it's incredibly pedestrian. It does have a scheduler, a calculator, and
an alarm clock. It does not have profiles.
Can it receive email?
Yup.
What kind of address book does it have?
A basic on that's similar to those found in other Motorola phones.
How do you play, pause, stop, rewind, FF songs?
There are two softkeys on the phone, you use the same key to both play and pause songs. You use the mini joystick to fast-forward and rewind, and you can also use that joystick to play songs while you're navigating your collection (just keep clicking to the right).
Can you rate the songs?
Not as far as we could tell.
We got this one wrong, turns out you can: one a reader wrote in to tell us that, "You can rate songs on the ROKR. While a song is playing, press in on the little joystick (like clicking the center button on the iPod) to switch to the rating view. Press up/down on the little joystick to increase/decrease the number of stars. Ratings are synced back to iTunes." Thanks!
Can you bypass the 100 song limit by making one very very very very long song?
Yep.
Can I plug in regular headphones with a 3.5mm jack?
It comes with an adapter so you can use it with regular headphones.
How is the transition from menu to menu? Quick and seamless or kind of slow?
It's far more sluggish than it should be and occasionally is only barely acceptable.
Does the phone have a flight mode/profile that allows the media player to be run with the phone bit switched
off (such as with the W800)?
Yes, it does.
How is the other MP3 player that is built into the ROKR?
The UI is pretty sucky, to be honest, but at least there isn't a cap on the number of songs you can listen to.
How does that other MP3 player interact (if at all) with the iTunes functionality of the phone?
It doesn't at all.
Is it easy to transfer MP3s to the phone outside of the iTunes function?
Not sure how you'd define easy, but you can pop out the TransFlash card and directly copy MP3s from a PC using an SD card reader and a TransFlash card adapter.
Would you buy one of these phones?
Nope.
And now for some pics:
Cingular Media Mall main menu.
iTunes main menu.
The ROKR E1 can display album art while you're listening to a song.
Receiving a call while listening to a song.
The ROKR E1's other media player.
From the back.
ROKR E1 with the battery case remove.
With the battery removed.
Now with the TransFlash card popped out.
ROKR vs. RULR
ROKR vs. the Treo 650.
Legal biz.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Ruben Kalath @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
i'm gonna get that phone when it comes out! thanks for the answers to the questions!!
eee @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
I wouldn't touch that phone with a ten foot pole. It just screams, "better versions of me will definitely come out in the near future!"
everrette powell @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
yo could we hack this and use a bigger flash card like you can do in most flash type mp3 players
Austin @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Disapointing. Thanks.
metric152 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
I have a correction for one of your answers. You can use a song as a ringtone. The trick is you can't have the song on the memory card. It song has to exist on the 5mb internal memory. It took my buddy and I two days to figure that out.
Illtron @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
You're going to buy it? Are you dense, man? It's an overpriced piece of crap.
Illtron @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Apparently illiteracy is more widespread than I thought. Look people, even if you can put more memory in it, it won't do you any good because "iTunes" has an artificial 100 song cap. Even if you put more, "iTunes" won't play them.
narco @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Mighty fine Bauhaus album. I for one won't be seeing them this time around since I already saw them in '98 and this year.
I'm really glad I bought the Treo 650 after getting impatient with the iTunes phone. It can play music AND I can control iTunes via Bluetooth with Salling Clicker. Plus this phone looks so 1990's.
Fishes,
narco.
fistpittingnork @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Sony Ericsson's new mp3 phones look fairly decent in comparison, especially with a 2 gig digicam (though I have a far superior stand alone cam, and also have had nothing but bad experiences with both Sony Ericsson and Motorola cell phones)
But meh.. I'll stick to my Treo.. Granted I carry a brick in my pocket, I can play mp3's, surf the web, check email, keep chat logs, add/remove user specific app's, and plus the stylus is great for scratching my ear.
fistpittingnork @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Correction.. 2 gig is supposed to mean 2MP
Tim @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Here's a question: Could this product SUCK even more? Is there a Darwin award of devices that are DOA?
Abe @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
I was pretty excited when I first heard of the iPod phone a few months ago. I carry my p900 + my iPod with me everywhere I go. The idea of mashing the two together makes me a happy camper. When this was released last week I kept visiting the cingular site, tempted to order. Everything I've read about this phone is pretty lame. Good idea, bad execution. I think I'll wait until the next version comes along.
ROKR @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
I still believe that the general public will buy the phone in droves because:
1. of the massive marking effort by Cingular
2. they don't really understand that there are better phones out there.
I also carry a brick (XV6600), it plays as many songs as I can fit on my 1GB SD card.
super_structure @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Ruben: Did the trolls at /. kick you off of their street corner send you over here? Enough with the banal comments already. You don't even troll very well.
Thanks for posting these answers, Engadget. I think this kind of drives the nails in the coffin before this thing really had much of a life. I have zero interest in this phone, now. The ability to sync with iTunes and have that Apple interface is just lipstick on the pig, in my opinion.
Abe @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
I was pretty excited when I first heard of the iPod phone a few months ago. I carry my p900 + my iPod with me everywhere I go. The idea of mashing the two together makes me a happy camper. When this was released last week I kept visiting the cingular site, tempted to order. Everything I've read about this phone is pretty lame. Good idea, bad execution. I think I'll wait until the next version comes along.
Robert @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Meh... that iTune phone is sooo 2 years old (:P feels weird to talk like a teenager). My dad's W800i is much better.
mike @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
I wouldn't touch that phone with a ten foot pole. It just screams, "better versions of me will definitely come out in the near future!"
--
Wow.. it's almost as if.. you could apply such a statement to any consumer product ever released into a competitive market.. amazing logic.
Solution: never buy anything ever again, and you won't have to worry about being 'suckered' into buying a product that will quickly become out of date!
;)
petro @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
itunes phone = crap
Charlie @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Maybe it's just me but this phone sucks. I know that Apple has zero experience with designing a cell phone from the ground up but they should have done it anyways. I just can't stand Motorola's OS and this phone just simply isn't that good. I realize that I probably had rediculously high expectations for this phone, but who didn't? I would much rather have a W800 or K750. I know they're not perfect either, but at least they have a good camera and nice OS.
iBode @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Why didn't you guys answer one of most important question:
Battery Life!
There were many predictions that this would be the real reason it sucks. Are they right?
Ne0 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
So basicly it is slightly skined Motorola E398 with one more key (that on the right side of usual moto-menu key) and dedicated player for drm'ed music files. That's all. I own Moto E398, and it should not take more than one week to get flash/flex files from ROKR for use with Motorola PST - just to make my E398 iTunes-capable... Just do some googling next week :-)
Matt Thurston @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
I think its crappy by design. It has the look of a test market product. Apple doesn't really want to release a product which has the capability of really cutting into it's big money making product line.
Good idea, poor execution. I hope it opens the doors for a slew of better products in the next generation.
Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
"I know that Apple has zero experience with designing a cell phone from the ground up but they should have done it anyways."
They have no reason to do so - their job is to sell iPods. There's no doubt in my mind that they purposely allowed/encouraged Motorola to screw up this phone (with their knowledge or not) so that:
a) iPods keep selling, and Apple makes more money
and
b) Apple "proves" to the world that there is no great demand for music on cell phones when nobody buys this phone
In six months Apple can look at the sales of this phone and say "well, we tried, and we have 80% market share, so good luck to the rest of you." It is really, really going to discourage anybody else from trying to make a phone like this using another service. And it's going to keep Apple in the business of what they do best, which is make and sell music players.
(And yes, that's a not-so-subtle dig at the other stuff they do.)
Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
One little addition to my post - I didn't mean to suggest there won't be improvements to this phone or that there won't be another iTunes phone. But if there is a next time, it's going to be on Apple's terms. I really think they're trying to make a point with this phone more than anything else, while showing the world that it's still the iPod/standalone player form factor that matters in digital music, not the phone.
mikko @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
And there I was hoping for a white RAZR with integrated iTunes, and what does Motorola come up with? A recycled (still dog-ugly) piece of crap with the lamest features around.
- I want a Sony Ericsson W800 now but I'm poor so I might buy the W600 if the price is right.
STP/SaturdayTechPodcast GUY1 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Lame Lame Lame Lame Lame Lame ... and don't let me forget - LAME!
What is the big deal here? SO WHAT? - It tremendously unimpressive that there is a 100 song limit... I have used my Treo 600 & 650 to play hundreds of songs via downloadable software... why in the WORLD would I want this device? - To pay $2.00 per song... - To be limited to 100 songs? - I am simply disappointed. This is no revolutionary product! - and for that matter - neither is the Nano - but at least its an improved form factor - oh well - I guess this is all I could expect from the tech world when Microsoft puts out 7 (count em 7) versions of Windoze "Vista." I feel sick..... and thinking of this makes me feel worse!
InfoMofo @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
A friend of mine from Europe brought over the SE W800 and laughed when he saw the ROKR. Not only is it not fugly, but the interface is much slicker and, most importantly, there's no limit on how many songs you can have! I don't even get why people are calling the ROKR a "significant failure", as it's not even groundbreaking, in comparison to the phones that already play mp3s, and better than the ROKR. Ugh.
Taylor @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Wow, looks like my thinking was true; Verizon's LG 8100 really is a better phone save for one thing: it requires proprietary headphones, or an adapter (which neither I nor people on the forums have found yet...and no, the ebay ones don't work properly)... I'm hoping the E1's adapter will work. Still, given all the crap that the E1 puts you through, the 8100 is a pretty good phone, given it's 512mb internal memory, and it's video support (I have a million episodes of Family Guy stuffed onto my mini SD card...) Anyway, I'm sticking with my 8100... You guys should do an in-depth comparison with the E1! :)
-Taylor
Phil @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Have you reviewed the Sony Ericsson K750i?
It does a much better job as a music phone, has auto resume as well, so after the call you can carry on listening to your music or the radio.
Oh, and it takes Memory Sticks, so you can put up to 2GB in there for your music. Over a USB2 link, which makes it complete in a reasonable time.
And it has a nice 2MP camera.
You can also flash it to the W800i firmware as well.
So what is the hype about?
WOV @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
It doesn't play songs as ringtones to protect Cingular's ringtone biz. It doesn't get songs over the air to protect someone else's core model, it doesnt' work as a a real iPod (100 effing songs?) to protect Apple's biz.
Everyone agrees that these are the features everyone wants and cares about, and everyone agrees that we aren't being sold them to protect the core business of the companies involved.
In the real world, someone would come out - in fact, already would have - to serve this obvious and substantial consumer demand. Wouldn't it seem that the fact that this isn't happening was pretty determinative that the cell market is operating as a coercive monopoly in restraint of trade and thereby harming the consumer? It's just maddening.
clayton @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
i dunno
im pretty shure i wont get it
BUT i an gurentee some dude with too much time on there hands will hack the firmware
and then it can hold X amount of songs ( as much as fits on a SD card)
just my opnion
if theres a will
there a way
Patrick Haney @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
As disheartening to read as this was, I'm glad you managed to get through all the questions. I was sort of interested in the phone before the launch, less so after the launch, and now I'm positive I don't want one of these things.
Why do we keep moving backwards in usability and features as time moves on? No Bluetooth headphone support? USB 1.1? 100 song cap? VGA quality camera?
My 2 year old Nokia 6230 is more advanced than this ROKR is.
Oliver @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
42 minutes to transfer 100 songs.. I wonder if it's extra slow because it's a phone, or is that really as fast as USB 1.1 will go?
I'm thinking about getting an iPod nano, even though my powerbook doesn't have USB 2.0. But if it's going to take me 420 minutes to put the 1000 songs on then forget it!
Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Not to pick nits but this phone SHOULD have profiles under the Styles menu.. just not many..
Silent, Loud, Soft, Vibrate, Vibe then Ring, Vibe and Ring
Silent and Vibrate don't play music but you can arrange all the notification sounds to however you like on the rest.
Minuk @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
http://www.geektec.net/archives/2005/09/04/sony-ericsson-w800i-review/
My Sony Ericsson W800i whips this Motorla llama's ass.
Bluetooth, USB 2.0, 2 megapixel camera, FM radio, and I can play as many songs as I want.
Sid Wharton @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
I purchased the E1 phone, not or the iTunes capability, but for it's bright, easy to read display and it's superb speakerphone quality. I used the bluetooth to transfer the address book from my powerbook g4 without difficulty. Previously I had a Sony-Ericsson phone which was a great disapointment and the Sony cost more than the Motorola E1. From previous articles that I have read, Apple will not receive any substantial money from the sale of this phone, irregardless of if the phone sells well or not.
pspspsp @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
So what's wrong with the Nokia 6230i? I have a 1 GB MMC card that I use to dump playlists from itunes (and apparently with badapple software I can even autosync to the MMC card or the phone connected by USB). It's a pain to find songs, but I usually use it when I run so it's in a pocket somewhere or in its case and on shuffle mode. I never got the point of the ROKR.
kanihoncho @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
This product is an anti-climax. Apple should design a phone from the ground up. It should allow you to design your own themes, use your own songs as ringtones ( you've already paid for them!), have integrated address books and iCal, Mail and all should work via bluetooth. We don't need no stinkin' wires!
fistpittingnork @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
#34:
"you've already paid for them!"
Riiiiiiiiiiiiight... Of course we have... Every single song....
Jakob @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Had my SMT-5600 for a year now.
Perfect and seamless sync with MediaPlayer.
Super fast UI, all the different software you can imagine. Only flash card size limits number of files.
/J
R2P2 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
42 minutes? Even over USB 1.1, 512MB should take more like 4.2 minutes. Something's very wrong there.
TVtheFleshtone @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
I offer a challenge to the hackers/modders out there. Everyone is saying that the iPod nano plus RAZR would be thinner than this phone. I dare them to take out the components of both devices, vacuumform a case, and create a usable device. Let the phone and the iPod each retain their original interface. Extra points if you can transfer data and charge through one standard USB cable. (Squeese in a hub.)
kyle @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
#36 - the point of the itunes phone is that you have paid for your songs. you can put your non-drm songs on almost any phones, but this one supports itunes drm. so anyone who's enough of a sucker to buy this phone probably also paid for all their music
ChillyWilly @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Thanks for the answers and the pics... esp. the pic of the other media player... it looks pretty bad, but at least (as you said) can play more than 100 songs.
This phone is riddled with issues and concerns... and those pics from the back with the TransFlash card removed, it looks like the Moto engineers were using the first N-Gage to design a phone... sheesh! Did they not visit sidetalkin.com during the development of this phone? Maybe we'll soon see the ROKR QD... he he
Seriously, still waiting for a Treo 670 (Windows Mobile). I've got a couple of iPods already that I don't mind carrying around in addition to my cell phone.
tennis guy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
"I'm really glad I bought the Treo 650 after getting impatient with the iTunes phone. It can play music AND I can control iTunes via Bluetooth with Salling Clicker. Plus this phone looks so 1990's. "
.
.
Like the Treo 650 is some kind of fashion statement? Please.
.
.
tennis guy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
.
"Maybe it's just me but this phone sucks."
Now there's a pearl of brilliance. Have you not read the others posts on this phone? Almost no one likes the thing. Saying it sucks is nothing new--only about 5000 other geeks have said as much.
.
.
Chet @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
I have been waiting forever for this phone. And no, it is not perfect, but I love it. I am a hardcore Mac user, therefore hardcore iTunes user ... not every phone out there plays AACs, and no other phone but this plays protected AACs (.m4p). Although the Sony Walkman phone is superior, the ability to sync to my music collection was more important to me. The ROKR is a solid phone, I gave up a Treo 650 for my ROKR. Again, it is not for everyone, not hardcore cellphone users. But any hardcore Mac user will be happy to have a fully-compatiable iTunes phone. Yes, they will improve if not totally redesign this phone someday. But I waited long enough, was sick of my Treo, and this phone is the best sounding phone I have ever heard (for both music and voice calls). Just know the phone is not as bas as people think, it is just not what people wanted. (I did buy a black nano as well!)
Tim O. @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
But is the bluetooth crippled?!?! Can you send files to other phones without having to pay some ridiculous fee to use there network?
Marc K. @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Does anybody ever think to mention that my Samsung SCH-i730 already does all of that without any of the restrictions and so much more as well, as have all of the PocketPC Phones before it?! What's the big deal with that phone anyway?!
Joel @ Dec 19th 2005 12:19AM
Just as I thought--too much Moto, not enough Apple in this phone. I really hope that this model is just a learning experience, and that someday we will get a real Apple phone which captures the completeness of design that Apple is famous for.
This thing is like some kid dropping $5000 in stereo gear in his Honda Civic--It may sound great, but all the hot chicks would still rather ride in an Aston Martin any day.
Everyone thinks that these cell phones are the future. I'm not so sure. If you think about it, affordable coast-to-coast wifi might be here before the 2nd or 3rd Gen phones that can really function the way we really want them to are available. When that happens, the tiny client takes over, and the cell phone as we know it is dead, isn't it?
Maybe Steve Jobs secretly realizes he doesn't want to be caught riding on a dying horse. Perhaps there will never be an Apple iPhone the way we are all predicting.