MOTORIZR Z3 gets reviewed
By Darren Murph 
posted Dec 20th 2006 8:16PM
posted Dec 20th 2006 8:16PM
The MOTORIZR Z3 isn't exactly awe-inspiring in terms of features, but being that its Moto's "first attempt at the slider design trend," it gets somewhat of a pass in the value department. CNET was able to get its paws on the predictably thin new mobile, and while the list of niceties wasn't exactly suited to the (admittedly) high $300 pricetag, they couldn't help but fall for its snazzy good looks. Aside from the design, the phone offered a pleasantly crisp LCD, user-friendly navigation array, call quality similar to the GSM KRZR (read: satisfactory), "respectable" battery life of 6.5 hours, and a highly improved volume level. All wasn't peachy, however, as reviewers found the built-in camera to be fairly awful, the button layout to be a bit cramped / slick, and the speakerphone to be less than impressive. All in all, this rendition of Motorola's (almost) vowel-less lineup did the slider motif "quite well," and while CNET suggested holding out until prices drop just a bit, it was deemed a solid performer nonetheless.[Thanks, Justin]
this phone is much more suited to be a swivel vs. this piece of crap...
"I" is a vowel.
Very nice. I've been eying this a loooong time. Here's hoping for a CDMA version.
"vowel-less lineup"
Well there is that I...
Ya the Motorola RAZR has no vowel amirite?
You seem to be forgetting PEBL as well.
this phone may be the first slider attempt to make it to the states but in Korea the "Z" is a very sexy slider that has found popularity among the LGs and the Samsungs.
http://www.mymotorola.co.kr/motoshow/product/show_ms600.asp
check it out...much better than a rizr
i am so over these RAZR KRZR SLVR RIZR WHATEVERZR phones motorola keeps making. they all look so generic.
Trash. Get a D903i. Snap.
Shouldn't the headline be: "MOTORIZR Z3 gets REVWD" ?
lol...i'm funny.
This phone is free with a new activation in Yourop.
The $300 price tag is for the unlocked European import.
the only thing moto has going for them is design. everything else is pure crap
This is a pretty sexy design, kinda makes me want to cut my Motorola SLVR L7 in half and dance around naked in the moonlight. or maybe i should get around to buying a real cell phone... samsung Dseries anyone?
I'm really tired of the crap coming out from motorola. Make something better for christ sakes. Samsungs D series is way ahead of this, and probably thinner. I love my D900. :)
I'm glad I spend my $300 on a Nokia 8801 slider. I had a V3i and it was a total piece of crap, compared to the competition anyway. The user interface, camera, ringtones are junk. The 8801 feels nice in the hand. The moto, a toy. The whole thin thing is overrated. When it's too thin to use comfortably, forget it.
any company who still uses java as an OS and continues to supply cdma networks is a load of crap. Its about time these companies put more effort in the guts of the phone and less time in making it look pretty. It is because of these companies that n.america is years behind the world in the cellular industry. Once the networks finally realize cdma has no future they can get on with moving over to a world network. By the time n.america embraces true 3g technology the rest of the world will already be well into 4g. I can only pity those of you suckered into signing a cdma contract...poor fools.
"It is because of these companies that n.america is years behind the world in the cellular industry. Once the networks finally realize cdma has no future they can get on with moving over to a world network. By the time n.america embraces true 3g technology the rest of the world will already be well into 4g."
Well...
A lot of the rest of the world hasn't exactly been doing that well financially with their 3G networks. That's part of the lesson US carriers have taken away from other countries; that it unfortunately doesn't pay to invest heavily in 3G all in one shot. So they're rolling out 3G slowly over time in order to spread out the costs.
Also, just because the rest of the world is GSM doesn't mean their networks are interoperable. It's not a "world network". Go try using your European phone in Japan, for example. You can't. Japan uses 2100mhz, which is not a frequency used anywhere else. So there are still plenty of incompatibilities even within the world of GSM.
"Outside n.america you will find hardware not available here that does utilize most functions of the 3g network."
There is better hardware in Asia but it's not so much that it has more features or utilizes 3G functions that phones here don't.
I just upgraded to a Samsung SGH-A707. It has all the features I've ever seen on any Japanese phone; the only thing it's missing is GPS, but that's not an unheard of feature in this country, it's just that my phone doesn't have it. But streaming music and video via HSPDA, a QVGA screen, a 2MP camera, microSD slot, bluetooth, 3d graphics, I mean most Asian phones don't offer more than that.
It is true that the average US phone is worse than the average Asian phone, by a good amount. (European phones are really pretty much the same as US phones.) But the top US phones are as good as average Asian phones, and the best of the US networks offer the same features as other networks in the world. It's just that network coverage is inconsistent at best. That's the biggest problem; I can't even get 3G at all in my house, I'm stuck with EDGE.
What US carriers need to do is make the best of what they currently offer the standard all over the country.
And EVDO is not 3G? mkay...
cdma gave evdo the term 3g in order to sucker users into buying into it. True 3g is far more advanced then evdo. When I say sucker users I mean those who have so limited a grasp in the english language they resort to using words like.....mkay. In order to have a 3g technology in place cellular companies have to produce hardware that supports all or most of its functions. There are currently no cdma networks that use all the possible advantages that true 3g offers. Outside n.america you will find hardware not available here that does utilize most functions of the 3g network. Although evdo is fast, there will never be a cellular company who will invest in any real 3g type hardware for a dying network. Due to the cost of setting up a true 3g network within GSM and the ignorance of the masses who get suckered by cdma n.america may never really experience the benefits of what 3g has to offer.