motozine
Latest
T-Mobile blowing out free Motorola ZN5s this weekend
Black Friday's turning into a Black Weekend for Moto and T-Mobile, it seems, with the just-released ZN5 already being discounted to a big, fat goose egg (after rebate, anyway) for the duration of the holiday weekend. That's down from $99 at launch, and a dang good deal considering that you're getting a WiFi-equipped phone with a 5-megapixel autofocus cam and xenon flash. We're still not sure we can forgive the gray / purple scheme, but if we could be reminded of just how insanely little we shelled out for the phone every time we looked at it, we could probably let it slide.
T-Mobile offers Motorola's MOTOZINE ZN5 for $99 on contract
Among American carriers, T-Mobile USA isn't typically the first that comes to mind when we're thinking of purveyors of bleeding-edge hardware -- but between the G1 and this, we might have to start rethinking that stereotype. T-Mob has officially become the first carrier in North America to offer Motorola's 5-megapixel MOTOZINE ZN5, a quadband EDGE candybar with WiFi, a morphing keypad along the lines of T-Mobile's own MOTOROKR E8, and a 5-megapixel camera with xenon flash that's been infused with a heavy dose of Kodak imaging wizardry. The best part about the whole thing might be the price -- just $99 on a two-year contract, which fills our hearts with hope that awesome cams on phones are now officially commodity items. Look for the ZN5 in "select" T-Mobile stores and online starting today.
Motorola's 5MP MOTOZINE ZN5 heads to T-Mobile
The MOTOZINE ZN5 is no surprise to the world at large, but it will be just that to unsuspecting T-Mobile customers early next month. The decidedly middling handset will arrive with its distinctive 5-megapixel camera (with Xenon flash and video capture), 150MB of internal memory, a 1GB microSD card, stereo Bluetooth capabilities, WiFi, FM radio, multimedia player, CrystalTalk technology and a voice recorder. Mum's the word on pricing, but that tidbit should be cleared up by November 3rd (read: the release date) at the latest.
Motorola ZN5 tortured in the name of science -- or something
Save from an occasional drop, we try our damndest to keep our precious phones out of harm's way, which is why torture tests like Smape's of the ZN5 are so painful to watch. This particular "survival guide" (their term, not ours) is pretty extreme, too, starting with a cushy stay in the freezer but progressing to a brutal tumble in a 500 RPM dryer, a thorough sandblasting, a sound crushing courtesy of a luxury SUV, and the obligatory dip in a hearty, delicious ale. The whole thing reads like a what's-what of things not to do with your phone, but hey, better their ZN5 than yours -- and we're sure it was a blast to actually perform some of these "tests."[Thanks, Max]
Motorola ZN5 gets unboxed
If you recall, Motorola's 5-megapixel ZN5 was slated for release last month, and sure enough, some units are starting to slip out -- enough units, in fact, that we now have ourselves a video unboxing out there somewhere. The packaging seems... dare we say, awfully ordinary for a phone that rests at the top of Moto's featurephone pyramid, especially considering Kodak's much-ballyhooed involvement, TV-out, WiFi, and a ModeShift morphing keypad. S'pose it's just the contents we really care about anyway, though, right? Follow the break for the full video.[Thanks, CrossBow]
Motorola MOTOZINE ZN5 hands-on
Announced in June, the MOTOZINE ZN5 is a pretty humdrum set, but somehow we're liking it's same-as-most-other-motos-look. The handset feels good in the hand, the screen looks pretty spanky -- even if the keyboard feels cheap and seems like it'll wear your fingers down -- and if you're into simplicity, this is likely a winner. While China was the first country getting this set, it seems we may well see it float its way over here after all. For more pics of more angles, follow the link.%Gallery-31643%
In Soviet Russia, Motorola's MOTOZINE ZN5 reviews you
In the most thorough examination you can expect this side of mobile-review, SMAPE just put text to phosphor and slapped out a nearly 9,000 word review of Motorola's new 5 megapixel MOTOZINE ZN5 with Xenon flash. They've also pitted it head-to-head with Nokia's own 5 megapixel N82 for a good ol' fashioned photo shootout. While the ZN5 is a smidge thinner, features a dedicated image processing unit for quickness, and optionally stores images in lossless TIFF format for a lower price than the N82, there's one small catch: the N82 (and K850 for that matter) has already been on sale for more than half a year. Nevertheless, as the first model of the new MOTOZINE series, the ZN5 hints at the possibility of a promising future. Assuming of course Moto's phone division lives to see the day.Update: Speaking of mobile-review, they just posted their detailed review. The following quote pretty much sums it up, "It's no RAZR of our time. It's just a decent, well-rounded phone."Read -- SMAPE reviewRead -- Mobile-Review review
Motorola announces MOTOZINE ZN5
Hints of Motorola's new MOTOZINE series of devices have gone back as far as last year, but today marks the first time that Moto's officially spilled any beans on the goods. The headlining feature on the first model, the ZN5 candybar, lies on the backside: a 5-megapixel sensor courtesy of a partnership with Kodak, featuring autofocus, a xenon flash, image stitching, and on-device integration with Kodak Gallery. Otherwise, you get WiFi (score), Motorola's so-called "ModeShift" technology for morphing the keypad depending on device mode (a la the E8), and a run-of-the-mill quadband GSM radio with EDGE. China's the first country to get the hookup starting next month, but Moto expects to take the ZN5 on a world tour over the course of the remainder of the year.
