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2nd September - OSNews has published a detailed review of
the Linux-powered Motorola Rokr E2 music phone. The review,
by Eugenia Loli-Queru, takes a balanced look at both the hardware
and the software, and identifies a number of the device's
strengths and weaknesses.
The Rokr E2 debuted in January at the Consumer Electronics
Show (CES) in Las Vegas. It has FCC approval, but to date
has not been introduced in the U.S.
The review starts off with a run-down of the phone's hardware
features and specs, including processor, memory, LCD screen,
keypad, input/output ports, size and weight, and the like.
The full-sized SD card slot gets an enthusiastic endorsement.
"According to Motorola the phone has been tested with
up to 2 GBs of SD, but it should work with up to 4 GBs as
well," Loli-Queru writes. Additionally, "the quality
and brightness of the QVGA screen is amazing," but on
the other hand, "the 1.3 MP camera won't get any awards."
Other positives include the standard mini-USB 2.0 interface,
standard 3.5mm audio jack, "great sound quality,"
and built-in FM radio, but the device exhibited "mediocre
GSM reception."
Loli-Queru goes on to describe the look and feel of the phone's
UI (user interface), which, she says, is "based on the
Chameleon UI non-touchscreen engine, instead of their EZX
one. Having used both UIs, I noticed that the Chameleon UI
is somewhat derived by the EZX one (albeit very modified)."
"For all means and purposes the ROKR-E2 feels and behaves
like any other modern feature phone," writes Loli-Queru.
"Its UI and icon style resembles the current non-Linux
Motorola phones, but the fonts are way better."
Next, she details many of the phone's screens and functions,
including the main screen, contacts, recent calls, messages,
PIM tools, and settings functions. She notes that the device
she reviewed came with three untranslated Chinese games, and
"one of them crashed the phone while loading."
Praising the device's version 8.50 Opera Mobile browser,
Loli-Queru writes that it "worked fast, scrolled fast,
never ran out of memory ... and rendered everything as expected."
Although, a couple of minor problems were also noted. Another
strong point was the phone's file manager, about which she
writes, "I absolutely love the power you get from this
seemingly simple file manager."
Issues singled out for dishonorable mention in the "problems"
sections included:
Needlessly complex Bluetooth management
No "/" symbol in Java apps
No quad-band GSM
No IM (instant messaging) app
Disappointing MPEG4 support
No SDK to write native apps for the phone
Read Loli-Queru's complete, informative review of the Rokr
E2 cellphone at OSNews.com, here.
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