Motorola ROKR

The Motorola ROKR ( /ˈrɒkər/) is a series of mobile phones from Motorola, and is one of the series in the 4LTR line. The first model was released on September 7th 2005. They are designed for music.

Contents

E1

Motorola ROKR E1
Compatible networks GPRS
Dimensions 108 x 46 x 20.5 mm
Weight 107 g
Memory microSD
Display 176x220, 262000 colors
Ringtones & notifications MP3, AAC, WAV, MIDI, Polyphonic
Connectivity Bluetooth

The E1 is the first phone to be integrated with Apple Inc.'s iTunes music player. It was launched on September 7, 2005 during a special media-only event by Apple in San Francisco, California. The phone had been widely expected, with technology sites reporting on collaborations between Motorola and Apple as far back as December 2004.

Description and acceptance

The ROKR E1 is a re-badged Motorola E398 candybar style phone (it was originally called the E790) with Apple-licensed technology to play back music purchased from the iTunes Music Store. It features a music player with an interface similar to that of Apple's ubiquitous iPod music players. Since hardware on Motorola E398 and ROKR E1 phones is the same, it is possible to Crossflash Motorola ROKR E1 firmware to Motorola E398 using phone flashing software like Flash & backup.

While the phone is equipped with an upgradeable 512 MB microSD memory card, it is restricted by its firmware to allow only one hundred songs to be loaded at any time, so that it would not directly compete with the iPod series.[1]

The arbitrary song limit hurt the ROKR's appeal. Many users also discovered that transferring music to the phone was slow compared to dedicated players, due to lack of support for Hi-Speed USB. Lastly, the ROKR was criticized for being too much like the preceding E398. As a result, the ROKR E1 sold below expectations despite a high-profile marketing campaign.[2]

Relations between Motorola and Apple were also strained because the latter unveiled the iPod nano at the same time, and Motorola CEO Ed Zander later accused Apple of purposely undercutting the ROKR.[3]

The ROKR E1 was replaced by the E2 (see below) which lacked iTunes and superseded by the iTunes enabled SLVR L7.

E2

Motorola ROKR E2
Compatible networks GSM 900/1800/1900 with GPRS Class 10 (2U/4D)
Availability by country Digicel
Claro
Dimensions 106 mm×49.5 mm×18 mm
Weight 115 g
CPU Intel XScale PXA270
Storage 11 MB
Removable storage SD expansion card slot for up to 2GB removable storage (Or 4GB if it is flashed with a modded firmware)
Display 240×320 pixel TFT LCD, 262K colours, 30 mm×40 mm
Rear camera 1.3 megapixel, video at 15 frame/s for 2 hours maximum
Ringtones & notifications Polyphonic
Connectivity Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (supports A2DP)
USB 2.0 by mini-USB

The E2 came in January 2006. Instead of iTunes support in the ROKR E1, the phone is installed with RealPlayer, supporting a larger variety of formats. It also features a music control panel on the left side of the phone. Users can also listen to stereo FM radio with Motorola ROKR E2. By using iRadio, FM radio programs can also be downloaded into the phone through internet, letting users listen to the radio at anytime. The first public release occurred on June 22, 2006 in China.[4][5]

Features

Product modifications

Being a Linux based phone, the open source community has made numerous modifications to the software allowing quad band, EDGE, 4 GB SD card (limited to Transcends), as mentioned below music problems are no longer a problem as there are a few options of media players, also some people have overclocked the processor from 312 MHz (some models have higher rates) up to 624 MHz.

Product problems


E6

Motorola ROKR E6
Manufacturer Motorola
Series Motorola ROKR
Compatible networks GSM Tri-band (900/1800/1900, hackable to Quad-band)
Availability by country November 14, 2006 (China)
December 4, 2006 (Worldwide)
Dimensions 111 × 51.5 × 14 mm (82 cc)
Weight 122 g
Operating system MontaVista Linux OS (not MOTOMAGX)
CPU Intel XScale-PXA27x rev 7 (v5l)
Memory 46MB RAM (50% free after boot up)
Storage 120 MB
Removable storage SD/MMC expandable to 4 GB(New patch)
Battery Li-ion 1000 mAh
Data inputs Touch-Screen with Stylus
Display 2.4-inch 240 × 320 pixels, TFT with 262k colors
Rear camera 2 megapixels + Macro Mode
Connectivity GPRS Class 10, Enhanced Mini USB, BCM2045 Bluetooth 2.0 (+A2DP), 3.5 mm Stereo/Mic Jack

The E6 was released in China on November 14, 2006, and subsequently worldwide on December 4, 2006.

The ROKR E6 is a direct descendant of the E680 and the MING, sharing the same Montavista Linux operating system, Intel XScale PXA270 series processors, and the RealPlayer media player instead of the iTunes player installed on the first ROKR phone. The E6 features a built-in FM radio, (but no radio recording). It also inherited the 2-megapixel camera with manual macro-switching and business card recognition from MING, enhanced with QR Code recognition functions. Additionally, the phone features a 3.5 mm headphone jack, allowing use of a standard-sized headphone plug.

It comes installed with Picsel Viewer with the ability to read Microsoft Office and PDF file formats.

Details

The phone is part of Motorola's line of phones running Linux, this one using a modified 2.4.20 kernel. This has upset some, as they broke the GPL in not releasing the kernel source code. [6] The software is an updated version of MING (Motorola A1200), but the file system is a bit different. So most of the apps that work on the MING work on the E6, but some may not due to the file system. Normally the phone only runs on tri-band GSM networks, though some have found an exploit to get it to run on Quad Band networks and over Edge.[7] The radio channel frequency can also be modified beyond 88MHz to 65MHz, and the preset number of channels can also be modified.

Two versions of this phone have been made, the original Licorice Black, and a special edition Jay Chou orange color.

Technical specifications

Battery Life Up to 7 hours talk time - about 235 hours standby
WebCamera Yes, via USB
Voice Recording Yes (.amr)
Video Recording Yes up to CIF 352×288 (.3gp)
Maximum number of Sockets 10
Browsers Mini Opera with support for HTTP, HTTPS, Socket, Secure Socket, UDP
Image Support .PNG, .GIF, .BMP, .JPEG, .EMS, .WMP
Encoding schemes USASCII, UTF-8 (Unicode), UTF-16 with explicit Byte Order Mark (Part of IOP), UCS-2
Messaging SMS, MMS
E-mail POP3, IMAP4, SMTP
Java Yes, CLDC v1.1 and MIDP v2.0 compliant
FCC ID Yes here

Screenshots

Z6

Motorola ROKR Z6
Manufacturer Motorola
Compatible networks GSM quad-band with EDGE
Predecessor Motorola RIZR Z3
Successor Motorola RIZR Z8
Dimensions 105.5mm×45.5mm×16mm
Weight 115g / 4.06 ounces
Operating system MOTOMAGX
CPU 528 MHz ARM11 32-bit Freescale MXC275-30 processor
Memory 64MB available to user, ROM 96MB, RAM 64MB SDRAM
Removable storage microSD (TransFlash) card up to 2GB
Battery BC50 3.7V at 750mah
Display 2.1 inches" 320×240pixels
262,000 color TFT LCD
Rear camera 2.0 megapixels with LED flash
Ringtones & notifications Polyphonic, MP3
Connectivity mini-USB, Bluetooth (Class 2)A2DP

The Z6, originally known as the RIZR Z6, was released on July 7, 2007. The Z6 features Motorola's new version of the embedded Linux-based operating system, MOTOMAGX. It also supports stereo Bluetooth technology (A2DP) and features a 2-megapixel digital camera. The Z6 also supports synchronisation with Windows Media Player 11, allowing playlists and audio to be transferred to the phone's internal memory, which can in turn be transferred onto a compatible microSD memory card. The phone does not support 3G or HSDPA.

Audio format support

The Z6 officially supports the following audio formats:

Video format support

The Z6 officially supports the following video formats:


Z6m

Motorola ROKR Z6m
Compatible networks CDMA 800/1900 1xEV-DO r0 data speed
Dimensions 105.5 mm × 45.5 mm × 16 mm
Weight 115 g / 4.06 ounces
Operating system BREW, Paragon 2005 (P2K05) Internal Filesystem
Memory 14 MB, upgradable to 2 GB with a microSD (TransFlash) card
Display 2" 320×240 pixels
65,536 color TFT LCD
Ringtones & notifications Polyphonic, MP3
Connectivity mini-USB, Bluetooth (Class 2), EV-DO

The Z6m is the CDMA version of the ROKR Z6. The ROKR Z6m comes with an integrated music player, 3.5mm headset jack, stereo Bluetooth, a 512MB MicroSD card, a key lock switch, and a 2-megapixel digital camera. It supports up to 2GB of MicroSD storage. Unlike the Z6, the Z6m does not run MotoMAGX, a version of Linux, but instead runs the Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless operating system.

U.S. Cellular was the first carrier to release the ROKR Z6m on October 14, 2007 alongside their Napster-to-Go service's launch.

Technical Information

When connected to a computer via USB and the connection type is set to "Modem/COM", the phone acts like a USB serial peripheral, allowing Motorola Phone AT Commands to be sent. In this mode, sending "AT+MODE=8" will put the phone into a different state, in which it no longer accepts AT commands but its P2K05 functionality is accessible.


W5

Motorola ROKR W5
Weight 107 g
Memory 20 MB internal
microSD up to 2GB
Display 176x220, 256K colors
Rear camera 1.3MP

The W5 was released in September 2007.

E8

Motorola ROKR E8
Manufacturer Motorola
Compatible networks GPRS
Availability by country July 2008
Predecessor ROKR E6
Successor ROKR EM30
Dimensions 115 mm × 53 mm × 10.6 mm
Weight 100 g
Memory 2 GB internal memory and microSD(up to 10GB with SDHC)
Battery Li-ion 970 mAh
Display Type: TFT; Colors: 250K; Size: 320 x 240 pixels (2 inches)
Rear camera 2 megapixel, 8x zoom
Ringtones & notifications Polyphonic, MP3, AAC
Connectivity mini-USB, 3.5 mm headphone jack, Bluetooth Class 2

The E8 was released in July 2008. It features a new keypad interface called ModeShift, which automatically changes the context of the keypad depending on the current function of the device. It also features a localized touch feedback system with haptic technology that gives the feeling of real buttons, though the keyboard surface is smooth. It will sync with Microsoft Outlook, but not with Web or Mac based calendars.

Both E8 and EM30 uses the ModeShift technology and this enables the phone to switch from talk to music with one touch (special music keys light up when playing music) Coupled with in-build CrystalTalk technology (a Motorola patent), crisp and clear conversations is possible in noisy environments.

Carriers

E8 Specifications

The complete Motorola ROKR E8 list of specifications are:[8]

Type Specification
Battery Life Talk: 7 hours; Standby: 300 hours
Phone Book Capacity Unlimited (limited only by memory capacity)
Video Capture .MOV 176*144 @15 frame/s
Email Client Protocols Supported: POP3, IMAP4, SMTP
EMS / Picture Messaging EMS 5.0
Java ME Version: MIDP 2.0
Predictive Text Entry Technology: iTAP
Text Messaging 2-Way
Voice Dialing speaker-independent
Wireless Internet WAP 2.0, xHTML, HTML
FM Radio Yes
Alarm Yes
Calculator Yes
Calendar Yes
Custom Graphics Yes
Data-Capable Yes
Digital TTY/TDD Yes
Games Yes
MMS Yes
Multiple Languages Yes (English, French, Chinese, Spanish)
Multiple Numbers per Name Yes
PC Sync Yes
Picture ID Yes
Polyphonic Ringtones Yes
Ringer ID Yes
Side Keys Yes
Speaker Phone Yes
Text Messaging Templates Yes
Vibrate Yes
Voice Memo Yes


EM30

Motorola ROKR EM30
Manufacturer Motorola
Compatible networks GSM 850/ 900/ 1800/ 1900
Availability by country August 5, 2008
Predecessor Motorola ROKR E8
Successor AURA
Dimensions 115 mm × 53 mm × 10.6 mm
Weight 100 g
Memory 18.5 MB RAM
Battery Li-ion 970 mAh
Display Type: TFT; Colors: 250K; Size: 240 x 320 pixels (2 inches)
Rear camera 2 megapixel, 8x zoom
Ringtones & notifications Polyphonic, MP3, AAC
Connectivity mini-USB, 3.5 mm headphone jack, Bluetooth Class 2

The EM30, releasing in August 2008, was the lower-end version of the E8 (see above), without the FastScroll navigation wheel and the haptics feel.

EM30 is running on LiMo Platform, a Linux-based operating system for mobile devices. It is the 22nd LiMo Handset.[9]

Both E8 and EM30 uses the ModeShift technology and this enables the phone to switch from talk to music with one touch (special music keys get lighted up when playing music) Coupled with in-build CrystalTalk technology (a Motorola patent), crisp and clear conversations is possible in noisy environments.

Specifications

Technical Specifications


EM326g

Motorola ROKR EM326g
Memory microSD
Rear camera 1.3MP

The EM326g was released in January 2009.

EM35

Motorola ROKR EM35
Manufacturer Motorola
Availability by country Q1 2009
Predecessor ROKR EM30
Weight 116 g
Memory 110MB RAM
Display 320x240 pixels, TFT LCD, 256K colours
Rear camera 3.15 megapixel

The EM35 was released in Q1 2009. It had a better, 3.15MP camera, 110 MB internal memory, and a microSD card slot up to a higher, 16GB.


W6

Motorola ROKR W6
Weight 107 g
Memory 20 MB internal
microSD up to 2GB
Display 176x220, 256K colors
Rear camera 1.3MP

The W6 was released in April 2009.

ZN50

Motorola ROKR ZN50
Weight 143 g
Memory microSD up to 16GB
Display 240x427, 256K colors, TFT LCD touchscreen
Rear camera 3.15MP with auto-focus

The ZN50 was released in July 2009, and became a very high-end phone of the ROKR series. It featured a 3.15 MP camera with auto-focus, a better screen resolution, expandable storage up to 16GB, and had a touchscreen.

EM25/EM325

Motorola ROKR EM25
Weight 90g
Memory microSD up to 2GB
Display 128x160, 65K colors, TFT LCD
Rear camera 1.3MP

The EM25/EM325 was released in July 2009, at the same time as the ZN50 (see above).

EM28/EM330

Motorola EM28/EM330
Manufacturer Motorola
Carriers AT&T
T-Mobile
Availability by country July 2009
Form factor Clam / Flip
Dimensions In inches: 4.1mm x 2.1mm x 0.6mm
Weight 90g (with battery)
Memory 30MB
Removable storage microSD (up to 2GB)
Battery Lithium ion battery, Talk time: Up to 7 hrs, Stand-by: Up to 23 days
Display 65K colour, 128 x 160 pixels
Rear camera 1.3MP
Ringtones & notifications Polyphonic
Connectivity Bluetooth

The Motorola EM28/EM330 was released in July 2009, at the same time as the ZN50 and EM25/EM325 (see above).

Specifications


References