With the RIZR Z8 kick-slider, Motorola is revisiting the realms of Symbian UIQ. With the exception of Wi-Fi, the handset offers full data connectivity, perfect display and high-capacity memory card support - all packed in a very sexy black slider.
A true high-end multimedia device, the RIZR Z8 has quites a few unique features: it's a UIQ 3.1 and yet a non-touchscreen handset, plus the kick-slide form factor is over the top. This phone is all about the multimedia, so much so that the improvements offered by the enhanced RIZR Z10 model are limited to the imaging: a 3-megapixel camera and xenon flash.
Quite enough has been said about the RAZR's revolutionary design. With a handful of RAZR models already seasoned veterans, Motorola has always been eager to play off that huge popularity by constantly releasing updated versions and limited editions.
The tempting looks are shared by two other Motorola lines: KRZR and RIZR. Rizr is the label of the handset we're testing - the Moto Z8. The Motorola trademarks to look for are the chin and the slider form factor, which is the convention in the RIZR lineup. The Z8 brings exciting multimedia power and the unique slide-and-bend action to the table for the style sensitive and the tech-savvy.
Slide and bend
The RIZR Z8 is currently available only in black, but market success will surely bring out other color versions. The designers chose to perk it up with fluorescent green trim, which works well with the interface background.
Most of the surface is matte - the only troublesome areas are the display and the mirror-like coating on the back. Sadly, these areas are fingerprint magnets, but wiping the screen and the back every now and then will keep it as good as new.
To Motorola, RIZR means slider, but with the Z8, sliding has a twist to it. Innovating a unique form factor, the sliding action in Z8 is coupled with a bend, curving the handset's body inwards. This unusual design wraps the handset comfortably around your face, but does eat up the headroom for the top row of keys on the alphanumeric keypad. The whole area above the break point on the non-sliding part is the battery cover. At the very top, all you have is the lanyard eyelet.
Typical Motorola
On the left side three identical buttons. The top two are volume keys over the dedicated video-call button. The keys are flush with surface and even you feel your way to them, it's hard to guess which one is which. The decent stroke and adequate response hardly make up for the almost zero touch orientation. Under these three keys is the microSD card slot protected by a rubber cover. The RIZR Z8 can support cards up to 4GB capacity.
Top of the right-hand side - just under the bend point - is the media player key. Also there is the conspicuous green shutter key. It is just above the miniUSB connector port, which is protected by a thin rubber cap. The side control layout is quite typical Motorola.
The back of the handset displays a mirror-like strip, which looks like metal but is actually plastic. The shiny strip is divided in three segments: the upper is part of the battery cover, the lower covers the SIM card holder. With the Z8 you can switch SIM cards without removing the battery. The middle section is fixed and is home to the camera lens and the LED flash.
Frankly, the location of the camera lens just couldn't have been worse. The most natural way of holding the phone to your ear inevitably means sticking a finger right onto that lens, which will end up covered in smudges ever too often.
Handling the phone
The solid feel and nice resistance of the sliding mechanism are worth noting - the slider is firm and secure in both open and closed position with no irritating wobbles. The bend hinge is quite a different story: with the slider closed it will still fold over, causing a visible rift between the display and the keypad. One wonders how it will put up with a few months of intensive usage.
Though certainly driven by looks, the slide and bend action does make the handset more ergonomic in calls.
The top of the slider has the VGA video-call camera, the earpiece and the handsfree microphone. Beneath them is found one of the Z8 true goodies: the 2.2" TFT display of 16 million colors and QVGA resolution. Brightness can be adjusted in seven steps and a screensaver is activated upon a determined interval.
You change the appearance of the interface by the color themes. The RIZR Z8 has two, although few are likely to ever choose the white one over the default black and green combo that perfectly meshes with the phone's exterior.
Under the display is the round navigation key. There's a threesome of buttons on both of its sides: two soft keys, Home (menu) and Clear key, as well as the Call and End keys. The keys on this control pad are separated by small rubber ridges for better touch orientation. Another strip is placed just above the D-pad serving as a thumb-rest for opening the slider.
Sliding the Z8 open reveals the alphanumeric keypad and the ubiquitous Motorola chin, which has been around since the first RAZR came to life. It contains a loudspeaker and a small status LED which indicates battery charge.
The keypad is your typical flatbed, though slightly curved given the kick-slider factor. It's all a glossy membrane with individual keys separated by the rubber ridges, which help provide some touch orientation. The backlighting helps usability, but overall the keypad does take some getting used to.
Typing on the Z8 requires some practice - eventually you will get the hang of the alphanumeric keypad. The D-pad however was a different story. Wrong presses seem to never end; the directions should be more clear. On the upside, response to keypresses is very fast.
For a classic slider the dimensions of 50.7 x 109.7 x 15.3 mm, and 112 g weight put it on the bulkier side but the Z8 is a Symbian smartphone, which is a good enough excuse for most people.
Connectivity
The Z8 is all about connectivity - GPRS, EDGE and HSDPA - it has it all. The only noticeable absence is Wi-Fi. We can't help the feeling that the ignoring of Wi-Fi is a mistake for Motorola.
Short range connectivity is via Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and AVRCP (remote control) support. PC connectivity is through the supplied miniUSB cable, the connection modes available are modem, phone management and Mass Storage with the memory card inserted. In this mode speed varies from 750 KB/s for writing to 830 KB/s for reading. The battery can be charged off the USB cable.
USB charging is hassle free, but bear in mind that the Motorola Z8 is incompatible with some miniUSB chargers. A closer inspection of the supplied charger shows its output is lower - 850 mA instead of 1 A. In case you have a charger of the second type at hand, make sure it is not used with your Z8.
The basics
The main menu shows as a nine icon grid or a list, with all items rearrangeable. Filling the contact list is straightforward with a PC connection. Contacts display can be by first and last name, or company. When adding a new entry you can use the few basic ones and add more according to your needs.
When composing messages, a number of editing options are possible. The iTap editor is at hand of course, which I like better than T9, for its user-friendliness and handling of new vocabulary. Response time is great when typing, after you master the alphanumeric keypad. In the email department, support for POP3, IMAP and SMTP is available. Downloading headers only or entire messages is up to you.
With the usual combination of calendar views and events to set (Appointment, Reminder, All day event and Anniversary), the calendar offers a setting for the home-screen indication, item size, snooze and advanced notification.
All these settings are available when saving a new calendar entry, along with the default fields the manufacturer deemed most frequently used. There are 5 ringing profiles, new ones can be added and a Kill Filter can be applied to block calls and text from predefined numbers. The Time application shows local and world time, and has three alarm slots. As expected, tasks, notes and a calculator are available in Z8, along with a File Manager and a voice recorder.
If you are working with Office documents, PDF or ZIP files on the go, you'll need to install additional software on your Z8. We tested adding the "Documents To Go" application and it worked, though not quite flawlessly.
Bored? No, thanks
The Z8 has a 2 megapixel main camera and a smaller VGA camera used for video calls. The maximum image resolution possible is 1600x1200 pixels. If you want to take pictures with the primary camera, the slider has to be closed. Sliding the handset open activates the secondary VGA camera.
The process of operating the camera is straightforward, but to have the main unit operable with the slider open and the keypad available for quick access to the settings would have been much nicer.
The dedicated camera key or the center of the navigation key is the capture button. The four directions of the navigation key are assigned specific functions: Up saves the shot and opens the Gallery, Down saves and launches the MMS editor, Left saves and returns to viewfinder, while Right will delete the image.
The Z8 camera has the usual set of features: four color effects, self timer, several white balance presets, adjustable shutter sound, picture size and picture quality settings. Video is recorded in 3GP format at a maximum QVGA resolution and there are three video size options.
The pictures taken with Z8 leave a bit to be desired. Color saturation is low, and the pictures are dark. The edge-to-edge sharpness is also uneven but that is to be expected for a mid-tier phone camera. Since there is no auto focus, shooting close-ups is impossible.
While we are on multimedia, the music player supports the AMR NB, XMF, MP3, AAC, AAC+, AAC Enhanced and MIDI formats. The music content is automatically arranged, with tracks sorted by artist, album or composer. The player can be minimized to run in the background and controlled with the volume rocker, the D-pad and the dedicated player key, which functions as play/pause.
Storage of the multimedia content follows a logical and easy to observe file structure. Audio files, videos and images are easy to access and comfortably at hand in the media gallery. Watching videos it is a different story. It requires you to install a bunch of codecs, or even a brand new third party player, to enjoy your favorite clips.
Java support allows additional applications to expand the functionality of your Z8. After installing the downloaded application in Control Panel, it is available in the menu with all the rest of the applications or games.
The RIZR Z8 comes with the Asphalt 2 game already installed. The system's ability to expand is unlimited.
Conclusion
The Z8 has some great novelties, but the implementation leaves much to be desired. It is obvious that the RIZR Z8 is designed to cater to the taste of the style minded, but it could get easily buried in the multimedia niche.
On a different note, the Z8 deserves credit in a few areas. The splendid display and the high-end data are obvious. The high-capacity memory card support and the stereo Bluetooth give it enviable music player abilities. The brand new interface, which healthily departs from the old Motorola looks and questionable user-friendliness, is also worth noting.
The two unique features of the Z8 - the kick-slide form factor and the non-touch UIQ platform put the RIZR Z8 in a class-in-its-own niche product. The MotoRIZR Z8 might turn out a proof-of-concept platform that is yet to see development.
  
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