Is it too little too late, though? Given that most of the other manufacturers have had 5 megapixel camera phones on the market for over a year now, and Sony Ericsson are about to launch an 8 megapixel camera phone, can Motorola's first 5 megapixel camera phone really help the company stem its losses and help it regain the technological lead it once held?

Read on after the jump to find out.

Me and Motoroa

I used to be a fan of Motorola phones. I nearly bought a Motorola RAZR way back in 2004 when it came out, simply because it looked about 100 years ahead of the competition. I even had a Motorola Accompli 008 back in 2001, one of the first smartphones with a touchscreen (albeit stylus-based). The reason I didn't buy the RAZR? Its features. At the time, it had an awful VGA camera, whereas the phone I did buy, the Sony Ericsson S700i, had a top of the range (for the time!) 1.3 megapixel camera that actually took decent photos.

I decided that looks alone weren't enough and that I wanted a phone whose features actually worked, rather than being tacked on as a marketing gimmick because every other phone had them. Is this still the case with the new MOTOZINE ZN5? Is it yet another Motorola phone that flatters to deceive, with a 5 megapixel camera built-in, simply because every other camera phone is now boasting at least 5 megapixels?

Motorola MOTOZINE ZN5 - technological marvel, or also-ran?

I've never regretted buying the S700i over the RAZR. Indeed, I still use my S700i, when going out to places where I might lose it, or it might get damaged (I'm thinking nightclubs and pubs here). It doesn't matter if I get drunk and leave it behind, or if I drop it and it breaks. The phone has no value now, other than the contact numbers within it, and even they are backed up. It really is a disposable phone.

Despite this, I still have it. I've never lost it, and even after dropping it countless times, and spilling nearly a brewery worth of beer over it, it still works perfectly. In the four years that I've had it, my friends have got through countless RAZRs, each of which has died within a couple of years at most.

But it wasn't the reliability of the S700i that made me choose it over the RAZR. It was the fact that its features were rock-solid. They weren't just there simply to add to a list of near-meaningless acronyms that every phone manufacturer had to add in order to compete, irrespective of whether the features listed actually worked or not. Sony Ericsson meant business, and all the features on its phones really did work.

Long before the CyberShot phone, a Sony Ericsson camera phone could take proper pictures, whereas all a Motorola could offer was VGA, which was simply not good enough.

That was four years ago. After years of technical stagnation leading to dwindling profits and an ever-decreasing market-share, has the new MOTOZINE ZN5 got what it takes to bring Motorola back up to speed with its competitors? Or is it too just another Motorola phone with a list of "me too" features that tries to emulate the technological prowess of its competitors, but ultimately disappoints?

The Motorola MOTOZINE ZN5 key features

Looking at the list of features of the MOTOZINE ZN5, there aren't many that catch the eye. It's a 5 megapixel camera phone with auto-focus, a Xenon flash, 4GB of optional external memory and optimized settings for low-light environments. Great, but every other camera phone on the market also offer these features these days, even mid-range phones. More worryingly, the ZN5 is intended to be a high-end phone from Motorola, with the "MOTOZINE" brand being a new range of high-end phones from the company.

Admittedly, there's the tie-up with Kodak, but they're hardly in the same league as Sony's CyberShot, or Nokia's partnership with Carl Zeiss.

The ZN5 offers a few neat features, such as Kodak's PERFECT TOUCH Technology, which makes images become brighter and more vivid, and a panorama mode that automatically stitches together continuous shots taken on the horizon line into a single, extended image. But then it completely lets itself down by not supporting 3G, let alone HSDPA.

Yes, that's right. In this "new" world of high-speed mobile networks that's been with us for well over a year now, but which Motorola seems oblivious to, the company has decided to release a phone that supports Wi-Fi and EDGE (Class 12), but not HSDPA or even 3G. EDGE is at best a 2.75G network, capable of theoretical download speeds of up to 474kbps. Compare this with HSDPA, with which the latest Samsung and Sony Ericsson-equipped phones manage to squeeze 7.2 Mbps out of.

As soon as I read this, I thought "they can't be serious?!", but they are. A new, much talked about camera phone, yet with features that at best replicate those of phones that have been on the market for over a year, and at worst can offer data transfer speeds from the last century.

So I've decided to give up writing any more about the ZN5! It's a 5 megapixel camera phone that's at least a year too late from a dying company that might just be around longer than the phone itself will last, but don't bet on it. As if to highlight the expectations of the company with the ZN5, it's being sold first in China, which speaks volumes for the lack of confidence Motorola has in the ZN5's ability to compete in more mature markets.

If you must, you can read exhaustive reviews of the ZN5 over at mobile-review or the oddly-named Snape.com, and you can also read the press release below. But as for words from me on the ZN5, there's only one more I'll add...Meh!

The Motorola MOTOZINE ZN5 in detail

From the press release:

Motorola (NYSE: MOT), a leader in wireless communications, and Kodak (NYSE: EK), the world’s foremost imaging innovator, today announced MOTOZINE™ ZN5, the first product combining world-class innovation from both companies. The MOTOZINE ZN5 combines a high-quality phone and camera experience to help content-craving consumers seize inspiration and share the content they create and love with the world.

Unveiled today in Beijing at a gallery-inspired event, ZINE ZN5 delivers an easy and immersive mobile imaging experience. ZN5 is the first mobile phone to combine Motorola’s ModeShift Technology and KODAK Imaging Technology. Together, they redefine the quality, convenience and connectivity of mobile imaging devices. With KODAK EASYSHARE Software and easy access to KODAK Gallery1 or other web sharing sites,2 pictures are easily moved off the device, allowing consumers to print, share and enjoy their favorite photos whenever they want.

“Today’s creative consumers not only want to be the photographer, but also the retoucher, the exhibitor and the critic,” said Jeremy Dale, corporate vice president, mobile devices marketing, Motorola, Inc. “The MOTOZINE ZN5 lets them be all the things they want to be.”

Built to Shoot

ZN5 puts image capture first, with a high-resolution landscape screen and one of the fastest click-to-click times available. To launch the camera, simply slide open the Kodak lens cover to transform the phone into an ultra-fast 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus, a Xenon flash, 4GB of optional external memory3 and optimized settings for low-light environments.

Built-in KODAK Imaging Technology ensures that every picture taken with ZN5 looks its best. When KODAK Imaging Technology is combined with KODAK PERFECT TOUCH Technology, images become brighter and more vivid on the spot. Multiple capture modes, like multi-shot and panorama, which automatically stitches together continuous shots taken on the horizon line into a single, extended image1, makes taking photos fun.

“KODAK Imaging Technology combines Kodak’s unparalleled experience in imaging science with easy connectivity to the company’s vast portfolio of products and services,” said John Blake, general manager digital capture and imaging devices group, vice president Eastman Kodak Company. “We have redefined the quality, convenience and connectivity of mobile imaging devices. We have worked closely with Motorola to create a device that not only delivers Kodak-quality pictures, but allows consumers to explore a wide range of options for sharing their photos with friends and family around the world.”

Built to Share

With one touch, photos can be viewed right from the home screen; no menus, no searching. This multimedia device provides a fun, quick and easy way to share favorite photos. Pictures can be uploaded via Gallery Link in one simple click and instantly shared to the KODAK Gallery (www.kodakgallery.com)1 to be viewed, stored and shared with friends and family. ShoZu can be used to upload photos to a variety of social networking sites1. ZN5 comes with KODAK EASYSHARE Software, the world’s most used photo software, making it easy to organize, edit, share, store and find mobile pictures1. Consumers can transfer pictures to a computer via USB, Wi-Fi1 or Bluetooth® wireless technology4 and print wirelessly on Bluetooth-compatible KODAK All-in-One Printers and at KODAK Picture Kiosks.

Built to Talk

In phone mode, ZN5 features Motorola’s patented CrystalTalkTM technology to help callers hear and be heard, even in noisy environments. With dual compatibility for GSM and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), users can connect in more areas around the world2 and enjoy high-speed wireless connections to surf the Web via a full HTML browser2. To complete the communications experience, ZN5 also supports SMS, MMS, IM and personal e-mail2.

The MOTOZINE Multimedia Experience

MOTOZINE ZN5 is the first device to carry the MOTOZINE franchise name, Motorola’s new label for its multimedia-optimized devices. For the consumer who thrives on content consumption and creation, products in the ZINE portfolio give them the freedom to shape pop culture, on their terms.

The Motorola MOTOZINE ZN5 release date will be first available in China in July 2008 and is expected to roll out around the globe throughout the remainder of the year.

As well as the Motorola Z10, CES 2008 also saw the announcement of the Motorola ROKR E8. Now, Motorola have released a number of ROKR music phones before, generally to underwhelming reviews. However, with the new ROKR E8, Motorola might just have got things right this time, and might even start to compete with Sony Ericsson's Walkman phones.

More details and pictures of the Motorola ROKR E8 after the jump.

Motorola ROKR E8

So why is the ROKR E8 so much better than previous ROKRs? Well, taking its cue from the iPhone, the ROKR E8 offers a touchscreen interface, with a different user interface presented to the user when the phone is in phone mode or music mode (Motorola calls this ModeShift technology).

It's not just a touchscreen, either - it also features a haptic interface, vibrating slightly whenever the user's finger passes over a key.

Also taking its cue from an Apple product, the ROKR E8 offers a FastScroll navigation wheel that lets users easily scroll through their music collection. iPod users may find this feature more than a little familiar!

Storage capacity of the E8 is up to 4GB via an external microSD card.

Altogether, the ROKR E8 is a much better ROKR than previous attempts. However, as Gizmodo puts it, "As with all Motorola phones, the new Z10 and Rokr E8 are innovative but not so much to be considered breakthrough technologies."

[Source: Gizmodo]

Motorola have been quite busy during CES this week, announcing several new phones. Of these, only the Motorola Z10 and ROKR E8 are worthy of note (the rest are just low-end phones), and quite surprising they are too...Motorola may actually have built a half decent phone!

More details and pics of the Motorola Z10 after the jump.

Motorola Z10

The Motorola Z10 is being pitched as a mobile video phone, similar to the two year old Nokia N93. The Z10 offers 30 frames per second video recording in "millions of colors", viewable through a 2.2" QVGA screen, and stored on up to 32GB of external memory (when 32GB flash cards become available...only 8GB until then).

You can also take pictures on its 3.2 megapixel camera, which comes complete with auto-focus, and then share your videos or pictures via YouTube, Google and Yahoo! with the click of a button. There's even on-board video editing software, which enables you tot idy up your video, add transitions and effects, etc.

Even more impressively, the Z10 comes with HSDPA and GSM/GRPS/EDGE.

Hmmm a super-fast 3.5G Motorola phone with decent multimedia features? Is Motorola finally starting to compete at last?!

Well, yes and no. Yes, in the sense that it beats the pants off any other Motorola phone released so far. No, in the sense that it still falls short of many of the latest phones that were released over 9 months ago by the other major manufacturers.

As UnwiredView points out, the Nokia N95, LG Viewty, Samsung G800 and Sony Ericsson K850i all offer similar features and software, but with a 5 megapixel camera and other bells and whistles such as Sat-Nav.

Still, for its key US audience, the Motorola Z10 should go down well. Actually, it would have if it was released before Nokia released its N95 over there, but given that they've done just that, the Z10 may find itself struggling even in the technologically behind-the-times US, unless it's sold cheaply.

Still, good to see Motorola at least trying.

[Source: UnwiredView, Gizmodo]

More pics and specs of the new Motorola ROKRs after the jump.

The ROKR U9 will come with a small 1.4" 160 x 128 OLED external display, 2 megapixel camera, still-small 1.8" QVGA internal screen, and the rest of the usual mobile phone gubbins (USB, Bluetooth, etc.).

The ROKR W9 (above) is a quad-band clamshell with 1.9" screen, 20MB of storage and 1.3 megapixel camera.

The ROKR U3 (below), meanwhile, fairs even worse, offering a VGA camera.

Frankly, I can't believe that in 2007 I'm writing about a new Motorola phone that comes with a VGA camera! At a time when all the other mobile companies are releasing 5 megapixel monsters with full auto-focus, optical zoom and image correction software, Motorola still seem to thinkk that 2001 technology is what the market wants.

As for the design - yeesh! The KRZR never looked great anyway, but adding a few "funky"decals to it is not going to sell it any faster.

Is it me, or is Motorola following the same worrying path as MG Rover, the UK's last large-scale motoring manufacturer? MG Rover was losing money hand over fist, and had no new money to design new cars. So all it did, every year, was release the same model with a few tweaks here and there; a new paint job here, a fresh grille there, culminating in the Rover 200 Streetwise, which was simply a Rover 200 decorated to look like a 4x4, but which was nothing of the sort.

It looked awful, had such poor features that it made an old Trabant look like a BMW, and was the prelude to MG Rover collapsing into ignominious bankruptcy.

Now I'm not arguing that Motorola will go the same way, but there's a disturbing parallel between the two companies' marketing efforts, with Motorola not coming up with anything new, and simply repainting existing designs and trying to flog them as "new" models.

The new ROKRs wouldn't have been so bad had it not been for Motorola's executives proudly claiming earlier last week that the company will be looking to innovate in the future and coming up with some phones to be proud of. Guess we're still waiting for those then!

[Source: Engadget]

Whether they'll achieve this or not is another matter - the RAZR squared might be better than existing RAZRs, but it's still no match from competing phones form the likes of Samsung or Nokia. For example, Motorola are making a big deal of the RAZR's two screens - one normal one within its clamshell, and a smaller one on the outside.

When did you ever see Nokia boasting about its top-end phones having a second screen?!

Anyway, gripes aside, it's a good looking phone, and brings the RAZR closer to 2007's phones.

More details and pictures of the Motorola RAZR Squared after the jump.

The two screens that Motorola are on about relate to what Motorola call a "tandem display". The outer screen is 2 inches size, which is huge for an external display - it's nearly as big as the main internal screen (which is 2.2 inches in size).

The reason it's so big is to give you more of the information you need from the phone without having to open it up (which does beg the question of why bother with a clamshell in the first place!). You can read text messages, caller ID, navigate multimedia files (such as selecting the music you want to play), etc. In the current tradition of all mobile phones post-iPhone, it even comes with a touchscreen.

The Motorola RAZR squared will be available in other markets very soon.

[Source: Aving.net]

The phone in question is Motorola's "media monster", the Motorola Z8.

The Z8 was announced a few months ago, and Motorola have been trying to hype it up ever since.

It does offer new features that haven't been seen on a Motorola before: 16 million colour screen, HSDPA and a huge storage capacity of up to 32GB.

But compete with the iPhone? It doesn't stand a chance!

Worse, by releasing the phone at the same time as the iPhone, Motorola have guaranteed it will get virutally no press coverage at all (well, except for this post of course!).

There couldn't be a worse day this year to announce a new mobile phone - way to go, Motorola!

Motorola are clearly pitching the Z8 against the iPhone, as they keep focusing on its multimedia capabilities. They've even thrown in a mobile version of the Bourne Identity for you to watch on the Z8, just to ram home the message that this phone really is a Media Monster.

However, it's not the features of the iPhone that everyone's raving about, it's the unique user interface, which makes its competitors look like 20th century relics. In this respect, the Z8 simply cannot compete, and will end up competing with similar phones from other manufacturers.

Which makes it all the more odd that Motorola have chosen the day of the iPhone's launch to release the Z8. It can't be compared to an iPhone, yet its release will be totally overshadowed by the iPhone's.

Motorola may just have ensured that their media monster dies a death of obscurity before anyone even notices it's for sale!

Motorola Z8 Media Monster

For those itching for more details, here's the press release:

The “media monster” has landed. Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announces the immediate availability of the MOTO Z8 kick-slider handset in Spain, with other parts of Europe and Asia to follow. The Z8, a complete entertainment center, offering mobile TV1, video and music from one unique device, is available through Telefónica via Movistar.

”We are excited to deliver our media monster to mobile entertainment fans around the world, beginning with Spain,” said Allen Burnes, corporate vice president and general manager, Motorola Mobile Devices, EMEA and India. “With the Z8, consumers can listen to music, download video, create blogs and record and store memories all from the best multimedia platforms available today.”

Motorola brings entertainment to life with the MOTO Z8. The large QVGA 16 million color TFT display optimizes the viewing experience in both portrait and landscape mode which can be put to good use with the in-box, full-length film, “The Bourne Identity,” from Universal Pictures. The movie in your hand is further enhanced using the inbox S9 Bluetooth stereo headphones. The multi-media experience continues with applications such as BSkyB, Podcast.com and CNN.

The Z8 delivers best-in-class design, functionality and the ultimate multimedia experience. With optional 4GB MicroSD memory cards (expandable up to 32GB when available), - entertainment lovers can store up to 12 full-length motion pictures2 or approximately 70 hours of music4, in addition to approximately 80MB of free internal user memory.3 Lightning fast Internet downloads using HSDPA and powerful onboard dual processors allows consumers to surf the Web while listening to music, without missing a beat.

The Z8 features an 8x zoom on its 2.0 megapixel camera with lumi LED light and let’s consumers record and watch their favorite moments with crystal clear video capture and playback at 30 frames per second.

Availability

With its sleek, perfect fit-to-face design, the Z8 is the ultimate in entertainment and is now available to Movistar clients through Telefónica and will soon be available in other parts of Europe as well as Asia.

The new phones will likely be branded Motorola-Kodak phones, and will be designed to enable Motorola to compete on a more equal footing with the more technologically superior phones of its competitors.

Whereas other mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia and LG have relied on incorporating superior lens technology from Carl Zeiss and Schneider-Kreuznach repsectively, none have been able to match the brand power of Sony Ericsson's CyberShot phones, which don't just draw on Sony's famed CyberShot range of cameras, they also offer superior photo quality to their competitors.

All this is changing, though, as Casio have recently announced a Casio Exilim-branded camera-phone (the Casio W53CA), which not only has superior quality to Sony Ericsson's camera-phones, it also comes with the Exilim brand, which is at least as well-known (and well-respected) as Sony's CyberShot brand.

Motorola have realised that if they're to compete in this market and drag their mobile phone division into profitability, they need to raise their game in the features race, and this means not only improving the megapixellage of their camera-phones (their current top model sports a measly 2 megapixels), they must also improve the quality of the phones' cameras.

The best way to do this, of course, is by partnering with a well known camera company, and what better company to partner with than Kodak, which is known the world over.

This also helps Kodak, who are pulling out of the low end camera market, as they, too are struggling to compete. The partnership is therefore win-win, as it gives Kodak a new market in which to expand, and Motorola's new camera-phones instant credibility.

Speaking at the JPMorgan Technology Conferenec in Boston, Kodak President Antonio Perez said "Our CMOS sensors have been well advancing for many years. And now we will have the ability to embed the sensor in the phone with all the richness we have with our imaging software. It will allow us to make the sensor, the most important part of the camera, able to manage the light, color, and the like."

Expect new Motorola-Kodak phones to be realeased later in 2007.

[Source: Crave, EngadgetMobile]

And for once, it seems that Motorola has delivered. Rather than simply taking their existing phones and "reinventing" them by basically painting them a different colour, Motorola have finally woken up and pimped the Z8 to extreme levels.

So extreme, in fact, it may actually compete with other manufacturers' handsets!

How extreme? Well how does mobile TV, HSDPA, 16 million colour screen and 4GB of on-board storage sound? And that's just for starters!

Motorola Z8 Media Monster phone

The Motorola Z8 is designed from the outset to support video playback.

Indeed, such is its feature-set, it can be thought of as a Personal Media Player in the guise of a mobile phone.

To support these claims, Motorola have fitted the Z8 out with the ability to watch or record VGA video at a full 30 frames per second on a 2.2" QVGA screen capable of displaying 16 million colours.

Although the screen isn't the biggest in class (and 2.2" isn't exactly optimum for watching full-length movies on), the ability to play VGA video at 30fps, and the full 16 million colours that the screen can display, certainly puts the Z8 right up there with the best of its multimedia competitors.

Indeed, the whole point of the Z8 is for users to watch mobile TV or full length videos on. To this end, the Z8 supports streaming video over its super-fast HSDPA connection (running at 3.6Mbsp) as well the ability to play feature-length movies that come loaded on 4GB microSD cards.

Motorola are even bundling the Z8 with a complete copy of The Bourne Identity for you to watch, so you can see how good it is at playing movies (and hoping that you like the experience so much, you'll buy more movies on other microSD cards).

In addition, the Z8 will let you watch mobile content services from BSkyB directly from the handset, such as Sky’s on-demand library of updating news, entertainment and sports. Sky’s ‘Anytime’ application provides an access point to a range of live mobile TV services that include over 30 TV channels. It'll even allow you to use your mobile phone to program your Sky+ set-top boxes remotely to record programs and place bets through SkyBet (although it has to be said that this is a service offered by BSkyB, and is not exclusive to the Motorola Z8).

As well as movies, the Z8 also comes with a 2 megapixel camera, and is also pretty good at playing music. Not only does it come with an MP3 player, it also has storage for over 1,000 tunes, supports Bluetooth 2.0 streaming via A2DP, and even comes with a pair of MOTOROKR S9 Bluetooth stereo headphones.

All this in what Motorola are calling a 'kick-slide' form factor that's just 15mm thin.

Although none of these features are innovative in their own right, they represent a quantum leap from previous Motorola phones, and shows that Motorola are serious in trying to turn around the company from the loss it posted recently. Let's just hope it works, as if there's one thing that's good for mobile phone lovers, it's healthy competition!

The Motorola Z8 release date is the beginning of June 2007.

[Source: Motorola]

Rumours that Motorola's manufacturing plants can't actually build a phone that doesn't look like a RAZR are unconfirmed (but would explain why company keeps churning out the same old design!).

The only other announcements by Motorola were a bunch of low-budget phones (the W380, W395, W218 and W360, above), which aren't worth commenting on (think VGA cameras and you get the idea!), and a few Bluetooth headsets (the S9 and H9).

[Source: Gizmodo, Engadget]

From the press release:

Motorola today announced the expansion of its award-winning Q platform with the availability of MOTO Q q9 and MOTO Q gsm. Delivering power, style and ease-of-use, MOTO Q q9 and MOTO Q gsm continue to evolve the mobile office experience by bringing an opportunity to own an iconic, power packed smart phone to virtually every user around the world.

MOTO Q q9

HSDPA connectivity makes listening to music, watching videos or sharing pictures lightning fast and Windows Mobile “PlaysForSure” enables compatibility with music and video stores worldwide. A convenient side-load removable micro-SD card compliments MOTO Q q9’s 256MG of onboard memory to ensure users have plenty of room to store what’s most important.

The second handset built on Motorola’s SCPL platform, MOTO Q q9 is optimized by design. It’s thin, lightweight, sophisticated frame includes an ergonomically-optimized keyboard and five-way navigation key to enable fast, accurate text entry. MOTO Q q9 also boasts one of the world’s smartest screen displays, automatically adjusting to produce the best visual experience, indoor or out.

With battery design that has been optimised for superior performance and USB 2.0 for full speed PC connectivity, Motorola is once again redefining what consumers should expect from a QWERTY device.

MOTO Q gsm

Based on the much-imitated Q design, the thin, lightweight MOTO Q gsm showcases a soft-touch metal casing, electro-luminescent keys, gorgeous full color screen and ergonomically optimized QWERTY keyboard and side thumb wheel to deliver no-compromises email and messaging.

The MOTO Q family also makes good business sense for enterprises big and small by leveraging Microsoft’s trusted Windows Mobile Platform, Motorola’s Good Mobile Messaging technology and a variety of third party email solutions.

Both MOTO Q q9 and MOTO Q gsm are also fully customisable, with over 300 applications optimised for Motorola and a full suite of accessories.

“Motorola redefined the QWERTY, and we’re taking it to the next level with MOTO Q q9 and MOTO Q gsm,” said Ron Garriques, president of Motorola Mobile Devices. “Building upon the incredible success of the original Q we have created a stunning and experience optimized portfolio, so that now there is a MOTO Q for everyone.”

The Motorola Q q9 release date will be Q2 2007, while the Motorola Q gsm release date will be the second half of 2007.

[Source: NewLaunches]