ROKR Review - A Pleasant Surprise
Motorolla ROKR
Today I picked up the new Motorola ROKR E1 a.k.a the “iTunes Phone”. At the risk of being flamed I am going to go against the popular consensus and say… the ROKR is the perfect phone. Let me clarify, for the price and the job it is meant to do.
“WHAT?” will probably be the common reply to hearing that being said but you have to understand where I’m coming from. I am coming from the viewpoint of being new to Cingular wireless, in need of a new phone, and I don’t mind music too much. I clearly understand why some Apple fans are upset, but I feel that some of the criticism is a bit unfounded and even unfair.
This product is not meant for hardcore fans of Apple. This is for regular people who are in need of a cell phone. As a cell phone first and a music player to supplement it, I think this is a near perfect blend.
I was in the market for a phone first and this is where I think analysts and reviewers get this product all wrong. Music is something I love, but I am not in need of an mp3 player. If I was, of course I would much rather pick up a beautiful new Nano or even a 60GB iPod.
However, I needed a phone and I like gadgets. Let’s look at the other competing Cingular phones out on the market today. Only a few are even worth buying for myself especially. I have to have a phone with Bluetooth, a camera and a video camera is unnecessary but it is a nice perk. Now look at the prices of the phones that have all these things. They easily range for $120-$150+ after rebates.
Now look at the ROKR. It has all these things, but also has 100 song capacity. Now that raises the question, “Does having a piece of 512 MB Flash storage justify a $100 price increase?” My answer is simply, “Of course.”
Let’s take a look at this from an average everyday consumer based perspective. How much are the 512 MB iPod Shuffles? $100. I haven’t heard anyone rant about that price point since the Shuffles were released, but all of a sudden Apple is all that is evil because it wants to charge $100 extra for what is essentially the same thing as a Shuffle. In addition, this pseudo-Shuffle is actually a step up because it doesn’t have to be random and you have a color screen that lets you browse through your lists and even shows Album Art.
The 100 song cap limit is very logical and I can’t fault Apple for that. I would much rather upload songs that I already own, than have to buy the songs through a service like Verizon offers even tho they may offer a higher song capacity. Also, this isn’t a music player first, 100 songs with you at all times is a nice buffer when you need to use this. It’s not like the video cameras on the phones are high-quality so why do people expect the best music player to be in a phone. If you want that I can understand fully why Apple wants you to pay for their premium products.
Also with this 512 MB you can also store extra videos and pictures (which seem to be much better quality than my previous phones) which isn’t available on the other Cingular phones in that same price range. It is a nice little added bonus for having this phone.
I have heard many reviewers hating the functionality of the “iTunes” on the phone. However, I strongly disagree with this. I think it near perfect, besides the very minor delay in switching, which seems to be a major pet peeve with other reviewers. You can access iTunes easily and you can switch back and forth between your main menus so you aren’t forced to cancel out of iTunes to get to your other features. The way it gives you quick keys back to iTunes from your main screen is also very very useful.
The ability to listen to your music and then have the phone instantly pause when a call comes in is very handy. Clicking on a button on your headphones you are able to talk to directly to the person without lifting your phone or taking off your headphones. I will admit tho, that this seems to be pick up a little static. Then after your call is done, you can unpause your song and off you go back on your musical journey.
I will have to admit tho that the look is not the greatest and it is definitely not Apple-esque and I can understand how this offends Apple purists. Again you have to realize that this is a Motorola Phone first and it is just supplemented with the fact that it can play music without having to pay extra for it. I will say tho the phone does look much better in person than it does from looking at pictures.
I was taken back that the color in person is not the way it looks on the web. I thought there were multiple colors but the closer I look at the pictures online the more I see that the real color is just very tough to spot. The phone is closer to white than it is to grey. It is more of a pearly white-grey color but it has grown on me substantially. From some angles it looks more white and at others it looks grey.
Another major issue with a lot of the reviewers was that the phone was bulky and didn’t use its space wisely. From just glancing at the phone I would have to agree. But after using it for a couple hours, I feel again I think Motorola got this almost as right as it could be. With the space they have they make the most out of it. I’m not sure where you would put an Apple scroll-wheel that everyone is calling for. I think the nipple is the best substitute they could get. Also, I disliked the keys at first because they were to small. Then looking at the way they are shaped and the way they feel I don’t think they should have made them any bigger or smaller. The side buttons allow you to easily adjust volume and access your camera. I do wish there was an easier way to get to your video camera like there was on the Motorola V551 (the phone I exchanged for the ROKR). And then thinking of the size of the phone I am amazed at how good the speakers sound when you realize how small they must be.
The battery life has been good so far. The phone was not fully charged and I have been playing music, taking calls, and talking on AIM for nearly 4 hours and it just went down one bar. I did notice one thing that I hated when charging and I’m not sure if there is a way to turn this off. The sides of the phone illuminate green patterns of light and it looks very unnecessary. It seems like Motorola was just trying to make the fun cool just for the sake of being cool and I think here it fails miserably. You can also set the patterns of light to do random colors and patters and I think this is a pointless exercise in excess, that was just put in to make a couple bucks from the two teenagers who may find this “cool”.
The cons of the phone are simple. The look definitely isn’t the best, but like I said it grows on you when you see it in person and get to play with it a little. I do wish it was a flip phone tho. Not only because I am a shallow, superficial jerk but also because I don’t like having to lock the keypad so I don’t accidently make a call.
The other major con is that it takes a very long time to load your playlists through the USB connector that the phone comes with. My 1GB Shuffle, “Betty”, updates quicker and it is double the size. To load 100 songs it took me close to an hour.
Another con that I briefly mentioned earlier was the slight delay in the iPod like library where you select Artists, Playlists, etc. To me this is nitpicking tho because you most likely won’t be looking down at your phone that much. I have already gotten used to manuevering through my playlists and adjusting the volume while the phone is in my pocket so a slight delay on the screen isn’t really a huge issue to me.
Many reviewers also said you couldn’t use mp3’s at ringtones, which was a major drawback to me because I trim my own songs down to use as ringtones. This way I don’t have to pay $2.49 for something I can make in two-minutes and I can choose any part of any song I want. This is a little misleading tho. The only mp3’s you can’t use as ringtones are the ones in your iTunes library on your phone. It also said the phone disallowed uploading mp3’s via Bluetooth which is only partially true. Your phone will accept them but you just can’t use them in your iTunes which is no big deal to me. I tested this with an mp3 clipping I made which was 64kbps bitrate.
From a purely phone customer perspective I am pleasantly surprised with this phone. I honestly think all the negative reviews may have increased my enjoyment of this phone because I was expecting something so bad that it made it all the better when it turned out to be a good product for its price. Now I have a little traveling multi-media center with me at all times that I can customize with ringtones to my hearts content. From a pure musical standpoint sure it has its drawbacks and can never compete with the storage and style of an iPod. However, for this little guy to be a musical excursion whenever I feel like, it does its job perfectly. And at $250 (with a 2-year Cingular contract), I say you can’t go wrong.
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You are exactly right. Its really wrong how people are saying the ROKR is bad. Half of them have never touched the phone and the other half want th FIRST iTunes phone to be the best. They’re just starting out
Robocellkid on September 17th, 2005 11:23 am
As an early ROKR purchaser, I believe your article accurately portrays the desired user and as such it really does do a fine job as a multimedia device.
Matthew Culmore on September 18th, 2005 12:09 pm
I think its pretty, and plus, it sounds really nice with or without headphones on.
Tubby on September 18th, 2005 4:57 pm
I can’t say the phone is bad, but $250 is a lot, especially when you consider that you have to sign a two year contract. It seems like it would be awesome for $100. This would be an excellent $100 phone.
I’ve never signed a two-year contract for my cell phone service. I can’t even imagine what shape my phone would be in after two years. Normally they’re pretty beat after one. My current contract ends next month, but the phone I got last October stopped vibrating about two months ago. That’s kind of annoying.
Also, consider that you can get the RAZR for $200 with a two year contract, and it’s a better phone no matter how you look at it, just without the iTunes.
Also, the 100 song limit just seems silly. With 512 megs of ram, how many more phones could it realistically hold? Maybe another 30? That’s just begging for two things: 1. someone to crack it and 2. people to complain about Apple being ridiculous. If Apple doesn’t want people to complain about it cannibalizing iPod shuffle songs, maybe they should just make the shuffle a little bit less lame.
I have a very strong feeling that this phone is just a temporary solution to get iTunes onto mobile phones until Apple and Motorola can co-develop a “proper” iPod phone.
Illtron on September 18th, 2005 8:02 pm
How is the RAZR a better phone? I looked at one and I thought it would be super sleek and small. However, it sacrafices slim for wide so it’s just as bulky as any other phone, imo. Also, the ROKR has every feature the RAZR has and then adds a video camera and a music player.
Also, $100 is the average price for an mp3 player regardless of how much memory it has so I can’t see that phone being $100 when the RAZR is $200 and the ROKR two more features? And the $200 for the RAZR is after you sign a 2-year contract. Not trying to be a jerk because I think Illtron is the master and owns me when it comes to Apple knowledge, but I’m just not understanding how that price seems fair.
Chris Fehnel on September 18th, 2005 8:10 pm
With the RAZR, you’re playing for slim and sleek. It’s only wide because the screen is massive. I would prefer it to be a little narrower myself, but it was a choice they made in order to fit that bigger screen.
Once you get into things like video cameras, you’re getting to the point where they’re just adding stuff to help justify the price. It’s fun once in a while, but it’s really just tacked on. The same thing goes for iTunes. Stick some memory in any phone, put the Java iTunes on it, and you suddenly have a phone that rivals the ROKR.
The thing with cell phones it that you usually never pay what they cost. They’re giving you something for less than its cash value in exchange for the contract. The longer the contract, the cheaper you get your phone. $250 might be fine to buy it outright, but when you take a two year contract, you’ll be stuck with a phone with virtually no value at the end of the contract.
A year ago, I was saying the same thing about the RAZR. I think it was going for $500 or so with a two year contract. The people who actually bought it then are probably kicking themselves now. Sure, they got it early, but was it worth $300 more?
I’m sure the ROKR is a decent phone, but for $250, you’re getting something that will likely be nearly worthless in a year, and broken in two years.
It’s got some faults (like slow menus and artificial 100 song cap), but it’s probably a decent phone otherwise. I just think that Cingular isn’t giving customers the discount they deserve for their two year commitment. They’re hoping people see iTunes and not question the price of the phone.
Hell, for $250 you could get an iPod nano and a pretty decent cameraphone with that two year contract.
Illtron on September 18th, 2005 9:59 pm
Yeah I understand what you’re saying now. Thanks for the clarification.
When I got my Verizon cameraphone I paid about $250 for it. Now it is a pretty much a free phone two years later. I didn’t have any problems paying that and still don’t tho. I got my use out of the phone and I paid for what it was “worth” at the time. I realize new phones will come out that will kick the ROKR’s *** and probably sometime soon. However, no matter what phone I buy, to get a good deal on it you usually have to sign the contract so you are kind of screwed no matter what. I don’t mind paying a little more upfront even if it goes down shortly or they come out with something better at that point I can’t really be worried about what comes out, something better will always come out no matter what phone you get.
My view on buying it was that my phone bill was $100+ every month with Verizon. So I pretty much saved that money by switching to Cingular so paying a little extra ONE TIME is better than paying that same fee every month for a crappy phone and crappy service.
I saw the Nano at the Apple store and man is that thing sick. Pictures don’t really do it justice. I’ve seen and heard how small it was but I caught myself saying “Holy, that thing is SMALL” when I saw it. I probably won’t get that tho because I won’t want to bring it everywhere or I’ll forget it. I’ll never forget my cellphone so I’ll always have music at my fingertips.
Chris Fehnel on September 18th, 2005 10:41 pm
the way i see it:
they make insurance contracts, so that when ur phone begins to look and act retarded, u trade/break/lose it for one thats refurbished
also i dont mind signing a 2 year contract with cingular, cause all other phone companies j.
i dont get any service in my room with my personal phone; nextel
and i dont get any service in my room with my work phone; verizon.
cingular is the biggest phone service and they have cheap, fair plans.
my nextel plan comes to about $90 a month.
with cingular i priced a similar plan to about $50ish a month.
in conclusion, i feel that cingular is the real reason i want the phone and that itunes/camera/video camera is just the icing on cake.
and the other way i see it is that all the tool studio albums amount to less than 100 songs, so i’ll have room to spare!
timmy!!! on September 19th, 2005 12:30 am
I still have yet to see the nano up close and personal. I arrived at the Apple store in the Palisades Park mall in New York about five minutes after they closed the gate, and then I saw an employee carrying one at the Coldstone Creamery there too, but I haven’t gotten my hands on one yet.
I’m tempted to get one, but I still haven’t picked up any iPod yet. None of them are really exactly what I want, at least not for the price. I want a 40 gig color model for $299. I might be flexible and take a 30 gig model for that price, but that’s the most I’ll bend. Considering that an iPod is something that I *want* more than need, it’s hard for me to justify spending the money unless it’ll be really useful for me. To me, 20 gigs is useless. I’ve got over 80 gigs of music, and although I never listen to most of it, I want to be able to take a lot of it with me, and also be able to have some space free for file storage.
To me, the nano is a little different. It would be just about useless for storage, but it’s tiny and very cool. It holds enough to keep me entertained, but not enough for every possible musical whim I may have. I’m almost willing to take form over function in the nano’s case, because it just looks that good.
At any rate, I’ll probably be getting one of them for Christmas, and probably buying the identical model for my girlfriend, so I’ve got some time to mull it over. Unless, of course, I’m convinced that they’ll be releasing something awesome at Macworld, in which case, I’ll take my box of Smidgens and then wait it out for two weeks.
Illtron on September 19th, 2005 12:21 pm
I almost have the same exact dilemmas with the iPods… and Smidgens rule!
Chris Fehnel on September 19th, 2005 12:30 pm
Looks cool. I want to pick one up for myself. When I become a millionaire, that is what I will do, right Stickel?
Eliza on October 7th, 2005 3:13 am
for the reviewer : to get rid of those annoying green lightys when charging,
goto Menu > settings > Ring styles > Event lights > off
Also, for there a way to be an easier way to get to the video camera assign the softkey to video camera ( the soft key is the lowest button on the side of the phone, below the volume ones.) Inface, I think that is the default
To everyone else : Does anyone know how to explore the phone on windows? I want to copy the pictures to computer, transfer files to my phone ect.
PofG1 on December 26th, 2005 8:30 am
Thanks for the review. I was a bit iffy on the ROKR after reading many–mostly negative–reviews. But I agree that we can’t honestly expect this to be a iPod. I see the ROKR as a phone with iTunes capabilities, not an iPod with phone capabilities. And let’s be fair, if one really expects a top-notch phone with mp3, megapixel(s) camera, video recording etc, etc, then go pay the top-notch price and get a Sony Ericsson w800 or w900, for example.
I think the ROKR is a well-round phone and good for it’s price. However, I totally agree with Illtron: “I have a very strong feeling that this phone is just a temporary solution to get iTunes onto mobile phones until Apple and Motorola can co-develop a “proper” iPod phone.”
And I would love to see that “iPod phone if and when it does come out!!
cubic lime on December 29th, 2005 1:31 am
cubic lime: Although I doubt we’ll see many collaborations with Apple and Motorola anytime soon, unless they fire their current head moron that bad mouthed the Nano.
Colin D. Devroe on December 29th, 2005 2:03 am
Interesting review, I just want to note the fact that the e398 in the Blue, Black, and White/Red variation had already been out for over a year. Althought it’s a great phone in many respects, the Rokr does not have enough new features to justify a greater price tag. An e398 could be purchased for free w/ a $50 rebate w/ a one year price tag while the Rokr, marketed almost a year later, is pricier, and if I remember correctly, also requires a far longer contract. In terms of features, the e398 could already play music great,the Rokr just had a newer interface. There was no processor upgrade when the Rokr came out, so no biggie there either. The Rokr would have been nice, if it came out a year earlier…
Tony on December 30th, 2005 11:32 am
I just bought the rokr for $69 and will be free after the rebate. I can’t figure out how to get my songs to play as ring tones. I have to say that 100 songs is fine and the download time is long but tolerable. 1 tool that is my phone a camera and mp3 player–yes it’s rocking..and not that bulky. It sounds great through the little speakers and passes subway time great. I feel like I got a two for one deal….got a phone and a shuffle… I agree with the author—the rokr is worth it and cool—all the complaints are a bit much for a phone with so much—ps please tell me how to get the ringtones to work from the card memory…
frobaby on January 11th, 2006 10:39 pm
I just bought a rokr for 20 dollars without any rebates or nothing and cant wait for it to come, i hope it is as good as you say.
daniel on March 11th, 2006 11:57 pm
After a long and hard debate with myself, i have decided to buy a Rokr.
I laugh at all the complaints about the itunes portion of the phone.
ITS A PHONE!
Without the itunes, camera, and other stuff, its still a cool MOTO phone.
PHONE!
geez.
Anyways, i will be using mine on my PAY AS YOU GO plan.
tommy fusco on June 8th, 2006 1:24 pm
Hi people,I’m from Portugal and just bought a Rokr E1 for 99,90€,for me a great price due to the features and extras(512mb card,earphones and usb cable)I also have an K750i and apart from much better camera and built in radio I can’t see much more to add to K750i.Now I liked a lot the first objective review to this phone because like Chris I don’t see why people complaint so much.I consider myself modding addicted and you be amazed with what you can do to a Rokr(unlike the K750i,apart from the usual themes,wallpapers) with some firmware upgrade and software modding, man this phone will really Rock.So my opinion is if your looking for a phone that plus having great reception an d sound quality can play about 7,5hr of your favorite music for this price, just grab it, because paying from 350€ to 480€ or a “music” phone its not logic for that price buy an I’pod.Bought it against all odds and no regrets.
LPombeiro on August 21st, 2006 5:01 pm