We could, however, watch the The Bourne Identity, which comes bundled for free on a microSD card. The Z8 plays video at 30fps and the screen displays 16 million colours making it relatively watchable -- just don't expect high-definition quality.
Equally, don't expect high-quality pics from the Z8's 2-megapixel camera. You do get a relatively decent shot for MMS messages and small prints, though. You can also use the camera to shoot video if you're in the mood for something a little more lively.
There's a secondary camera (VGA) on the front for making video calls -- if you really want to that is. Alternatively, you can use it to take pictures of yourself, which we found just as satisfying as staring blankly at our friends, if not more so.
One of the Z8's best features, and potentially most useful if you're a telly addict, is the ability to program your Sky Box using the pre-installed Sky Box app, and watch a variety of Sky channels over a 3G connection. This feature works rather well.
In order to listen to programs on Sky, or your music using the Z8's music player, you have the choice of using the loudspeaker, wired stereo hands-free kit or a pair of Motorola S9 Wireless Stereo Headphones that come bundled free with the Z8.
Not only do the S9 headphones look good but they're also quite comfortable to wear and have very easy-to-use controls on the side of each earbud. The other great thing about the S9s is that they let you listen to music wirelessly -- no more annoying leads.
In terms of the day-to-day features, sending text messages, setting an alarm and inputting calendar entries is fairly straightforward, but it is worth pointing out that most of the Z8's features are hindered by the awkward-to-use keypad.
Performance
Audio quality during calls was loud and clear, as was the loudspeaker which performed as expected.
Battery life was okay when we didn't use HSDPA (3.5G), but it did get drained if we used Bluetooth and HSDPA for prolonged periods.
Picture quality from the camera was relatively good but, again, don't expect to print out large high-quality prints.
Conclusion
The Motorola Z8 looks great and is a definite move in the right direction for a company that, since the success of the Razr Z3, has remained relatively conservative with its designs.
Our only reservations are that the handset doesn't feel as good to use as we expected, and even though it comes packed with features that we like, the keypad and navigation keys make accessing them a bit of a pain.
If you're looking for a similarly feature-packed handset, we recommend you give the Nokia N95 a once over. Alternatively, if you prefer a phone that turns heads the Motorola Razr 2 V8, which will be out very soon, is a real looker.
Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Kate Macefield
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User reviews4
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stu16486 3 November 2008
Good: Camera takes fairly decent photos, and the handset looks snappy
Bad: The operating system has a tendecy to crash
Comment: What attracted me to this phone was the curve when it opens - yes I was that naive! On paper this is a pretty good phone; the camera takes pretty decent photos, even when you take them while moving, the calls are normally fairly clear, and the screen has a fairly nice resolution.
However! The operating system of the z8 has a tendency to crash or stall, seemingly at random, and completely freeze the screen, or just turn the phone off. It also occasionally restarts itself, also seemingly at random. When it does freeze, the only way to sort it out is to remove and replace the battery, which isn't the easiest task as it's jammed in fairly tightly. Another design problem is the SIM card cover - if you have the Z8 in trousers or jeans pockets that are anything other than baggy, the cover has a tendency to slide off and drop to the ground. The curved slide design may look good at a distance, but if you look close up, you can see it scratches parts of the keypad.
Speaking of the keypad, the individual buttons can be difficult to press accurately, especially when texting. Also, if you're left handed as I am, you will probably find that more often than not when composing texts, you accidentally hit the media short key on the right hand side, as it is where your middle finger naturally rests to support the phone while texting. The on/off button also has a tendeny not to work when you're trying to turn the phone on; it can take several attempts to get the phone to realise that you're trying to wake it up!
The Z8 suffers from slowdown if you have too many stored photos, especially when trying to access the media files. The addition of mobiclip player was nice, but I never got around to playing the entirety of the film that came with the phone, much less downloading any more onto an SD card. But, from what I did see of this feature, it plays films with high clarity. There is a slight problem with the software's ability to detect the SD card, as if you eject it then re-insert it, it sometimes doesn't recognise that it's there at all.
One of the most significant let downs for this phone is the battery life - not in its length but the inconsistency of length. For any given time I charge the Z8, it will last either a week or more, a day, or any amount of time in between, regardless of how often I call text or take photos.
Overall, this phone was a nice concept; an ergonomically designed phone, with a nice large high-res screen, that can play films. But software difficulties combined with some design errors make the Z8 not impossible to use, but impossible to keep.
The Wickerman 14 November 2007
Good: Looks, feel, build and positive slide action
Bad: a few little quirks
John Coombes 1 August 2007
Good: Cool design, nice screen, amazing video playback
Bad: Flawed and unstable operating system
Comment: When I first saw this phone i fell in love, the unique design grabbed me immediatly. As i was looking for a new contract i chose this handset, on the basis that it looked amazing and had some pretty nice specs. When it was delivered I eagerly unpackaged it, plugged it in and started to play and was very impressed. Video playback was awesome, with the screen so clear i could read the subtitles with ease, on "The Bourne Identity" that comes bundled with the package. (also includes some snazzy bluetooth headphones, not that they are tha comfortable) Then after a while the phone switched itself off. I put this down to my own error turned it back on and continued playing, but it happened a couple more times and i was worried something might be up, it also started displaying "Invalid SIM" so i phoned up my operator and asked for a replacement. When it arrived plugged it in and tested out all the stuff, seemed fine, no random switching off no "Invalid SIM" message. I almost breathed a sigh of relief, then i tested the camera. There was no image displayed on the screen. All the info was displayed but no image from the camera and the it crashes and you have to take out the battery to turn it on. So needless to say it is going back, and i'm swapping it for a different phone. It's a shame cause i really like the design of the phone it is so eye catching and everything else is great too. But there are some real nasty bugs in the operating system that seriously need sorting out. I'm sure i must just be really unlucky as i know two other people with this phone and they have had no problems. I hope Motorola can iron out the kinks cos it has the potential to be amazing, a shame that it is such a nightmare to use.
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