It's the bit you've all been waiting for. Rafe goes into detail in putting every aspect of the multimedia capability of the UIQ 3-powered Motorola RIZR Z8 to the test: camera, gallery, music, video - and finds plenty that's worthy and a few aspects which were disappointing. And then Rafe discovers two 'extras' which raise the Z8's game another notch.
Read on in the full article.
Great review as ever, Rafe.
"There is no 3.5mm audio jack on the Z8 – you will need to use headphones via the mini-USB port."
I just cannot understand why so few multimedia-oriented phones have 3.5mm jacks, it's such an obvious feature to include and would help sell the concept of a music phone to potential customers.
Is a 3.5mm jack somehow very difficult to pack into a phone, too big perhaps?
Yup, 3.5 mm jack takes around 22x5x8 mm from space. Mini USB takes just a quarter or even less than this size and can be used for other functions too.
What about 2.5mm jacks, how do they compare to 3.5mm ones?
krisse wrote:What about 2.5mm jacks, how do they compare to 3.5mm ones?
Never used them in circuits, but they are still big in comparison with mini USB.
Rafe is right about shozu...its a killer app for UIQ3
"Never used them in circuits, but they are still big in comparison with mini USB."
I ask because there are 2.5mm jacks even in some thin phones, so I assume there must be some reason why 2.5mm jacks are preferred over 3.5mm.
I think the way forward is wireless / bluetooth headphones. The only issue is getting high quality ones. Time to search the internet for some reviews...
2.5mm jacks are usually used a)because they're smaller(!) and b)because the standard is for 4-way electronics, i.e. incorporating a microphone wire.
Putting in a 3-way 3.5mm jack means that you're limited to just music out. Of course, the N95 gets round it with a 3.5mm special jack that supports 3 *and* 4 way 8-)
Complicated, isn't it! Pop port RULEZ! (Only kidding)
slitchfield wrote:2.5mm jacks are usually used a)because they're smaller(!) and b)because the standard is for 4-way electronics, i.e. incorporating a microphone wire.Putting in a 3-way 3.5mm jack means that you're limited to just music out. Of course, the N95 gets round it with a 3.5mm special jack that supports 3 *and* 4 way 8-)
Complicated, isn't it! Pop port RULEZ! (Only kidding)
There are also 2.5 mm jacks with only 3 connections: left, right and ground. The biggest advantage is their smaller size compared with a 3.5 mm one, The volume occupied is reduced to half.
"I think the way forward is wireless / bluetooth headphones. The only issue is getting high quality ones. Time to search the internet for some reviews..."
I think there seems to be a large environmental factor in how well bluetooth headphones work. I reviewed two for AAS recently (have a look under Reviews for the Nokia BH-500 and BH-501) and they worked fine, no cutouts at all.
But if you look at other reviews, even one on Nokia's official S60 blog, some people clearly have problems with the signal breaking up.
I can't for the life of me explain why I had no problems while others did, but I assume it might be that I reviewed them at home away from electronic equipment, whereas many journalists would have a lot of various wireless networks and equipment switched on all around them.
To answer one of Rafe's comments - Motorola have said that other films will be available to download from their website.
Incidently, the Z8 is due in the UK retail channel (Vodafone at least) today!
Rafe, you should try fring for UIQ3 on the z8...right now they only say it is compatible with P990, and won�t work on W950 and M600...no word on the Z8...
Thanks Rafe for the Z8 report series!
Including bt headphones is sure to be a huge hit! I can hear my teenagers already!
A friend of mine in Nokia�s troubleshooting department once mentioned in particular some cases of conflicts with Nokia bt devices in some BMW cars.
And that it can lead to sticky situations.
Btw, I tested listening to music through a couple bt earpieces I have on the N93. Quality was bad, no.. awful! But it did play. So the question. Will stereo bt headphones play on N93 in stereo, mono or in just one ear???
If there�s a thread on this (answer) please tell where it is.
You (aas) know all about.... this stuff, to coin a phrase! lol
Thanks again!
Yes the N93 only supports mono playback over Bluetooth which is a bit useless for music.
Rafe
Mono playback. Understood.
Thanks again, Rafe