Motorola Rokr E8 review

Motorola Rokr E8

(Credit: Motorola)

Five months after it nabbed two awards at CES, the Motorola Rokr E8 has landed at a U.S. carrier. It will go on sale July 7 for T-Mobile ($199 with service), but we got our hands on a review model this week to give it a full shakedown. It's always exciting when a new phone arrives in the CNET labs, particularly when it's a model that was born with lots of fanfare. After a couple days of poking and prodding, we can report that the Rokr E8 hits some high marks. Its music player performs well and its feature set should satisfy multimedia fans. It also offers decent call quality, a brilliant display, and a sleek profile. Of course, it was the Rokr E8's "morphing" keypad that caught our attention originally, and that feature largely lives up to our expectations. We like how the backlighting changes as you move between features and how the keypad takes on the ergonomics of both a cell phone and a music player. Yet, there were a few things about the E8 that left us disappointed. The Rokr's navigation controls involve a steep learning curve and the handset lacks 3G, corporate e-mail support, and wireless music downloads. We also found that some menus were a bit sluggish and that the wireless Web browser wasn't very intuitive. But if you're looking for a full-featured and well-performing music phone, the Rokr E8 is a solid choice. Check out our Rokr E8 review and our slide show.

[rockmein08]

Hi People... I purchased the Motorola ROKR while in Vegas the first week of August '08. The phone is extremely sleek and the graphics are fantastic and the camera takes great photos (with ample lighting). HOWEVER----it has been less than a month since I purchased it - and the 'alleged' long-life battery is CRAPPING OUT on me after a mere 6 hours. I plug my phone in EVERY night (into a surge protecter) for charging. Usually I plug it in about 10pm and unplug it about 8am - 9am the next morning. I make and receive a total average 5 phone calls per day lasting about 2-3 minutes each. I do NOT use the FM radio in it - I might send 1 or 2 text messages a day. The battery will last from about 8-9am until about 3pm and the battery is COMPLETELY dead. I have had to report it to t-mobile (where I have my service) and they are (7 day expediting) a new battery. I will take the phone TO t-mobile to have the new battery installed as I will NOT open the phone back "under these circumstances". ALSO - MOTOROLA - PAY ATTENTION HERE: THE USB PORT COVER IS IMPOSSIBLY TO OPEN WITHOUT A TOOTHPICK (must use a pointed object or sharp edge but my BF says NOT to use anything metal - so I have to "pick" it open with a wooden toothpick. What is up with this USB cover that DOES NOT OPEN EASILY?????? Otherwise - it seems to be a "pretty" great phone.....thank you - "rockmein08"

[neonleon1989]

It have a grove in the center of the cover it open really easy. Just try slipping you nail in center at the bottom of the cover

[anamontijo]

You're overcharging your battery. Rechargable batteries should be charged until they're fully charged and then disconnected or unplugged. The overcharge actually kills the battery's life and that's why your battery is dying little by little.

[steephanie]

I had my first moto rokr from early sept. 08' to mid may 09' it was in great condition until it suddenly just crapped out. I could see my home screen however I could not use any of the buttons. Luckily my moto rockr e8 was still under warranty, I traded in for a new one and just recently my new e8 began shutting off at random times. Also my new phone charger will not charge the phone. You can clearly hear the phone connect and disconnect from the charger so it has been very difficult to charge the phone. Other than that, occasionally the screen of my e8 will fade to a colorful pixely background.

[Toastyc12]

I got this phone a little while ago, and I fully expected the battery to last longer than it does. I generally get about 4 hours of listening to music out of it. I do text often, and make maybe 1 or 2 calls on it. I have the screen set to the lowest brightness and the network set to the slowest speed, but neither help conserve battery life. I've heard from others who own this phone that they can go about 10 hours listening to music. I call bs.

The phone works great, but recently the screen would fade out or sometimes get stuck fading up halfway. A light tap to the top corner of the phone fixes this.

I never have troubles with the usb port, but the charger that comes with the phone is very loose... so much that I can hear it clearly connecting then disconnecting. I get around this by using the USB cable connected to my PC. SO much better connection.

Besides that, there's just limitations to the phone I wish I had... location, wifi, better quality camera... ah well. maybe next phone.