Features
It's no surprise that the music player is the ROKR's primary attraction--it's called the ROKR, after all--but we'll get to the music functionality in a minute. The rest of the Motorola ROKR E1 covers a satisfying array of features. The phone book holds 1,000 contacts, each of which can take six phone numbers, an e-mail address, a postal address, and a birth date; the SIM card holds an additional 250 names. You can assign contacts to caller groups, pair them with a picture for photo caller ID, or assign them one of eight polyphonic ring tones--somewhat sparse for a music phone. Other features include a vibrate mode; instant messaging; voice dialing; call timers; a calculator; e-mail support for POP3, IMAP4, and SMTP; a date book; an alarm clock; text and multimedia messaging; a password-protected "safe" for storing personal information; syncing for your calendar and contacts; and a WAP 2.0 wireless Web browser, though there's no FM radio. We're pleased to see the ROKR E1 came with Bluetooth and a speakerphone, but these extras quickly lost their luster. The ROKR's Bluetooth functionality is limited to voice calls, and you can activate the speakerphone only after you've made a call.
![]() The iTunes interface is simple but sluggish. | |
Despite all the things the ROKR's music player can do, there are quite a few it can't. To begin with, you can download songs only through the included USB cable. There's no way to transfer iTunes music wirelessly, and since you must listen to music through the included wired headset, Bluetooth fanatics won't be pleased. There is a strict 100-song storage limit, and the iTunes tracks are stored on the 512MB TransFlash card. You can't store downloads on the phone's 5MB of integrated memory, and if you try to store 101 tracks, you'll get an error message. Though 100 songs may be perfectly fine for some users, we were miffed by the cap. For a device that's all about music, we were hoping for at least 1GB. What's worse, Apple said the 100-song limit won't change even if bigger cards come out, despite the fact that TransFlash cards are currently limited to 512MB. But wait, there are more catches. The ROKR E1 pairs with merely one computer at a time. When we tried connecting to a second computer, the ROKR E1 erased all our previously loaded songs. And lastly, you can't use iTunes tracks as ring tones. (Note: For ROKR E1 units in Asia, the song limitation is 50, not 100. This is due to licensing agreements between Motorola and Apple.)
In addition to the iTunes player, there's a separate, generic Motorola-designed MP3 player that supports MP3, MIDI, WAV, AAC, and DRM AAC files. Fortunately, it accepts downloads through Bluetooth, and you can use stored tracks as ring tones. Keep in mind, though, that this second player is not connected to the iTunes player in any way, so you can't transfer files back and forth. Also, the ROKR E1's meager integrated memory will limit you to about 20 songs.
![]() The camera lens includes a flash and a self-portrait mirror. | |
![]() The ROKR E1 has average photo quality for a camera phone. | |
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