Motorola ROKR E1
Average Ratings
Poor Quality Control
One of the greatest quality blunders of the cell phone industry...
I purchased this phone in November, and have done no less than 6 warranty replacements in that time.
The concept of the phone is great. The software is non-user friendly and does not encourage use of your own music collection. It prefers (for obvious marketing reasons) for you to purchase new iTunes rather than use your existing mp3 collection. I am rather picky about the software I install on my computer and greatly dislike having junkware TSRs (like iTunes) load up every time I start the computer. All of these could be excused if not for the -major- software issues with the phone itself.
Each of the 7 ROKRs I have had have had 2 key flaws:
1) The text messaging eventually starts to lock up the phone, for which there is no solution but to take the battery out.
2) Occasionally the phone will, without warning or obvious pattern or reason as to why, show a white screen and reboot.
I have heard from dozens of others who have had these same key issues, and the warranty replacement department at the cell phone company seems to usually have this model on backorder. This alone should speak poorly of the quality of this model.
Pros:
* It's nice having a built in music player
* Stereo speakers
* Battery life is decent
* Airplane mode
* Predictive text
Cons:
* The phone is unreliable, locks up frequently and reboots for no good reason
* The navigation joystick is awkward and imprecise
* Did I mention that the phone doesn't work 1/2 the time?
* The ringer ID function plays the same tone whether the person is calling you or sending a text message
* The disco lights flash while the phone is charging. This is seemingly innocuous, but a pain if you charge the phone near where you sleep.
* Limited onboard phone memory
it's not what they say
i brought this phone in september for cingular. i was so happy when i got it. well no i'm not so happy
Pros:
1. good signal
2. itunes
3. joystick is easy to press and move around
4. comes with free java game (type:war)
5. sound is good, not amazing
6. airplane mode
Cons:
1. USB 1.1 port(so slow)
2. design isn't good
3. itunes is not up 2 date
4. memory card always comes out of place so the music doesn't work
5.can't make songs as ringtones
6. small screen
7. Not impressed with battery life
8. when it turns to 2 battery it goes dead in the same day.
9. not that impresses with camera
10 really thick
11. rhythm lights are boring
12. itunes is so slow
13. battery life goes faster with music
14. the bluetooth screwed up the phone, it froze on me and rebooted 2 times
15. better ring tones
Can't Decide...
Okay. I am just going to right away start with the pros and cons.
Pros:
Plays music (well that's a given!)
You don't have to wear headphones to listen to your music.
Has Bluetooth.
Includes camera and videocamera.
Cons:
VERY delicate. I have a huge scratch on mine just from setting it in my purse!
Is not a flip phone (well obviously). I really miss having a flip phone!
Blanks out. Once in a while I will have it playing a song, and it will just shut off all of a sudden! (This does not have to do with the battery)
You can not store many pictures.
Has different accessories than other iPods. You cannot use any iPod accessories, because the headphone connector is too small.
OVERALL
I am just a little tired of this phone, and I think that it is just a little overrated!
Couldn't ask for more
I absolutely love this phone. The music quality and the iTunes are unmatched. Easy to navigate easy to use.
Pros:
Music/iTunes
Ringtones are amazing
Size
Stereo Speakers
Lights
Bluetooth
Joystick very convenient
Belt/swivel clip (if you can find one)
Sound quality good
Cons
iTunes cant be used as ringtones
camera isn't of highest quality
Not a flip phone
I'm Impressed More Than I Thought I Would Be
I have found that there is not a perfect phone out there. The ROKR is not, but for what I need I am enjoying it. The E1 only holds 100 songs, but I have learned that the E2 coming out soon will hold 500 songs; 100 songs is enough for me right now. I prefer a non-flip phone so this was the one for me. The reception from phone calls have been great with Cingular in Charlotte, NC. The only feature I would like to see added is voice calling without the heatset; I had that on my last phone LG VX6100, but it didn't work most of the time so I probably won't miss it as much as I think. Downloading of the music was slow - a bit slower than burning a CD; I just ate a sandwich while it downloaded. I found that making a playlist and downloading it as a whole instead of single songs improved the time. I am going to get a Bluetooth headset and see how the quality is then.
Pros: Small phone to fit in one's pocket. Very comfortable to hold and use. I like the look of it.
Cons: Poor quality of sound for the music without the earbuds or headset. Average battery time before recharging. Camera quality is not the best. Lots of menus to go through to make changes, but that is due to the small size of the phone.
