E8 -- Engadget Mobile

e8 posts

Motorola ROKR E8 comes to Rogers by way of Best Buy

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jul 5th 2008 @ 2:56PM

Alright, Rogers customers, stop your poutin' that your friends south of the border on T-Mobile got the ROKR E8 and you didn't -- because yeah, now you guys have it too. Best Buy is now offering the E8 on Rogers for $149.99 CAD (about $147) on one of those crazy three-year deals, and since local stores are stocking it, you'll be able to freak out your friends with the morphing keypad before the day's out. Get to it!

[Via MobileSyrup]

T-Mobile announces Motorola ROKR E8

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jun 26th 2008 @ 12:15AM

As expected, T-Mobile has taken the wraps off its very own version of Motorola's ROKR E8, a glossy black candybar offering a 2 megapixel camera, 2GB of internal storage (plus a microSD slot that'll swallow up to 8GB more), stereo Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack, FM radio, and that so-called "morphing" keypad that selectively renders keys invisible depending on the mode you're using. It's missing 3G, but that's one feature T-Mobile customers are all too well acquainted to missing out on -- and considering that the just-announced flagship ZN5 doesn't even do any WCDMA, it shouldn't come as any surprise. Subscribers and would-be subscribers will be able to nab the E8 come July 7 for $199.99 on contract.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

T-Mobile announcing Motorola E8 tomorrow?

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jun 25th 2008 @ 8:59PM

We know that T-Mobile has signed on to pick up the MOTOROKR E8, and last we'd heard it might be dropping some time between... oh, now and August. MobileBurn is now reporting that the music-friendly candybar is slated for announcement tomorrow, though it's not clear whether it'd be available immediately or they're just planning on getting customers hot and bothered for a release down the road. The lack of 3G still isn't much of an issue on T-Mobile's network, and we were pretty impressed with the device in our hands-on testing, so this'll be a solid addition. It's entirely possible (and far too common) for devices like this to get delayed clear into irrelevance, so let's hope this particular rumor holds up.

Motorola MOTOROKR E8 hands-on

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jun 23rd 2008 @ 2:55PM

Like it or not, the combination of high-function media players with high-function cellphones is officially an inevitability (just ask Apple). It seems like every day a new handset's being announced with that obligatory 3.5mm headphone jack on board, one of the final pieces of the puzzle that had prevented phones from becoming legitimate PMP competitors for years. Motorola took this fusion particularly seriously with the ROKR E8, a slick little candybar announced at CES earlier this year, and we sat down with a China-spec model recently to see just how well it functioned as a full-time replacement for our dedicated music boxes -- and whether it could avoid losing its identity as a phone in the process.

Thanks to the good folks at Wireless Imports for the hookup!

Gallery: Motorola MOTOROKR E8 hands-on

Continue reading Motorola MOTOROKR E8 hands-on

16 devices for T-Mobile between June and August?

by Chris Ziegler, posted May 20th 2008 @ 11:01AM

TmoNews has published a laundry list of devices that it says will launch between June 16 and August 1 -- 13, to be exact, with another three that aren't listed. That's a positively Japan-esque release pace, a breakneck schedule that we're having a hard time believing. To its credit, several launches that are known or well-rumored to be in the pipe are listed here, including the Motorola E8, Shadow II, Samsung t229 and t339, and Nokia 5610, but to its discredit, fanciful devices like an alleged Shadow III are also in the mix along with the BlackBerry Bold, which AT&T has an exclusive on following its launch over there that should easily prevent T-Mob from picking it up by August 1. Of course, there could be some wiggle room on those dates, and again, most of these devices seem totally plausible -- but for now we've got to file this squarely in the "we want to believe" category.

[Thanks, Chris W.]

Motorola ROKR E8 coming to T-Mobile!

by Chris Ziegler, posted Feb 13th 2008 @ 9:09AM

Quick: Motorola launches a music phone with a heap of internal memory, quadband GSM / EDGE, and no 3G. What American carrier is most likely to show some interest in picking up something like that? That's right: we've stumbled across shots of the ROKR E8, in all its mighty morphin' glory, bearing T-Mobile's mark (and obligatory myFaves logo) across the rear. The spec sheet really isn't much different from the carrier's 2GB RAZR 2 V8, but we suspect the glossy candybar is just glamorous and different enough to attract some business from the window-shopping crowd. We'll post an update if we catch any word on pricing or availability.

Motorola's star studded partnership continues: E8s for this year's Oscars

by Chris Ziegler, posted Feb 6th 2008 @ 8:06PM

Like last year, Moto will be working the red carpet hard later this month, slipping exclusive, electronic bundles of joy into Oscar nominees' gift bags. This time around it's the ROKR E8, a phone that isn't yet available to the public -- but what better group to hand 'em out to ahead of release than the rich and famous? Naturally, these aren't just any old E8s, either; they'll be packaged in iguana skin boxes (fake, we're happy to report) and will come bundled with Motorola's also-recently announced S9-HD Bluetooth headset. Note to stars: we don't care how boring the acceptance speeches are, don't go disrespectin' your peers by pulling out the gear and listening to Fergie before the show's over, alright?

Hands-on with the Motorola ROKR E8

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jan 7th 2008 @ 2:28AM

We're awfully disillusioned by the lack of 3G data -- a phone with a display, a keypad, and an overall look this sexy deserves better. Be that as it may, though, anyone who thinks they can plod along happily on EDGE alone owes it to themselves to have a nice, close look at the ROKR E8 when it comes out later this quarter. The landscape QVGA screen was awfully bright and crisp (though the eerie, dim blue lighting plaguing the room could make it seem artificially great), the glossy black shell is pretty gorgeous, and it's hard to deny the cool factor on a mighty morphin' keypad. Complaints? The usual 3G whining aside, we'd have preferred a full circle for music navigation instead of the funky three-quarter thing we have here. Call us fickle!

Gallery: Hands-on with the Motorola ROKR E8

Motorola's ROKR E8 with magical keypad hits FCC

by Chris Ziegler, posted Dec 26th 2007 @ 3:11PM

We still don't have an official announcement from Motorola about this phone's existence -- much less a confirmation on pricing or availability 'round here -- but the bizarre ROKR E8 candybar has gotten just a little more real now that most of its FCC documentation has come off confidentiality. There's not a lot here that we didn't already know, but we're pleased to see the test reports make mention of both GSM 850 and 1900 (and decidedly less pleased to see an utter lack of 3G). We'd be lying if we didn't say we were pretty amped to get one of these in our hands, and with quadband EDGE on board, there's at least a fleeting chance that Motorola's US direct retail channel or a North American GSM carrier will launch it. Hey, we can dream, right?

[Via Phone Scoop]

Motorola ROKR E8 gets checked out

by Sean Cooper, posted Nov 16th 2007 @ 2:44PM

Boy Genius scored a Motorola ROKR E8, so if you're stoked about this funky morphing handset, he has the pics. We've seen the specs, but it's nice to get real world confirmation that the keypad actually works and that it apparently delivers key presses with haptics, not just a vibration. Though the language on the handset's OS is clearly English, we're totally digging the virtual keys with the alien inscriptions on them, and how purdy it seems to look in the right lighting. While we still haven't heard a date here's hoping it lands stateside soon.

More shots of Motorola's crazy morphin' MOTOROKR E8

by Chris Ziegler, posted Oct 26th 2007 @ 3:01PM

It's not available for a few months yet, but far be it from that little snag to stop a few enterprising individuals to get their paws on a MOTOROKR E8 early (and, of course, being close to the country of manufacture probably helps). The lack of 3G is a real dream killer for us, but that wild keypad still looks like it could be a winner. Enough tactile feedback? Only time'll tell.

[Via Just Another Mobile Phone Blog]

Two new Moto handsets outed: say hello to the RIZR Z10 and ROKR E8

by Sean Cooper, posted Sep 18th 2007 @ 2:01PM

Motorola is expecting a couple new and rather glossy additions to its family, namely the RIZR Z10 (pictured on left) and the ROKR E8. The E8's face will between various modes based on what you're doing, from keypad to music controls for example, it also has some tactile feedback so you know you've actually input something on its smooth black surface. The ROKR E8 has a multi function "Omega Wheel" for zooming through your tunes and navigating, 2GB of internal storage, expansion via microSD, and the sad word -- rumor of course, so we can hold out hope -- that it won't feature 3G connectivity. The RIZR Z10 is a Symbian 9.02 handset sporting the ever so lovely UIQ 3.2 interface, quad-band GSM / EDGE, HSDPA in some alien frequency, a 3.2 megapixel shooter, 90MB of internal storage with the old standby, microSD, if you need more space. The E8 should be landing Q1 of 2008, and the Z10 should be shipping Q4 this year for round about €400 (about $550).

Read - Motorola ROKR E8
Read - Motorola RIZR Z10

Motorola's bizarre MOTOROKR E8?

by Chris Ziegler, posted Aug 31st 2007 @ 1:10PM

So apparently magical keypads are going to be all the rage in the next couple years. Taking a cue from Optimus Maximus, perhaps? Following the Firefly flyPhone we saw a few weeks ago comes word from China of this rather bizarre Motorola prototype, apparently dubbed the MOTOROKR E8. Besides an illuminated, dynamic keypad that can change modes to provide dedicated music controls, the candybar is supposed to feature 2GB of onboard storage, the typical microSD expansion and miniUSB jack, and a 3.5mm headphone connector. The UI is brought to you by Motorola's Linux-based JUIX (MOTOMAGX?) platform powering a QVGA display. We're skeptical about the goodness of that keypad until we get our hands on it, but we guess it could be cool. Moto, care to send one over (FedEx Saturday Delivery, please)?

[Via phoneArena]