RORK EM30 is quite a different story. That’s the top model in the line, but its actual positioning is that of a mid-end phone. In fact, it’s a simplified version of Motorola ROKR E8 with almost no differences between the two other than a few costly features taken out from the former. These points of difference are to be thoroughly described in the later sections of the article, and now let’s have a general view on the phone’s market positioning.

The luring combination of a relatively low price ($250 in September) and the expensive materials and design which were inherited from the E8 model, an unmatched audio quality, touch buttons serving as player controls – here are the principal selling points of this handset. The E8 model remains a rather expensive offer, that’s a fashion phone which will never be subject to serious price reduction, so the price gap between it and EM30 is going to always keep above $100. On the other hand, by paying an extra $100 the user gets a lot of extra memory, a FastScroll wheel and a more pronounced fashion impact. At that point, the principal differences between the two models come to an end.

MOTOROKR EМ30 Specification List

Connectivity:	GSM 850/900/1800/1900, EDGE class 12
Storage:	28 Mb of user memory, microSD slot (supports SDHC)
Screen:	2.0", 240x320, 262K colors
Connectivity:	USB2.0, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (supports A2DP)
Camera:	2 Mp (up to 1600x1200)
Battery:	Li-Ion, BK60, capacity - 970 mAh up to 6 hours of talktime up to 300 hours of standby
Measurements:	115x53x10.6mm
Weight:	100 g
Guiding price:	$250

Other likely competitors of EM30 may include Sony Ericsson W302 which is to start selling at a comparable price on a comparable date. The device has no advantages over EM30 at all – the materials, assembly, ergonomics, software platform, screen and audio quality are apparently inferior to what you get with an EM30. The only plus of W302 is the size, the model is a really miniature piece. But that’s not going to save W302 from an utter failure in the competition with EM30.

Nokia 5220 XpressMusic appears to be a stronger adversary. A comparable price, size, quality of design and sound give this model a very firm ground. The choice between these two phones appears to be a hard one, the advantages of Motorola don’t look that impressive in this pit fight: a slightly better screen, the Linux-Java software platform, support for 4 GSM frequency band and a generally higher quality of communication including a better and louder speaker sound, but the battery life in player mode is shorter. The key factor in this struggle will be the promotional campaign. Nokia 5220 and Motorola EM30 can be named the best mid-end music phones on the whole market. Samsung M3510 is to join this club a bit later, though it’s not likely to win as much popularity as the two former models are going to. Because of Samsung’s negligence of the music segment few people really care about the rare new entries in that class, no matter how actually good these gadgets perform in real life – Samsung i450 is a good example of such a product.

Design and Ergonomics

The design of EM30 can be basically described as a copy of the original E8 design; the materials, measurements and weight are the same. The handset has a very unusual shape – the thickness and length are quite normal, but the width is a bit too large, a whole 53 mm. We don’t try to say the phone feels clumsy, but the 2’’ screen looks utterly disproportional, though this brings about no actual problems. The screen uses a landscape orientation, so the keyboard area is very spacious.

The assembly quality is next to ideal. All the parts sit tight, there’s no slightest play between the details (save probably for the battery bay cover). The handset feels like a monolith. The casing frame and the side edges are made from metal painted red. The surface coating sports a high quality. The deep red color is kept in harmony with the rich black of the front panel, looking a bit like Nokia’s XpressMusic solutions. An alternate silver-colored variant of the handset will be available in limited quantities.

The back panel uses metal as well, though treated with a soft-touch coating, which is very practical – the scratches and worn spots are kept away. The front panel looks a bit different form E8, in which the whole front panel was made from a single piece of plastic. In EM30, a semi-transparent sort of plastic is only used for the keyboard framing, while the rest of the front panel is manufactured form a black glossy plastic. The luminance sensor is missing, which is another minor difference form E8.

The upper edge hosts a wrist band holder and a 3.5 mm audio jack covered with a plastic flap. The right edge houses a microUSB slot protected with a similar flap. This sort of slot has become a standard in Nokia and Motorola products, leading to the appearance of a host of compliant accessories. The control buttons are: a two-positioned sound volume / profile switch button and a camera launch button on the left edge and a keyboard block slider on the right edge. In Motorola E8, the slider served to turn the device on and off, effectively substituting a power button. In EM30, it only serves to block and unblock the keyboard.

The gadget comes with an only polyphonic speaker, but it has a really high quality and volume. It’s perfectly audible in any environment. The speaker is capped with a red protective mesh, slightly different in appearance from the homologous element in E8. The back panel also sports a different inscription. The phone is equipped with a very mediocre 2 Mp camera, its lens is rather easily soiled. A microSD memory card slot can be found under the battery, which effectively stands for no hot swapping, which is a bad thing for a music phone. The SIM card rests in a slot just next to the memory card.

Keyboard

Motorola ROKR E8 is the first handset to feature a Morphing keyboard, where in the camera mode, the numerical buttons are automatically swapped for four virtual buttons controlling the camera and gallery. The new EM30 uses a conventional mechanical keyboard, and the dedicated player controls are placed between the rows of numerical buttons and are only rendered active in the corresponding mode. Outside the player, these buttons don’t do anything. The keyboard has a bright neon backlighting, the dedicated player buttons and the joystick button are backlit red.

On the whole, the keyboard of EM30 is fully analogous to the keyboards of the ZN5 and Nokia N78 models, which also offer dedicated keyboard layouts for different operational models. The buttons are very handy and responsive, providing more comfort than the touch keypad of E8. The company varies the number of alternate keyboard modes depending on a model’s positioning, in our case only one complementary keyboard layout is available, activated when you enter the player (rewinding, play/pause, random and looped playback on / off buttons are on this list). E8 has a second alternate keyboard layout active in the camera mode, and ZN5 lacks the player dedicated controls but includes an alternative set of controls for the gallery. The idea is going to have a prolific development in the future models, the number of alternate key functions is going to grow, producing individual keyboard layouts for all sorts of applications. Imagine application-specific sets of controls for the file manager, radio, PIM and so on. This is yet to be seen in the future products, don’t expect that much from a budget handset.

Another simplification is the lack of the FastScroll touch wheel which is available in E8. In EM30, it was substituted with a standard joystick button, so the user has to forget about quick playlist scrolling and track rewinding. That’s a great pity, for FastScroll enormously contributes to ergonomics in E8 and you get used to it in no time.

Screen

The device sports a 2'' screen (31x41 mm), the matrix is powered by the TFT technology and has a palette of 262K colors. The most unusual thing about it is that the screen is position horizontally which may lead to an impression of the screen being too small, which is partly true when you compare it to the overall dimensions of the device. The horizontal positioning of the screen hardly presents any practical discomfort and in some cases only makes handling certain functions easier. The resolution is the standard 240x340. Up to eight lines of text can fit into the field of view at the same time. The screen is supported with a mirror backing which helps to minimize the glaring while exposed to the direct sunlight. The screen quality is very high, it's one of the best of its class, the colors are maximally natural and vivid, brightness level is high. The relatively small size could be a matter of complaints, but in general it's no big problem. The screen brightness and backlighting period are customizable in the options.

All in all, the screen of EM30 appears identical to the screen of E8 as far as the quality and diagonal go, so we didn’t bother to stage the same comparison for a second time. The view angles are maximized, the Sharp matrix offering an amazingly high quality. Nokia 5310 has a screen of a slightly lower quality, the colors aren’t as natural and the brightness isn’t as high.

Battery

A BK60 970 mAh battery is hidden beneath the back panel. A full charge is sufficient to provide a two days’ continuous duty cycle (about 40 minutes of talktime, two hours of listening to the music, an hour of menu interaction and working with miscellaneous functions). Such a score is all right for the current generation of phones and won’t annoy anyone.

As a music player, EM30 displays average results in battery life tests, there’s virtually no difference from E8 at all. A looped mp3 sample had been playing for about 15 hours until the charge level reached zero. That’s a normal result after all. The latest offers by the competitive brands offer longer battery lives, though the difference is negligible – 5310 and W880i can stay online for 16 hours.

ROKR EМ30 Battery

Model	Motorola EM30	Nokia 5310
Regular Duty	2 days	2,5 days
Multimedia cycle, video(3GP)	3:42	3:34
Multimedia cycle, audio(MP3)	15:51	18:45

Connectivity

Motorola ROKR EM30 is a four-band phone operating at GSM 850/900/1800/1900 frequencies, the Class 12 EDGE is supported, the WCDMA support is missing - that's a standard limitation applicable to all devices that make use of the Linux Java platform. Wireless data transfer protocols are represented by Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR. It works just the way it should, - without any problems, - and the options include the on/off status, the list of currently accessible Bluetooth devices, the storage folder customization setting (selectable from the following options: phone memory or memory card), the network name of the device and a number of miscellaneous settings.

The detection interval is locked on a three minutes' period and can’t be customized by the user. The standby mode features an option granting quick access to the Bluetooth menu and the Bluetooth device detection feature.

While searching for Bluetooth devices, you can specify the exact type of device to look for:

If the All setting is activated, then each detected device will be market with an icon corresponding to the type of that device.

The following profiles are supported:

The wire communication protocol utilized by the phone is the usual USB 2.0, the actual data transfer speed is rather high - on the same level with the V8 model. The microUSB data cable is included in the sales package, however none have been spotted sold separately. The following data exchange modes are supported:

The ‘Ask Upon Connection’ setting is missing in this model. You have to select an appropriate mode prior to connecting the phone to PC. When engaged in the Mass Storage mode, the phone has both its onboard and flash card memory accessible. The data transfer speed and the available set of options are identical for the onboard memory and the flash card storage.

Audio quality and Voice Control

Let's check out how well voice control works. Similar to numerous Motorola models supporting this feature, the device has a zero learning curve to adjust itself to the user's voice. Recognitions errors are rather rare, it proved that the phone easily adjusts to all kinds of voices. In order to engage the voice control mode, hold the dial button pressed for a few moments and you will be prompted to say aloud a voice command or a person’s name from the contact book. The list of supported commands is rather long, comprising most of the phone's functions. When you are asked for a phone number to dial or add into the phonebook and the recognition fails or yields an error, you can say the number once again since the action will only be carried out if the user pronounces an acknowledgement command. In addition to the standard set of functions accessible with the voice control, a special setting dubbed Talking Phone comes with the phone as well. Here you can utilize the full power of the speech synthesis engine, for example make it so the phone will pronounce the digits of the number you're looking up in the phonebook - along with the recipient's name once the record is found. The menu and submenu titles can also be pronounced, the SMS and E-mail messages can be read aloud by the phone itself. The implementation is rather nice, the Talking Phone function is by no means another kitschy addition but rather a useful feature. It enjoys a certain degree of customization that, for instance, allows you to limit it to speaking the phone number only and mute the rest of hints. However some of the aspects of this functionality are disputable. There are no options customizing the characteristics of the synthesized speech - language selection, speed and so on - everything is fixed. Because of this the feature looks cheaper than the same functionality found with some of the Nokia phones like 5500 Sport.

Let's also mention the brand CrystalTalk technology in this chapter; it's implemented in a vast number of the manufacturer's solutions. In fact this stands for a high quality voice rendering and lets you be heard better even in noisy environments. In the beginning the feature was exclusive to the more expensive Motorola products like V8, but now it's used in the budget solutions like W175, W180, W206, W213 and similar ones. We were glad to learn that Motorola are going further in the field of user friendly product design - you see, a budget phone whose only main function is to transmit voice over distances is something that would need a feature like that badly and finally it gets it.

The EM30 model isn't an exception either, we noticed the enhanced voice signal quality at once and everything was heard well enough not to ask twice even when one was walking along the noisy streets. The CrystalTalk signal processing algorithm adjusts itself to the current environmental noise level; the noisier it is out there, the harder the signal is filtered to extract the wanted signal. The voice signal quality of the U9 and U8 model easily beats competing solutions by other brands, and that's a small victory of Motorola in this particular technical domain.

Hardware Features

The Motorola ROKR EM30 model shares a lot in common with the previous handsets basing off a single-core Freescale MXC275-30 CPU running Linux-Java software, e.g. U9 and E8. Here comes a feature list describing the main specifications of the platform:

MXC275-30 Platform Features

• StarCore SC140e DSP up to 208 MHz
• ARM11 applications processor up to 532 MHz
• Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• GERAN data rates (max)—DL 236 Kbps, UL 118 Kbps
• GPRS/EGPRS (EDGE) slot up to Class 12 (4d/4u)
• Supports dynamic synchronous transfer mode (DTM) Class 5-11
• Octal speech
• DigRF interface support
• AMR-NB, HR, FR and EFR vocoders
• Hardware encryption of A5/1, A5/2, A5/3 and A5/4
• Optimized for open operating systems such as Linux and Symbian without adding any processor or accelerator
• Hardware acceleration for GPRS ciphering algorithm GEA/1, GEA/2, GEA/3 and GEA/4
• Single antenna interference cancellation (SAIC) for GMSK
• Secure boot
• Run-time integrity checker (RTIC)
• Integrated imaging processing unit (IPU) video accelerator
• Wireless connectivity features A-GPS (network assisted) interface support Bluetooth® interface support WLAN 802.11a/b/g interface support

Key Multimedia Features

• Video playback MPEG-4 Decode, CIF 30 fps, 384 Kbps H.264 Decode, CIF 30 fps, 384 Kbps WMV9 Decode, QCIF 30 fps, 384 Kbps
• Video capture MPEG-4 Encode, CIF 30 fps, 384 Kbps H. 264 Encode, QCIF 15 fps, 128 Kbps
• Video conferencing MPEG-4, CIF 30 fps H.263 and MPEG-4, CIF 30 fps decode, QCIF 15 fps encode
• Audio codecs AMR-NB, AMR-WB, AAC, AAC+, MP3 and MIDI
• Other capabilities Push to talk See what I see Cameras GPS WLAN Base IC Count=4 GSM/EDG E XCVR Module SDRAM Flash IRDA SIM MMC 1 2 3 GSM/EDGE PA SC140+ARM11™ Baseband Processor FEM Power Management Audio and Interface Temp. Illum. LED Vib. Ear Acc. Touch 11:07 a.m. Carrier 4 5 6 7 8 9 * 0 #

The most interesting entry on the list is the CPU frequency, amounting to 532 MHz, which is enough for maintaining a pretty high performance in all menus and applications. An integrated Imaging Processing Unit is available, being a canonical part of the MXC275-30 platform. Models like EM3 and E8 (as well as a number of other models) don’t require much computing power for image processing, so a small dedicated chip easily copes with the task. It takes a few fractions of a second to switch between photos in the gallery, the absolutely smooth yet fast zooming appearing especially pleasant to the eye. The only exception to this rule is MotoZINE ZN5 which employs a secondary IPU to help the standard chip out because the system has to deal with heavyweight 5 Mp photos.

The interface is based off Linux Java 7.1 and can indeed be named one of the best interface solutions currently available on the market. No difference from the E8 model is observed in this aspect (we aren’t discussing the preinstalled software package yet, which is actually not the same with E8) It lacks the numerous limitations often found in many conventional phones. Up to the recent times, the company promoted Linux-based solutions on a number of markets (including the models E2, E6, A1200 and others), but the operating system was a bit different. Many customization possibilities normally found in the Linux system were blocked, only Java applets were officially supported. It would never let you use a native Linux application. Even at that, the devices remained very remarkable for their peculiar user interface. On August 7, 2007, Motorola officially announced MOTOMAGX – the next generation platform based on Linux. Unlike the previous Linux-based platforms (e.g. EzX), this system opened a new epoch characterized by vast support for third-party applications. Currently the platform is only 100% compatible with Java ME, but widget and native Linux application support is rumored to be added in the foreseeable future, making the platform comply with the latest requirements. The MOTODEV Studio SDK currently allows for Java applet creation; Linux application and WebUI SDKs are planned to appear this year.

The initial release of the MOTOMAGX platform includes such features as ARM 11 chipset support (allowing for lower power consumption rates), hi-res screen support, a full-fledged Phonebook applications, an easy Phone-to-PC synchronization for media files, a friendlier interface and a variety of miscellaneous applications which ought to make the user’s life easier. Of course, several limitations are still persistent, stemming from certain specific aspects of the software and hardware architecture. For instance, no 3G-compatible device based on the LJ platform is planned for release in the near future, effectively explaining the choice of operating system for V8 (LJ) and V9 (P2K) models.

User Interface

As we have already mentioned, Motorola EM30 sports but a marginal difference from E8 in software and hardware alike. The user interface was preserved intact, the system of icons and menus is identical with ROKR E8. Once you’re through our review of E8, you won’t find anything new in EM30 – save for several minor changes in controls and memory.

In the standby mode, the top bar displays a variety of status indicators ranging from battery charge to Bluetooth activation status. The two functional buttons provide access to menu and misc functions (the same thing is called the Active menu in Nokia phones). The quick menu contains the following items:

The current revision of the firmware won't allow changing the order of menu items.

The user interface can be customized with a number of themes, three of which are preinstalled, yet the user is free to customize them further. Also there's an option to build your own theme from scratch by playing with all sorts of settings: pick a wallpaper (any image, camera photos as well), set a template (mosaics, fullscreen), customize the splash screens, and change the font and menu template - colors, the style of interface elements, font size and type, etc. Then you're prompted to specify a title for the newly created theme as well as finalize it by selecting an appropriate set of ringtones, message alert signals, E-mail, voice mail and calendar event sounds.

Sounds can be further customized in the call profile settings - the ones specified upon creating a theme are just default ones. The profile settings offer you a possibility to create an unlimited number of user profiles - though the system won't allow deleting the three preset ones. Four tabs with a few fields in each need filling when you're about to create a create or modify a profile - there you are asked to set the title, ringtone, message alert type (including Melody, Vibro, Combined, Vibro followed by Melody, and Silent), the sound volume (from 1 to 7) and also set the signals for each type of calendar events and reminders.

If you modify a preinstalled theme, you can always switch it back to default; part of the settings of an existing theme can be copied into a newly created theme's template. The theme creation interface is very comfortable. Only the latest Samsung products may slightly overcome Motorolas in terms of theme customization.

Aside from the aforementioned settings, there are options setting the screen backlighting interval, splash screen duration, brightness (from 1 to 6), switching the clock style (analog / digital) and the quick launch key icons. A similar system is utilized in Nokia phones based of Series 40 3rd edition, four application icons are displayed on the screen during standby, each of them corresponding to a direction of the navigation button. The icons can be turned off, and the functions associated with them can be selected from a long list of available applications. Two or more shortcuts to the same application can be bound to different button directions, no limit is observed here.

While running the mp3 player in standby, part of the player window is displayed on the screen, where icons of control elements are shown along with the song title, the name of the performer and the play time. Pressing the navigation button upwards will force the window to its regular size at once, so it's always too easy to control the player and switch songs.

Another handy feature is the automatic phonebook search by the initial digits of a number in the standby mode. This function is to a certain extent similar to the same feature observed with Samsung phones, yet the model in question doesn't look through phone numbers which aren't saved as contacts. If you remember some of the digits from the person's phone number, you can easily look their contact up simply by typing them on the keypad right away - then their contact info will be brought up.

There's no real support for multitasking, save for a negligible minority of allowed combinations like web browser + messaging service. The mp3 player can be running in the background as well, but such a feature is common with most modern cell phones today.

Main menu

There are two traditional view modes available for the main menu - icons or list, a total of 9 icons or list items fall in the field of view simultaneously. The third viewing option, an enhanced Spinner menu is an endless looping row of icons with the active one in the center, indicated by its larger size. The icons are neatly drawn and come with decent animation. Quick navigation with the help of numeric keys is available, the submenu of each menu item viewable as a list only. Aside from Motorola V8 and numerous other Motorolas, this model won't let you create a new folder in the menu - we're still guessing if this is just a limitation only found with the presale sample. But we were able to rearrange the order of icons in the menu in any imaginable fashion to fit our liking. The customization possibilities offered are something that left us deeply pleased - the mobile devices are becoming increasingly more personalized.

The main menu comprises the following items:

Call service

The contact book can be viewed in two modes: list and list with icons. Contacts stored on the SIM card and those from the phone memory can be viewed either separately or on a combined list. In the latter case each contact comes with an icon indicating if it's stored on the SIM or not. To the right from the recipient’s name there's also a symbol indicating the phone type (work, home, mobile, etc.). If more than one number is associated with a contact, the default one is shown. You can browse through a person's phone numbers by selecting the corresponding record in the phonebook and consequently pressing the joystick button sideways.

Filtering can be done by:

You can also add custom categories to the list to do filtering by. When you engage the Frequently Dialed filter, the more frequently called people will reside at the beginning of the least and the less attended ones will show at the bottom. The settings include an option to select a number of phonebook records at a time, copy or send them to the SIM card and vice versa, send a message and so on. Sorting by name or surname is possible. The frequently called contact lists can also be reset here (for calls, e-mails and SMS messages)

The speed dial has nothing very special about it, keys from 2 to 9 can be used as shortcuts to user-defined phonebook records, the 1 key traditionally serves to access the voice mail server. The contact list supports quick search by the first nine letters of the name or surname.

Upon creating a new contact, the user is prompted to select the storage location - SIM card or the phone memory. A newly created or edited contact can be given a name and a surname (50 symbol limit for each field), up to four phone numbers (selectable from Mobile, Home, Work, Fax and Misc), an e-mail address, a short text note, a unique ringtone, image or video. Any photo, image or preset icon can be used for the personal contact image. The preset phone number categories can't be renamed, there's no option to increase the maximum number of simultaneously stored numbers per person either, which is a technical limitation. Two e-mail addresses can be stored in a contact record, selectable from the Work, Home and Misc types. The call picture is rather large, occupying about two thirds of the screen. A contact can be associated with any preset or custom user group.

The Extra information that can be attached to a contact record includes two addresses selectable from the three types, a personal ringtone that will play every time the person associated with it calls, a short text note (or a voice message), personal data sheet, the Zodiac sign. If the Talking Phone feature is active, the device speaks the recipients' names aloud as you browse through the list.

Likewise Samsung and Sony Ericsson phones, the birth date is automatically transmitted from the contact record to the calendar, and the user is prompted to specify the preliminary reminder period - one day before, two days, a week in advance and so one. Once you mark an Anniversary type event in your calendar, the same option becomes available. That's really very useful if you're forgetful about presents.

Up to 1000 contacts can be stored in the phonebook, which is frankly speaking is more than enough for the majority of users. You can create custom groups to place the contact records in, each group can be set to have a unique ringtone and call picture. The maximum number of groups is limited to ten, up to 20 persons per group. Contacts and business cards can be sent over SMS, MMS, E-mail and Bluetooth.

The call log stores all the call records comprising dialed, received, missed and frequently performed calls (up to 20 records per category). The summary list comprises all the types of calls, the individual call type is indicated by a small icon for each call. Switching between the logs is done by pressing the navigation button sideways, that reminds of Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones. Any number can be extracted from a call record and associated with an existing contact record from the phonebook, or saved in a new contact record.

Each call record stores useful information regarding the date and time of call, the duration, etc. There are the stats timers showing the overall incoming and outgoing call time, data traffic counters and so on.

On the whole, the phonebook and the call service are just as good as they should be - at least no worse than with the popular Nokia and Samsung solutions, we're sure really very few people are going to ever get disappointed with what Motorola has to offer with the model.

Messaging

Following the established tradition, the device utilizes a combined messaging system and defines the type of the message judging by its contents. An SMS to which a picture is added automatically converts to the MMS type. Message templates are available, you can customize the existing ones or create a number of your own - that's very useful regarding the ability of the phone to send such template response while the casing is closed, with the help of the exterior screen. So you can always send a 'I'm busy, darling' message right in the middle of a gunfight because you don't even have to open the phone. Besides the text templates, there are a number of MMS templates that can also include images and audio files.

The maximum number of messages is solely limited by the amount of free memory, just like with the rest of Symbian-based smartphones. A separate messaging log is available, looking much like the call log. You can always choose a recently contacted person and send another message to them suing this list. If your SMS messaging is locked on a close circle of people, you can always use that to look the names of the recipients up instead of using the phonebook. A message can be sent either to a single person, a few persons or a bunch of carbon copies can be dispatched to a whole contact group. If you're sending a message over to a number of people, their exact number is to be specified alongside the small icon to the left from the addressee field.

The list allows for custom folder to be added by the user, or move and arrange the items in a custom fashion. The message list also displays info about the delivery dates, the name and the number of the recipient, and a short piece of the message text. Messages can be sorted by one of the four criteria: date, sender, size and storage location (SIM / phone memory)

Upon creation of a new text message, the text input mode can be selected from a number of options - you can switch between using the context menu or the # button. Options include automatic word input based on the initial letters of the words that you type manually, - the phone can learn and extend its vocabulary, which is a normal feature for a present-day mobile device; the traditional text input with no automation features; special symbols and digits; switching between the available input languages is done by pressing the * button. Getting back to the vocabulary, it's worth mentioning that it sports a number of alternative functioning modes. So, you can set it to guess the word endings all the time or wait and memorize what you're typing and only help completing known letter combinations later.

The message attachment types include photo, video, contact book record, audio, hyperlink - once something like that is attached to the message, it's automatically converted to the MMS type. You can either select a photo or a video from the gallery or transmit it to the message editor right from the camera application. There's no clear message size limit yet an artificial one can be enforced by checking the corresponding option. Possible variants include strict limitation (which forces the enclosed image to be resized once the message becomes too large), message size alert (you're warned that the size is too big yet no action is taken automatically, leaving that to the user), or the unlimited mode. Once you attach something its actual byte size is indicated, and you can always preview a composed message prior to sending.

The MMS options also include the delivery and read notices, the message expiration date, the number of pages and page timing switch if a message consists of more than one page. Delayed MMS delivery at a customizable interval is something really new and interesting, for example you can have your New Year greetings arranged to be delivered on time a few hours beforehand.

The E-mail service enjoys a sound implementation, the maximum length of an e-mail message isn't technically limited yet you can always turn the optional limitation on. A number of delivery settings are available alongside. For instance, you can set periodical mail checks at a certain specified interval unless you prefer to do that manually; delayed delivery is supported; the mail download options are Headers Only, Message Only or Fixed Fragment (some initial lines from the message, actually a number customizable by the user).

There's an optional limit for listing older messages, the ones deleted from the phone can still be kept at the mail server if the user wishes so. The additional settings include the possibility of choosing the mode of response (with auto quoting the original post or not), the default address, the signature and so on. The messaging system of the device looks worthy - even if it's not the best implementation of such features on the present-day market, it doesn't yield to the majority of comparable products in this aspect, either. The well-designed interface also contributes to the overall positive impression.

PIM

This feature is titled Office Tools including such applications as Calendar, World Clock, Calculator, Tasklist and Download Manager.

The calendar application is quite typical of a latest generation product by Motorola, it's indeed very functional. Three viewing modes are supported - by day, by week or by month. If viewed by day, each day is graphically represented as a schedule by the hour, two, three or a half - the interval is defined by the user. The calendar settings include an option to reset the viewing mode parameters back to default, set the number of weekdays, the starting day of the week, the beginning and the ending time of a day.

There 12 event types available, including Meeting, Presentation, Call, Lunch, Anniversary and so on; each event's properties include four tabs: the first one allows to specify event type, subject, location, date, start and end times, reminder interval (how early before the event the alert signal should be played - 5, 10, 30 minutes, an hour, two hours beforehand and so on) and the alert signal (any type of audio and video files, voice records included). The second tab stores a short description of the event; the third holds the list of participants - each of those can be sent a reminder e-mail message provided that you enter the e-mail addresses; if a person has their e-mail address specified in your phonebook, it's automatically inserted in the appropriate field in this tab. The repeat interval for the event is specified in the last tab (daily, monthly, yearly). The interval can also be customized to uneven values like a fortnight, three weeks, etc. Also you have to specify an expiration date for each event.

The days which have an event associated are marked in the calendar with a special symbol or color, which makes it easier to spot things. Automatic purging of expired events is possible, you have to specify the time interval for that.

Like we said earlier about the contact book, the Date of Birth field is automatically synchronized with calendar and is marked on its proper date, then you're prompted to leave a reminder and specify the date and time of operation. So there's no way to miss your beloved grandma's birthday and you'll be warned beforehand.

The tasklist is rather simple, each task record features the following fields: subject, deadline, priority and a text note. Tasks can be sorted by priority or by deadline date, a shared access can be specified for the list. The viewing mode is also customizable - all the tasks or expired, complete and pending as separate lists.

MOTOSYNC is a menu item bringing you some phone-to-PC synchronization settings where you have to specify your synchronization profile:

The Notes are just notes, acting much like the Notepad applications found in various Windows PC operating systems, but its mobile counterpart imposes a 256 symbol limitation on each note.

The download manager is rather simple in the terms of functionality, but that's just a phone would need. It has a log displaying your downloads history, the pause and cancel functions are also accessible from here, each file on the downloads list comes with an icon indicating whether it's stored in the phone memory or on the memory card. Besides the web downloads log, a similar log is available for the Bluetooth downloads - should a Bluetooth file transfer fail, the phone will display a warning and the file will be marked with a 'broken' icon in the log. So you can always keep an eye on the status of your downloads.

There are three alarm clocks which can operate independently or all activated at the same moment. The settings for each alarm clock include the operating time, the signal (selectable from mp3 songs, voice records and other audio files) and the repetition interval:

The days on which alarm clocks are set receive a red-color highlight (maybe to look more intimidating). Then you have to specify the interval between the continuously occurring alarm signals and the volume. The alarm clock is easily configurable, the three alarm clocks are quite capable of waking up everybody. In addition to the alarm clock configuration menu, a quick menu for setting an alarm in an hour or half an hour in advance is also available.

Preinstalled software package

The device has a standard set of applications on board. Let's begin with games, there are two of them preinstalled - soccer and sudoku. Games sport good graphics and the gameplay itself isn't bad, so it's a fair chance to kill some time during a boring trip. To install a new application, you only have to copy the Jar file to the phone and launch it, then you are prompted to specify the installation folder. There's no support for Java multitasking, you can't run a number of applications at a time.

The world clock function has nothing very special about it, it's just a graphical representation of some three adjacent time zones with corresponding cities indicated on the map.

The voice recorder is notable for a comfortable and easy to use interface, but has a rather limited functionality. There's an option to limit the record length to 60 or 150 seconds or keep it unlimited. Memory cards are supported to serve as storage location to which the records are saved, and, quite expectedly, the integrated phone memory can be used likewise. The default filename is also specified in this menu. The voice recorder can record phone talks, too, the sound quality turns out to be at a level above average. The record can be instantly sent via MMS, Bluetooth or E-mail, or set as a ringtone.

The integrated calculator software works all right, having all the necessary functions from the most basic maths to square roots and such like stuff. The navigation button lets the user choose the function with a small screen prompt showing for what function each of the four directions of the button stands. The calculator is combined with a measures converter which is a traditional tool that serves for conversion of such values