Motorola RIZR Z6c Review

World Edition in sliderform

Published on: 23 January, 2008 by PhoneArena Team

Interface:

There were no surprises regarding the Main Menu, as it is laid out just like every other Verizon phone, with categorizes for Get it Now, Messaging, Contacts, Recent Calls, and Settings & Tools. There are two Themes that are included: Default (Rainbow) and Youth. The Default theme is identical to the one used on the V9m, but the Youth theme is more colorful. The menu speed and response time from both are quite fast. Unfortunately, neither one is animated like the FlashUI themes used by LG and Samsung.


Home screen	Get it Now	Messaging	Tools

The Phonebook is identical to the V9m, where up to 1000 contacts can be stored, each with their Name, Mobile 1, Home, Work, E-Mail 1, Group, Picture, Ringtone, Mobile 2, Fax, E-Mail 2, and Notes. Since this is a “world phone” it would have been nice if the phonebook were capable of storing more numbers per person, such as a local US number and international number. Once a contact is saved, you can assign them to one of 999 speed-dial locations.


Phonebook interface

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While using the phone in the US, no SIM card is required. However, for use internationally, you must purchase a SIM card from Verizon. It should also be noted that while in the US, you cannot use a SIM card from other US GSM providers, such as AT&T and T-Mobile. There are three Network Modes available in the Settings & Tools menus: Global, CDMA Only, and GSM Only. The Global mode works by first looking for an available CDMA network. If none can be found, and a SIM card is inserted, it will then look for a GSM network. If you plan on only using the phone in the US (or other CDMA country), then you can select CDMA Only. The GSM Only mode requires a SIM card and can only be used outside of the US. These options might sound confusing to the basic user, but are useful since they are designed for the world traveler. Price is another concern for international use. While roaming on CDMA networks, you will be charged from $0.69 to $1.29 per minute, and GSM usage will range from $1.29 to $2.49 per minute. For more information about which countries are covered and their applicable roaming fees, please visit the Verizon site

The 2MP Camera is located on the back and can be used with the phone slid open or closed. We found that it was easier to use with the phone closed and placed in Landscape mode. In doing so, this makes the Z6c about the same size as most compact digital cameras, even though a larger screen and more mega-pixels would be nice.

Camcorder


Camera interface

Although it uses a basic 2MP sensor, the image quality was not as good as we’ve seen from the V9m, Maxx, and Voyager. When used outside, colors were not as saturated and images lacked fine detail. Inside images also looked muted and soft. But this is to be expected, since the Z6c does not have an Autofocus system, which also means that it cannot be used for Macro images. Photos in the dark are impossible to take, as there is no built-in flash on the device. Videos can be recorded at a maximum resolution of 320x240 with no time limit (up to the available space on the microSD card). Though this may sound nice, the video quality is lacking just like every other Verizon phone, and should only be used for short recordings.


Outdoor images

Indoor images

The music player is basic and is laid out like most other Verizon phones, with categories for Genres, Artists, Albums, and Playlists. It is capable of playing back MP3, WMA, and ACC audio files. Even though there is only one (mono) speaker located on the back, we found that the music quality was better than the FlipShot’s stereo speakers, but still was not as loud as music played by the V9m. Unlike most new phones that use touch-sensitive buttons for music control, you have to use the D-pad on the Z6c for rewind, play/pause, and fast-forward. Included with the phone is a microUSB-to-2.5mm headset adapter that you can use with stereo earbuds for listening to music. The Z6c also supports Stereo Bluetooth A2DP and AVRC profiles, which gave us 25 feet of static free music using our Motorola S9 headset.


Music player interface

Other software features include Mobile Web 2.0, VCast Music downloads, V Cast Video streaming, and VZ Navigator for GPS guided directions. Unfortunately, all of these services are only usable while in Verizon’s CDMA network. We can understand why this is, but it would have been nice if at least the Web Browser were GSM compatible.