Motorola Rizr

The Rizr Z3 uses a technical form factor, where the user can push on a plastic push bar located under the screen in order to open the phone. When opened, the top portion slides upwards, revealing the standard keys (including numeric, star, and pound keys). These keys are covered when the phone is closed, but the remaining keys, including the side keys, can be used normally once the keypad is unlocked; such keys can be set to automatically lock shortly after the device is closed to prevent accidental activation when in a purse or pocket.

It also has 2 mini lights, located at either side of the Motorola logo above the screen. The mini light on the left (from the user's point of view) is a green charging light, which displays when the phone is charging and the mini light on the right (again also from the POV) is a blue bluetooth light displayed in periods when connected to an audio device (e.g. bluetooth headset, earpiece etc.) or flashes rapidly for a short time when another bluetooth device requests a file transfer. One of the primary uses of the device when closed is as a landscape still or video camera. When operating in landscape mode, the user holds the phone on its side (90 degrees counter-clockwise), such that the camera key is positioned near the right index finger. The screen text and icons are also rotated, so that they appear normally when held in this fashion. This gives the impression of the phone being more like a traditional camera.

The Rizr Z3 is available in three colors, black, blue, and pink (as a T-Mobile Online Exclusive).

A chronic problem of the center select button cover falling off was reported by many users, although the button cover is not necessary for the button to work. Another problem found is that when charging the phone when it is shut down, and then the charger is taken out, it makes the charging noise louder than usual, even when the phone is in silent mode. Other than these two problems, the phone has received accolades for its good call quality and solid construction, despite reports of instability of the Motorola OS.

• Advanced Speech Recognition: yes
• Bands: GSM 850/900/1800/1900
• Music Player: MP3 (MPEG-3), MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), WAV (Wave), IMY (IMELODY), AAC files
• Downloadable: Themes, Wallpaper, Sounds, Ringtones, Java Games
• Instant Messaging: Yes
• Calculator and Currency Converter: Yes
• Calendar: Yes
• Talk Time: Up to 3.3 hours
• Standby Time: Up to 9.4 days
• Dimensions (H x W x D): 4.15 x 1.79 x 0.62 in
• Camera: 2.0 MP camera with LED Flash
• Removable Memory: MicroSD
• Speakerphone: Yes
• Weight: 3.92 oz
• Operating System: P2K
• Bands : Quad Band Use In Abroad Also

• Instant messaging (Wireless Village, AIM, ICQ, Windows Live Messenger, or Yahoo! Messenger)
• Bluetooth stereo A2DP support
• MMS, Wireless Village instant messaging and e-mail
• Motorola SCREEN3 push technology for dynamic news and content
• MPEG-4 video and JPEG still image capture (with landscape viewfinder)
• Push to Talk over Cellular (PoC) and Push to view (PTV) capable
• Ringlights (phone lights flash when certain events occur i.e. incoming call)
• Video recorder
• 2.0-megapixel camera

• Predictive Text: iTAP
• Downloadable: VCast/Mobile Web/Get it Now (Verizon Services)
• Messaging: SMS/MMS/Instant Messaging
• Calculator: Yes
• Calendar: Yes
• Navigation: LBS-powered
• Usage Time: 295 minutes
• Standby Time: Up to 375 hours
• Speakerphone: Yes

The Rizr Z8 is a UIQ 3 "kick-slider" 3G phone based on Symbian OS.[4] This means that it is a slider-type phone but with a hinge allowing it to bend so as to conform better to the user's face while in use as a handset.

The phone features a 2-megapixel camera, a 16 million color QVGA display, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, a 3.6 Mbit/s HSDPA connection, an EDGE class 10 connection, and 90 megabytes of internal memory. The internal memory is expandable to 32 gigabytes using high-capacity microSDHC (TransFlash) cards.

In the UK, the Rizr Z8 was available exclusively on Vodafone for the first few weeks of its launch; O2 began offering the phone later; Currently Orange UK is testing the handset in preparation for the Christmas rush of new handsets, they claim if successful it will be available late November. Additionally, both Motorola direct and resellers offer a SIM-free, unlocked version of the phone for use on other networks. All versions of the Rizr Z8 released in the United Kingdom come with a free microSD card containing a copy of the motion picture The Bourne Identity.[5]

Motorola did not release the phone in the US, Canada, or Australia, but it did register the phone with the US FCC, thereby approving it for use in the USA. As a result, many American specialty phone stores carry the phone, and Americans, Canadians, and Australians can order unlocked versions of the Z8 from a variety of websites, including both Motorola's UK website and eBay. An unlocked Z8 purchased outside the US, Canada, or Australia can be used on any GSM network in those countries simply by inserting the user's SIM card. Z8s with foreign SIM cards also are capable of roaming on any those countries' GSM networks.

Motorola RIZR Z8 side view

The complete Motorola Rizr Z8 list of specifications are:[6][7]

Like the Z8, the Z10 is a UIQ 3 "Kick-Slider" 3G phone based on Symbian OS. "Kick-Slider" means that it is a slider-type phone but with a hinge allowing it to bend so as to conform better to the user's face while in use as a handset. The Z10's revamped design changes the Z8's green lining to silver.

The Z10 has many of the same specifications as the Z8. These include a 16 million color QVGA display, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, quad-band GSM, a dual-band 3.6 Mbit/s HSDPA connection, an EDGE class 10 connection, and 77 megabytes of internal memory. The internal memory is expandable to 32 gigabytes using High Capacity microSDHC cards, although currently only cards up to 16 gigabytes have been released by SanDisk.[13]

Certain Z8 features, however, have been enhanced in the Z10, and new features have been added. The Z10 is 12 grams lighter. It features an upgraded camera module (3.2 megapixels with autofocus). The phone is powered by Symbian OS 9.2 UIQ 3.2. The phone suffers from being slow and often has many errors which require the phone to reboot itself. As yet there has been no software update designed to fix the errors.

Additionally, the Z10 has the ability to view Macromedia Flash in webpages (including videos). It comes with comprehensive video editing software which also allows the user automatically to upload videos to various online video servers such as YouTube and Google Video.

The complete Motorola Rizr Z10 list of specifications are:[14]

On November 11, 2006, the MotoRizr began appearing on several German carrier websites.

On December 1, 2006, the black version of the Rizr was released in the UK.[15]

• On December 1, 2006, the black MotoRizr was released in Singapore on carrier Singtel.
• Just before the end of the year 2006, all colors of the MotoRizr phone were released in Hong Kong.
• On January 1, 2007 it was released in India.

• T-Mobile officially made the phone available in U.S. stores on March 21, 2007.