UK mobile phone reviews - Motorola RIZR Z3 Review (MOTORIZR Z3)

Your Motorola RIZR Reviews

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Reviewer: Anon - Devon, UK
Date: 16th Jan 2009

Camera fairly good, nice looking but total nightmare to text with.

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Reviewer: Dayne - Cumbria, UK
Date: 13th Oct 2008

The rizr is a good looking phone & good stuff on it. This Mobile is better than the Sony Ericsson K800 because the design is dull & boring. Buy a rizr z3 & do not bother buying a k800 because you are going to take it back very soon.

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Reviewer: Chards - Leicester, UK
Date: 16th Jul 2008

I have now had the phone for about 10 months & it still looks brand new, don't know what the reviewers were doing wrong when then mention buttons falling off etc but it has not happened to me.

Love the phone, superb looking, nicely weighted, only slight gripe is that I believe that there could have been a few more features but that is only a slight gripe.

Definitely recommend this phone to anyone, normally, you get a phone & then a few months later it feels outdated & you upgrade, not with the Z3, still looks great & performs well.

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Reviewer: Sanjeev - Bolton, UK
Date: 5th Jun 2008

I've had this phone for about a year now & I am not even tired with it yet! The design really rocks like all the other Motorola phones. This is the first slide phone for Motorola & whoopee them!

The features are really good. When you first buy the phone, you might be put off by the features, but I found out how to change the settings of the phone & it's really good now!

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Reviewer: Alicia - US
Date: 26th May 2008

I've had this phone for 11 months using it a fairly normal amount & in the past 5 months two buttons have fallen off. The face started peeling. This phone goes into its designated slot in my purse & into my pocket, but has not been dropped or waterlogged. It is the worst phone I have ever used & I will not buy another Motorola again especially since this is a repeat issue & they do not feel as if they should be held accountable.

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Reviewer: Dominic Roberts - Blackpool, UK
Date: 25th May 2008

This is a good enough phone for me but I am getting the Z10. Overall this a outstanding phone but needs more features. Overall I would recommend this phone for the first time phone user.

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Reviewer: Dominic - Kent, UK
Date: 25th May 2008

I have had this phone for a year now & haven't had a single problem with it. It is easy to handle & simple to use. The camera is alright but could be improved but overall is a good phone.

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Reviewer: Jodie - Leeds, UK
Date: 22nd May 2008

Really nice phone never had any problems with it up until recently. The wheel on the front has come off & the phone is as a result running a bit slower & I am having to really press hard on the buttons for a response having said this, the phone is nearly 18 months old so it's understandable. The camera is good for pictures & videos & it links up fine with my PC. Really like Motorola's & am thinking of upgrading to the RAZR V8 when my contract is up in a month. Very good phones with good durability apart from the obvious blip with this one but would be good on a 12 month contract or if your very careful.

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Reviewer: Timmy Herton - London, UK
Date: 12th May 2008

Looks, great features, OK usability but not so good!

This phone looks attractive to reel you, in then it catches you by the neck, because that's what happened to me. I thought this phone would be high on the features but it's not. The worst thing I hate about this phone is the video recording feature. Every time I record video on the best video quality it only records for about 30 seconds, is it because I haven't got a memory card. Anyway the picture quality is great for taking pictures with. If you buy a game like for example Fifa 07 the graphics won't be as good on another phone which has Fifa 06.

In conclusion if your a fashion person this the phone for you but if you're hard on features look elsewhere.

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Reviewer: Ellie - UK
Date: 30th Mar 2008

I liked this phone initially, but with continued use just started to get more & more frustrated with it. It was bulky & heavy compared to other phones I've had, & it was slow, if I had predictive text on, I would finish a sentence & have to wait a while for the phone to catch up.

On the plus side however the camera was good quality & the battery lasted for ages. Nice phone for a beginner, just not for me.

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Reviewer: Dyewitness - UK
Date: 25th Mar 2008

Good Points, Smooth slider, great picture quality, looks good, feels good to hold, I don't know what material the phone is made of, at first I thought it was metal, then realised it was more rubber! Volume is good. Not too big, just a nice size. I get a good reception on this phone. Battery life is not bad, lasts longer than my last phone anyway (LG Shine).I have probably missed out a lot but that's all I can think of for now!

Bad Points, Sometimes I find it hard to send a text because when I touch the keys I end up pressing a lot of different ones as I find the buttons are very flat. I probably just need to get used to it though! Also if you hardly ever take videos like myself, you will find it is annoying having to change it to Photo Mode every time you want to take a photo because it is always on Video Mode. Maybe someone has figured out how to change this but I haven't! The phone is quite slow too. The phones menu looks slightly dated. I can't seem to use one of my own MP3 songs for my message tone, this really annoys me! If anyone knows how to do this, please let me know.

Also, when bought, the phone did not come with any cables to transfer files from phone to PC etc. It didn't come with anything like headphones or a memory stick as I later found out these are sold separately.

I would recommend the phone especially to people who are patient. Many people may think different about the phone but I am just writing about the experience I have had with my Rizr Z3 :D.

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Reviewer: Lauren - Hampshire, UK
Date: 16th Mar 2008

Only just received this phone & so far everything is working well. However I have noticed that the speed isn't all that great which is why usability is lower than it could be. Pretty good design though, other than the fact the phone I had before this one was extremely thin, light & stream lined with a large screen (Samsung U600), so this one seems like a brick to me with a tiny screen. I am liking the volume on it, & the slide design. It was a great idea to put a push bar on it, makes life a whole lot easier. Good thing is that it actually picks up signal where as my other phone didn't.

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Reviewer: Erin Lambert - UK
Date: 9th Mar 2008

Loved this phone, very easy to use with great features. Cute size & very reliable. I've had it for 14months.

Only down side is like other people have said buttons on front are starting to fall off. Main select button popped off, selection wheel is hanging off too. Only reason I can still use the phone is because I have long fingernails.

Apart from questionable durability, love this model.

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Reviewer: Cameron Bailey - Leeds, UK
Date: 4th Mar 2008

Great looking phone I am getting this delivered through my door tomorrow so I am wishing it good luck I am going to do a software update so it should be more reliable :). Very cheap phone £60.

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Reviewer: Bryan Newman - US
Date: 29th Jan 2008

This is the best phone in the world the people that say it falls apart just mistreat it I have had it for some time & it looks brand new I recommend it for everyone. It has great features & the camera is the best I have ever seen. Great work Motorola!

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Reviewer: Dr Bobby Love - Harrow, UK
Date: 23rd Jan 2008

I love this phone!

I've had it for 12 months & before upgrading today I had seriously considered keeping the handset & moving to one of 02's sim only tariffs. That's how much faith I have in this handset. I'd use it for another year without a shadow of a doubt that it'll still be performing to its full at the 24 month mark!

As it turns out, the other half needs a new phone so I've taken my free upgrade & plan to give this one to her. But that really is the only reason! Otherwise I'd a kept right along with it.

Don't know what people do to phones on this sight? Seems every phone gets a collection of terrible reviews?

Battery is GOOD! I know other posts say it's terrible but mine is 12 months old & still stands by for at least 6 days & I get at least 3 hours talk time. This is good for a battery that's been used for 12 months solid. To be honest, I haven't even noticed a huge change in battery performance the whole time I've had it. But then, I let it tell me when it needs a charge. This really is the key to a happy battery people! I even let it run completely flat say every 3rd month. This helps the software keep track of the batteries true performance!

Not the most feature full of handsets now. But well thought out & real easy to use (even more so once you've customized the user interface)

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Reviewer: Matt - US
Date: 19th Jan 2008

I love the look of this phone, & the features are fantastic. Bluetooth works the way it should, & the expandable memory is a great add on by Moto.

5% for usability because it is SLOW! The menu takes a full 2 seconds to open, while on my old phone it was instant. Looking through the phonebook is a nightmare because of the speed, & don't even get me started on texting. I can type out the entire message, & the thing won't be half done. Motorola really messed up the OS on this thing.

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Reviewer: Tom - UK
Date: 19th Jan 2008

Good Phone But does take a bit of time to get used to, good camera for the price & good MP3 if you buy a micro sd.

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Reviewer: Adam - Southampton, UK
Date: 15th Jan 2008

My sister has this phone & it has basically completely fallen apart the front round button has come of & all the rubber bits are coming off. Now it won't do anything with text or any messages & her sim cards doesn't work in it. This phone is not a good idea don't get a Motorola they will break they are not as good ad Nokia or Sony save your money & time & buy one of them.

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Reviewer: Andy - London, UK
Date: 8th Jan 2008

Super design, fine features. AN ABSOLUTELY RUBBISH BATTERY LIFE! Can't wait to change it. I feel bad about doing that. I've been with Motorola since 1996. Nevertheless, I guess it's time for a change. Goodbye Moto!

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Reviewer: Andrew - US
Date: 6th Jan 2008

Great phone, I am getting this for my birthday.

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Reviewer: Ram - India
Date: 5th Jan 2008

This is the worst phone I've ever had. The only good thing about the phone is its design .the phone is too slow & its battery life is too poor.

Better to buy a Nokia 6300 if you have got the same money.

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Reviewer: H - UK
Date: 4th Jan 2008

This is the worst phone I have ever owned! After about 5 months my keypad at the front gradually fell apart & then the metal part to one of the buttons snapped off. Now my phone has started restarting every minute & won't do conversations properly also the music section is bad you can't make folders to put your music in & is so basic

Its text messaging part is good though.

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Reviewer: Kevin - UK
Date: 2nd Jan 2008

This is by far the worst phone I have ever owned. After only having the phone for little over 6 months the red water damage sensor changed from white to red for no reason & the middle button fell off the keypad. I will NEVER buy another Motorola product again & I am leaving my phone provider as soon as my contract with them is up because they gave me a run-around & now refuse to replace or repair the phone.

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Reviewer: John - UK
Date: 30th Dec 2007

This phone is absolutely terrible. When I had it for only a week, the screen cracked. I spoke to the man at the shop & they didn't give me my money back. I upgraded from the KRZR K1 & I had that for 7 months & it never broke. If you ask me Motorola shouldn't have even made this phone becaause it's a complete waste of money.

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Reviewer: Keith - Watford, UK
Date: 13th Dec 2007

Had this phone for 11 months & about to get an upgrade (to the LG KU990)! It was my first Moto for around 8 years & I must say I am not keen on the crayola UI they've adapted! Customisation of the menu & most buttons goes some way to quelling my reservations in that department. I have a 2GB MicroSD card in mine & it is recognised & works well! Construction is solid & a handy size to slip into your pocket! The phone has withstood the rigors of my life pretty well & doesn't have a single scratch on the face (I always keep my change & keys separate). Transferring contacts is laborious because it has no capacity to receive a contacts list, so they must be done one at a time! The camera is good & resulting pics are surprisingly crisp! Using the flash adds a blue tint to everything, but that can be removed once the images are uploaded to a PC! Connectivity is simple & file folders are on view in windows explorer, even though you can't remove the default themes, wallpapers or ringtones. It has been reliable in service with the only real gripe being the short battery life! These days I am charging it every day, but batteries are cheap (£5.00) on eBay & my advice would be to buy a spare & keep it handy.

Overall, it's a good phone that's getting a little long in the tooth.

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Reviewer: Kevin - Bridgend, UK
Date: 8th Dec 2007

This phone is one of the best I have owned. The lag isn't that much, & the OS is a new one by Motorola. It's still rubbish though. The camera is excellent LOL.

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Reviewer: Pusak - Kuching, Malaysia
Date: 3rd Dec 2007

This phone is delicious.

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Reviewer: Andy - Oldham, UK
Date: 25th Nov 2007

Motorola RIZR Z3, THIS PHONE IS AWESOME, HAD MINE FOR NEARLY A YEAR NOW & STILL IN GREAT WORKING CONDITION, BECAUSE I don't THROW IT ABOUT, & STILL PACKED FULL OF the FEATURES YOU NEED. GREAT CAMERA & the USABILITY IS SO SIMPLE EVEN Nokia USERS WILL BE ABLE TO USE IT.

THIS PHONE IS HARD WARING & won't LOOK OUT OF PLACE IN ANOTHER YEARS TIME.

TOP PHONE, WELL DONE Motorola.

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Reviewer: Louis - Manchester, UK
Date: 17th Nov 2007

HORRIBLE MOBILE PHONE.

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Reviewer: Bee - Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Date: 7th Oct 2007

This phone looks good but I've had it for about 8 months & it's falling apart. It has dust under the face & the navigation button fell off. Not worth all the money.

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Reviewer: Surrey - US
Date: 13th Sep 2007

This phone is fantastic. I have had it for two months & it works like a charm. To rebuttal against those who had problems with the phone: my phone came with the time on the display, so that was not a problem. Texting was not difficult to do, it is actually faster than having a keyboard. Camera is above average for any phone at this price. The mini compartment for storage cards is not hard to use at all, people who say that are just stupid.

My only problem with the phone is that it doesn't have a normal headphone jack, so you have to buy headphones with a mini USB cable jack (which is the same for all of the RAZR line phones). The screen also is very open & liable to get scratched easily, so I would recommend buying a screen protector (2 bucks online) along with the phone & a storage card if you are into music & videos & such. Last phones I have had include: Siemens SK65, Samsung S400i, & Motorola RAZR. This is by far the best.

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Reviewer: Tim - UK
Date: 31st Aug 2007

Good but not as good as the z8.

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Reviewer: Bhavjeet - Patiala, India
Date: 31st Aug 2007

It's good but visual radio made this handset best.

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Reviewer: Neeski Weeski - US
Date: 30th Aug 2007

I purchased my first (& I emphasize 1st) RIZR about 2 months ago. After about 4 weeks (right around the time I couldn't return it) it froze up completely on me for a few hours. It did it again, so I took it to the TMobile store, & they offered to replace it (after I paid the $9.95 shipping. I got another one, & wouldn't you know it, right around the 4 week mark, now the end button doesn't work. I am waiting for a new one (again). Has anyone else experienced these problems?

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Reviewer: Emma - Scotland, UK
Date: 29th Aug 2007

I must admit, I was in love with this phone when I received it. I've always been keen on slide phones, & after my Samsung D500 popped its clogs, I was certain that I wanted the Motorola Rizr z3. When I received it [in black] I noticed that the blue keypad wasn't as blue as I had thought, it was barely noticeable, unless I was outside in direct sunlight.

The menu etc was very basic, like previous Motorola menus. A bit of a letdown, & it took me FOREVER to find message tones etc, it's not straight forward. However, the camera was great! As well as the video recordings [except that it's placed on the back of the phone, asking to be scratched so I bought a case.] Sound quality wasn't too bad either, I have heard better.

Then the day came, the day where it decided that it wouldn't turn on anymore! I tried EVERYTHING. Charging it for ages - didn't work. Using my USB Cable - nothing. Took out & placed the battery back in - forget it. I had to claim a refund, after owning it for a week & a half.

It may be an attractive phone, but I would not recommend this phone to anybody. It was a letdown to me when it happened. There are more phones better on the market if you're interested in the slide fellows, Samsung are the best make in my opinion! Never ever had a problem, my other phone conked out because it was 4 years old! So don't risk ignoring the bad reviews that I did, I regret it!

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Reviewer: Oscar - Texas, US
Date: 26th Aug 2007

So far so good, just a little annoyed about not being able to get the time to show on the home screen. Any suggestions? I have tried the instructions over & over.

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Reviewer: Peter - Chatham, UK
Date: 22nd Aug 2007

Best phone from day one, simple as that.

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Reviewer: Jammarcuss - US
Date: 18th Aug 2007

I totally love this phone.

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Reviewer: Stephenie - Florida, US
Date: 13th Aug 2007

I am very pleased with this phone. I was a bit uncertain about using a slider at first, but within a day quickly got used to the design. The rubber coating on the outside is great, however I have not dropped it yet so I don't know how well it will hold up. The downside is the exposed screen, & the research I have done has only found a thin plastic/rubber shield that can be attached to the screen with a lite adhesive to offer protection. (sold at most dealers) I am also once again not thrilled with the music player with the phone, however, coming from a V360 - the Rizr Z3 is a definite upgrade! The camera is acceptable but I would not take important pics with it, for it still is a bit blurry. I just remind myself it is still after all, a mobile phone first. The phone overall is well built as we have come to expect from Motorola. I read with most reviews about the speed of the phone's features, however with mine personally, I have no problems with the speed & it responds pretty quickly. The sound quality on both the music player & on voice calls are excellent, & after a week I have had no issues with dropped calls where I was having issues with other Motorola models. There still are a few features that I have not used on this phone yet, but overall, it is a highly recommended phone.

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Reviewer: Paul Naden - Malaysia
Date: 5th Aug 2007

It's a great phone. It was always my dream phone but it turns out to be not as I expected. I am satisfied & I do have problems downloading stuff for my phone & I need help. GO Motorola.

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Reviewer: Vu - US
Date: 23rd Jul 2007

I don't know what's wrong with mine. The clock is not displayed in the main screen as described. A little disappointed.

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Reviewer: Dean - LA, US
Date: 23rd Jul 2007

Love this phone. I go through about 20 to 25 phones a year in pursuit of a mobile phone that actually works & at last after 3 years of looking I think I've found it.

The phones design is great, feels good & can take a hard fall without getting scratched. Performance wise it is a little slow, but very dependable. Speed increases when you pull down the latest update, provider specific. Usability is a no brainer with this phone, had it for one month put 20 hours of calls on it & only one dropped call. This phone works in places that any other phone I've had from T-Mobile just doesn't want to know about. If I didn't know any better I'd say there was a repeater in the building I work in now for T-Mobile & there isn't.

If someone asks you to recommended a phone to them, trust me, go with this one & they won't be disappointed.

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Reviewer: Shainelle - Jackson, US
Date: 19th Jul 2007

It is a great phone but the only problem is that it powers off in the middle of a conversation just resets itself.

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Reviewer: Boothy - UK
Date: 17th Jul 2007

A QUALITY phone. EVERYTHING GOOD. GOOD SOUND QUALITY & 2 MEGAPIXEL CAMERA. The BEST phone I have HAD, EASY 2 USE. IT WOULD BE good IF IT HAD RADIO & the EARPHONES WOULD WORK, BUT STILL A QUALITY PHONE! 9.9 / 10.

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Reviewer: Jan - US
Date: 17th Jul 2007

First month was great. I really liked the red textured case. The texting was not hard to transition from Nokia & the camera was fun with its light & all. Bluetooth was a new one & got to be quite fun, sending photos back & forth. Ring tones, robust features, woah it made my head spin.

Then the camera lens began to accumulate little scratches from the general wear & tear of it being tossed in the purse with dust in the screen etc. Having previously owned a V60 & opting for a Nokia, because of serious frustrations with that phone, I was willing to give Moto another chance. Now the things that made me hate the V60 are coming back to haunt me.

It is so slow I want to scream! Texting takes a week! Okay, not a week, but it definitely slow. Do you guys at Moto hear that? SLOW!

Just like the Moto before, I loved it for about a month & then the bugs began to creep out. Thanks for your continued pursuit of the mediocre Moto! For what you charge, I hoped for better than that.

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Reviewer: Angelica - Miami, US
Date: 16th Jun 2007

Close but no cigar. I just purchased this phone three days in an impulsive attack to have a slim phone that can easily fit in my pocket. The phone looked stylish & functional & within minutes, SOLD. It is a good phone I would summarize; however, not quite measuring up to my needs. The biggest problem I see in this phone in just three days is that it is incredibly sloooowwww when navigating. I cannot describe the frustration when I open the phone to quickly take a peek at a missed call or if I've received a text, or to save a number real quick. It's just not quick. At times I just begin to count to see how many second's it actually takes the phone to snap out of caca mode & back into what I am telling it to do. Texting is a bit slow & I happen to be a big texter. Its greatest asset thus far is that it does have phenomenal reception. I hear & speak clear with no trouble at all, even the speaker phone I believe seems to work quite well. The delay in navigating though is extreme for a phone that is not all that high tech; you would think it were a mini PC running music, email, Internet, alarms, texts, calls all at the same time. More stylish than practical. I am probably exaggerating, but I am more interested in a fast, practical, quick, phone that will be easy for me to use with the basic stuff. It's a good phone, it is. But as for me, I'll be going back to the store next week to return it.

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Reviewer: Mariana - Chicago, US
Date: 25th May 2007

I got this phone 3 days ago & I just love it. The design is incredible. The features too but the only thing that I don't like is that my battery works for no more than 2 days.

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Reviewer: Emma - UK
Date: 17th May 2007

Specs wise I am sure this is a good phone, up there with the best, although it still can't make toast. So onto usability & design. Not the most attractive phone on the market, buttons all over the front & up the sides meaning you're going to be pressing something you didn't mean to a lot of the time. Push up the front & wow large keypad, excellent especially for blokes with fat digits. Problem for a lass like me with small hands is that when trying to text the phone feels top heavy & it's quite a juggling act trying to text one handed as the back space/delete key is over half way up the phone & not easily reached. I am also getting increasingly frustrated with the predictive text. On my last phone (not a Motorola) I could 'manually input' a word & it would then always be available on predictive. Not so with this phone. Sometimes it remembers a word. Sometimes it doesn't. I don't know if that's true of all Motorola's or just this model. Up side is nothing has gone wrong with it & mine is now 6 months old.

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Reviewer: Brian - Belfast, UK
Date: 8th May 2007

Help, I've been unable to synchronise my RIZR Z3 with my outlook calendar. Any advice welcome?

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Reviewer: Filipe Mendes De Amorim - Arcos De Valdevez, Viana Do Castelo, Portugal
Date: 7th May 2007

This phone is really good. I already have it & I don't have anything to complain about him. It's a really good offer from Motorola. Congratulations.

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Reviewer: John - Canada
Date: 1st May 2007

Hey everyone I love this phone~! Greatly recommended for looks & style, features are pretty nice & for me it's no problem to use. I have one question though. For people who have Riz's already: when it says MP3 player, does it mean I can plug in a headset & listen? There is a listen via Bluetooth feature, but I don't have a Bluetooth headset. I have a hands-free headset, but I don't think it is working. (must return that) besides that. Awesome phone you can put vids on it through Motorola phone tools (.avi files then encode as 3GP files *phone vid files*) Help please thanks all.

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Reviewer: Imaad - India
Date: 19th Apr 2007

HEY EVERYBODY, THIS PHONE ROCKS! I recommend THIS PHONE TO EVERYONE! However, I would like to know how to install themes & certain things & also from where?

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Reviewer: Veronica - Iklin, Malta
Date: 18th Apr 2007

Great mobile. Perfect choice!

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Reviewer: C. Humble - London, UK
Date: 7th Apr 2007

Got this phone as a 'weekend' alternative to my Microsoft Mobile phone. I wanted something small & compact that would fit in my pocket & that looked cool & had the basics on it. Bingo, this hit the spot. I had previously tried the Sony Ericsson K800i (too big & complex).

I am really picky about phones, so am pleased to say this one passes the test. Especially & the cool category. Love the slider & everything else is acceptable. I was surprised that it allows you to (wirelessly) sync your contacts & calendar from Outlook. That part worked just fine.

The phone feels really cool in your hand. I've had other rubberized phones like this & they all feel very cool. After false starts with the Sony Ericsson, the O2 XDA Graphite & the Moto RAZR V3xx (no web access for O2 business accounts! ), this is the winner. I would recommend it for anyone who wants a cool compact phone & doesn't need access to their e-mail.

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Reviewer: Mike - US
Date: 7th Apr 2007

I am a bit late on the review but this phone has only been officially released in the US for a short time. Solid phone, cool design, nice features. Personally I couldn't care less about the camera because if I wanted a good digital camera I'd buy one. As far as a phone goes though it's a good choice.

My one negative is that my wife got one & within less than a single week the screen got shattered for no real reason. A button on her jeans pocket barely tapped against it & it shattered the screen. We got a new one under an insurance claim so I am hoping it was just defective glass.

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Reviewer: John - Kuwait City, Kuwait
Date: 3rd Apr 2007

Great phone. No problems traveling internationally & has all the tools & very intuitive menu. The 2G SanDisk upgrade is great. Super phone.

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Reviewer: Ricky - London, UK
Date: 3rd Apr 2007

Had the phone a week now (upgraded from RAZR) I am not too technically minded just spent a couple of hours playing with it finding out different functions & menus etc. Feels great, looks great & even I have found it easy to use. Would definitely recommend it.

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Reviewer: West - Jakarta, Indonesia
Date: 2nd Apr 2007

I bought a new Motorola RIZR Z3 & it is so much better than Motorola ROKR E2. I mean, with ROKR E2, it is soooo sloooow when you write a text message. It is annoying. But now I got the Motorola RIZR Z3, I am happy.

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Reviewer: Chris - US
Date: 28th Mar 2007

This is the coolest phone ever! If you don't have this don't do anything else just do this: go to the store, buy one, & don't put it down.

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Reviewer: Richard Western - Glasgow, UK
Date: 25th Mar 2007

I have owned the Motorola Rizr (pronounced riser) Z3 for almost 2 months, & as my 8th mobile phone, I have been very impressed. Looking at the hardware side of the phone first it is very well made, with excellent use of materials. The glass screen cover has yet to show any scratches, where my old phones had numerous light scratches after a few weeks, so it would seem no screen protector is required if you want to keep it in good condition. The body is made of metal coated with a soft touch material (this can be clearly seen in the battery cover); this combined with the weight of the phone (which is slightly heavier than a plastic phone of the same dimensions) makes for a high quality feel when holding the phone. The sliding mechanism is great, especially as it is Motorola's first; the front panel snaps up & down with little effort (it is spring assisted) & there is a raised bump on the screen for your thumb. This makes it easily as good as Samsung & far smoother than the Nokia sliders that have been released to date. The only downside I have found so far is that fingerprints show up easily on the glass screen cover, & need to be wiped off quite frequently.

Software-wise, the idiosyncrasies of the Motorola operating system do take a little getting used to, but not to the extent that I would want to change to another phone. Certainly it is not as intuitive as Sony Ericsson's interface, & does not appear to respond to key presses as rapidly as say the Sony Ericsson k750i, however it is no slouch & is certainly very useable. I think it will be very interesting to see how the Z6 fares with the new Linux based system.

I have read of two issues here & elsewhere: one where the clock does not show up on the standby screen, & one where dust collects under the screen cover. My phone was purchased as an O2 upgrade in Feb 2007 & displays the time on the standby screen in either analogue or digital format (this can be selected in Settings->Personalise->Home Screen).

As for the dust issue, this has been happening to me - a lot of dust had collected under the display cover within a couple of weeks - perhaps because I had been using tissues to wipe away finger smudges! It is disappointing that the screen has not been sealed well enough to prevent dust getting under there, however I have found that it is very easy to clean, so I have provided the following instructions:

WARNING - DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS IF YOU ARE AT ALL UNSURE, & DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO RISK VOIDING YOUR WARRENTY!

Turn off your phone, flip up the front panel & place the phone face down on a soft surface. Use a Torx T5 screwdriver/bit (available from some hardware/electronics stores or online) to carefully unscrew the small screws from the reverse of the front panel. Do not loose these! If you turn the phone over you should now be able to lift the top of the front cover away from the display, then slide down slightly to free it from the bottom of the display. Be very careful at this point as there is a small ribbon cable connecting the front cover buttons to the rest of the phone! This can be unplugged from the display board by carefully lifting it away, you may need to use a small screwdriver to gently lever it up but in my case this was not necessary. Now use a blower brush (available from any good camera shop) to blow away the dust from both the LCD display & the inside of the front cover. Then simply reassemble the phone by following the above instructions in reverse. Voila - dust free Z3!

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Reviewer: Louise - Houghton, UK
Date: 24th Mar 2007

Wow got the phone two days ago this is amazing. Real cool phone. Love it!

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Reviewer: Ll - Ny, US
Date: 23rd Mar 2007

Hey all, this phone is totally rad, he he yeah one of my girls got it & she just can't stop bragging. I think the side kick is better but yeah I put in a good word for the excellent product.

Peace & Love

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Reviewer: Olga - Oldham, UK
Date: 22nd Mar 2007

This is an excellent piece of mechanical marvel

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Reviewer: Nathaniel - Oldham, UK
Date: 22nd Mar 2007

PERFECTION!

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Reviewer: Nathaniel Beaumont - Melbourne, Australia
Date: 19th Mar 2007

It's so good that when my friends wanted to see my phone they have gone out now a brought one also the copy-cat's, Nathaniel.

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Reviewer: Warren - Leicester, UK
Date: 11th Mar 2007

For the past 8 months I have been using a Motorola PEBL, & didn't think I would want to change my handset for a long time because it was possibly one the favourite phones I had owned.

I didn't particularly like the opening mechanism, but I could bare with it, & also the memory was rubbish.

Then out comes the RIZR & WOW!

Up to 1044MB of memory, a sleek & smooth sliding opening mechanism, flat sophisticated keypad & a brilliant screen!

The only faults I can pick with this phone are:

The camera is exposed to the elements, with no protection, however a lot of cameras are & also the bottom row of buttons can be awkward to push due to the shape of the bottom of the phone.

Other than that I can see me & my RIZR having a long & pleasurable time together!

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Reviewer: Bloopers - Atl, US
Date: 9th Mar 2007

PHONE IS GREAT, GET IT RITE NOW WHILE YOU CAN. EBay!

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Reviewer: S.J - Wigan, UK
Date: 5th Mar 2007

The phone is a well built phone, not flimsy like the D900 or D840. The Functions are basic but mostly easy to use. Like the reminder beep it gives you if you've missed a call or been sent a text. Don't like the camera though. I've seen better pictures taken on other 2 million mega pixel phones, especially on close up shots. Plus the camera lens is exposed so it can easily get scratched. Overall I'd say this phone offers good value for money if you're looking for a phone that does the basics well.

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Reviewer: Graham - Sydney, Australia
Date: 24th Feb 2007

Had a LG Chocolate for about 3 months & hated it fingerprints all over it, battery life rubbish, no speaker phone, very flimsy slider, couldn't connect it to computer. Bought a z3 slider & all my problems were solved awesome phone should have stuck with moto I am now a life customer!

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Reviewer: Dan - Cardiff, UK
Date: 18th Feb 2007

Amazing recommend to every one.

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Reviewer: Jack Goody - Bradford, UK
Date: 15th Feb 2007

Another stylish & neat handset from Motorola's design department at the peak of its powers - it will attract a lot of attention!

The features are great, but the camera is a bit of a let down because it is not tucked away safely in the slide it is on the back meaning the pictures can be blurry because of the position you are holding it.

The usability is OK, It's easy for a Motorola but quite difficult compared too many Nokias!

Overall I would give the phone 8/10!

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Reviewer: Mo - Huddersfield, UK
Date: 8th Feb 2007

This is great news for mobile enthusiasts - I even go to bed with mine it's that great! The best slide phone on the market without a shadow of a doubt. Come on all you boys & girls out there go & get one. For £139.99 at the carephone warehouse it's a deal not to be missed.

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Reviewer: Dave - UK
Date: 2nd Feb 2007

Good looking phone, reasonable battery life & call quality. Fairly good with email. Shame it won't take a standard audio jack, if the bundled USB headphones disappear then you have a bit of a problem. It does have stereo Bluetooth though. The big drawback is the appalling quality of the camera. I don't like fuzzy washed out pictures & just like my previous V635 that is all you get with this camera. It may be 2M pixel but it looks to me like the image compression used is so severe it destroys the picture quality. I first put it down to bad lens quality as I had with my previous Motorola but if you look at the viewfinder image on screen it is quite OK (indicating the lens is not too bad). As soon as you press the shutter then you can see the image blur before your eyes. If you look at the file size produced (around perhaps 200KB for a high-resolution image) it is obviously heavily compressed from the raw data. If anyone knows a way around this then let us know. Good phone, shame about the excuse for a camera. If Motorola could make a software upgrade available with the option to save raw images then that would increase this phones appeal considerably.

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Reviewer: Rachael - Hull, UK
Date: 21st Jan 2007

I did toss up whether to buy the Rizr or K1, I read the reviews on the K1 & decided because the broken screens which kept occurring on the K1 I opted for the Rizr.

Having been a Motorola fan for more years than I can remember, not including the RAZR wasn't at all happy with that, I also looked at the Nokia 7300 but opted for the Rizr.

Being a woman the appeal of the phone was the easy slide & the colour, I have the electric blue one.

The menu slightly differs from the Razrs & it took me an age to find out where the alarm ringtone was set from, this was always set from the settings & ringtones previously, now for those who don't know it is set from the alarm tone itself.

Also I was slightly worried after ringing Vodafone to find they don't list the phone as yet so was concerned about getting settings for WAP etc., no problem you download them direct from the phone.

The text function is good for me though may appear slow to others, not a big texter really.

The Bluetooth paired straight away & I like the fact that their is a light on to show your connected though this does run the battery down quicker.

All in all though a good choice & it does feel like a solid phone, the screen does go black quickly when closed but just press the menu key & any messages or missed calls show up straight away.

Hopefully this will outlast my usual six months of a phone.

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Reviewer: Ian H - Crawley, UK
Date: 2nd Jan 2007

Gorgeous looking phone, but lacking.

I got it as a contract upgrade for free. Unfortunately things trying to be cameras.

Anyway, back to the Z3. The phone is very attractive to look at & it feels solid with a metal chassis & soft-touch front & back panels. The slide gives very pleasant feedback & the impression it will last. The buttons on the display section are too closely bunched though. I have medium sized hands & often hit two buttons when trying to delete a character in a text, sending the phone into an 'Abort Message? 'Frenzy.

The interface is mostly serviceable, but not amazing. There are a few settings which are hidden away in hard-to-find places & vague menus, as though they did most of the job on the interface but not all of it. The phone is also quite slow. There's a little lag when you're texting, moving through menus & when scrolling through the phonebook, which creates needless errors during use.

Some functions are actually great little interface tweaks which save you clicks & please you with their efficiency -like deleting multiple texts: you mark them in the inbox with a tick, & the phone moves you to the next one to highlight or pass over. Others, like getting to the message inbox, are puzzlingly awkward. You can shortcut many of the phone's functions to hotkeys, but the glaring exception is the message inbox. Weird. It makes you wonder how some stuff got such great treatment & other aspects of the interface feel totally neglected.

The Z3 has repeating alarms & recurring calendar events - essential if you're going to bother adding a calendar to a phone at all; but overlooked by all but Nokia & Siemens for years. The calendar is comprehensive & clear. Good job there. Reminders play a ringtone. You get a regular reminder beep if you missed it.

Sadly the phone doesn't have a countdown timer. It's possible I am crazy since this is one of my top criteria when choosing a phone, but they're so useful! So I am going to need to go out & buy an egg-timer for cooking. It's a J2ME capable phone, so you can add little applications to it if you like, but these are usually very crummy. I downloaded several java timer apps, but all of them were pretty rubbish. The egg timer is an easier option ;)

You can assign a tone or MP3 of your choice to ring tones & messages. Amazingly the Samsung D900 limits you to about 8 message tones. Only two of which aren't hideous.

Strangely, the PC software which allows Bluetooth or USB communication lets you create folders in the data area, or on your Micro-SD card (yes you can add a stack of memory with a little memory card) but when you look on the phone you scratch your head for ages until you realise that on the phone there are no 'folders' only 'categories'. All your folders are there just not in the manner you expect & they're only navigable via the * & # keys. Weird choice Motorola. Unintuitive. Does work though. If you ever find it. Took me longer than I care to admit. A nice feature of the software is that it lets you snip sections out of MP3's & sample them down to a lower bit rate (smaller files). So you don't need to use the whole of 'Rule Britannia' as your ringtone, you can select your favourite bit. *cough*

The camera is pretty good & has an LED flash/light. The Rizr doesn't suffer the terrible lag of the D900, which takes a pic about 3 secs after you press the shutter button, unless you turn it down to 2 MPixels. It's a shame they didn't hide the lens behind the phone body like on the D900 though. The Rizr lens is there & waiting to be scratched.

The RIZR is very different to a Siemens or a Nokia. These seem to have all the functions you need, but the Rizr feels cut-down. You can take pics & listen to music. But if you need anything more functional than the calendar, you're not gonna get far here. I haven't had a chance to use the music player much. It seems OK, but I can imagine it being hard work making a playlist from a 1GB micro-SD card. The quality if fine using the bundled USB headphones (which double as a hands-free set). You can't use a 3.5mm headphone replacement here though.

The predictive text is reasonable but not entirely intuitive. It suggests words you used most recently first & learns new ones automatically. Of course if you make a few mistakes in the first few days, you'll be reminded of them for weeks to come as you type your texts & the Rizr dutifully resurrects them. *sigh* If you type a number, you're stuck in number mode & have to click 3 times to get out of it. Not so great. Then there are smileys. :) is easy to add, but ;) or :/ involves some button & menu wrestling. When you get the emote you're after the phone deletes the space between the previous word & your smiley. Uh, thanks, but pleasedon'tdothat. All in all txting isn't great, that's mostly down to the tricky delete key & sketchy handling of words when you're correcting mistakes.

The Z3 is aggressive in its power-saving. The screen goes black in seconds. You'd think it was off if you didn't know better. This is a drawback when you've missed a call or a text. There's no visual alerts at all. Oddly, you see a blue LED when Bluetooth is working, a green one when it's charging. Missed calls & texts are surely more important? Flashing the charging light would have been a great alert.

So, all in all. It's a pretty thing but it lacks brains. I've decided to stick with it rather than send it straight back, knowing I'll probably go mad & run to the shops looking for a Siemens in two weeks. I'll miss the pretty phone, but I'd rather have one that understands my needs & can respond intelligently.

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Reviewer: Sophia - Swindon, UK
Date: 30th Dec 2006

Recommended to all you YUMMY MUMMY's out there who stand outside schools with your Moto phones, this is better than the RAZR & it is the ONE to be had. Get it & see for yourself.

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Reviewer: Matthew Chang - California, US
Date: 28th Dec 2006

Hey. Just a question to those that have it. Can you set the music you add into the phone as your ringtone? Or is that now an established feature for most new phones?

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Reviewer: Tony - Oakdale, California, US
Date: 18th Dec 2006

This phone is amazing. Better ne thing I =ever had. I like it a lot. It was a christmas present for me soo I really enjoy having. But I got one lil problem. I;m starting to get dust under the screen. If ne body knows how to open it up & clean it please make a post. But other than that. The phone is the bomb.!

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Reviewer: Kevin - Trinidad And Tobago
Date: 17th Dec 2006

This phone looks great excepting the menu it's a bit old fashion.

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Reviewer: Nilla Venno - Merseyside, UK
Date: 16th Dec 2006

One of my friends has this phone & after 20 minutes of playing around on it I decided to add it to my Christmas list. I am still unsure on which colour to get, black, blue or red. The phone is gorgeous, the camera is very clear, expandable memory for more storage. Overall worth every penny.

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Reviewer: Aaron - Derry, Ireland
Date: 14th Dec 2006

This phone is an excellent choice. It boasts so many good features but the main feature as in all the reviews of the phone is the excellent quality 2.0 megapixel camera. As well as an MP3 player I have heard it has a FM Radio? is this true. I am going to get this phone for Christmas. Class.

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Reviewer: Cheem - UK
Date: 11th Dec 2006

Amazing!

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Reviewer: Kayleigh Garner - Stoke On Trent, UK
Date: 10th Dec 2006

I have had this phone for 2 weeks now, I got it from carphone warehouse for £169.99 with £15 credit on it. It's been great apart from it's froze a few times when I take a pic or edit a pic, has this happened to anyone elses?

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Reviewer: Robyn - UK
Date: 7th Dec 2006

Thanks for your review, Tundé, it really helped, I am going to maybe get this phone now after hearing all the great details! Thanks!

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Reviewer: Van Tichel - Antwerp, Belgium
Date: 6th Dec 2006

Super 100%

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Reviewer: Ry - Essex, UK
Date: 5th Dec 2006

Ppl this is a great phone, getting one for Xmas, looks nice & looks like it got good features in it, cnt w8 to get it

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Reviewer: Natalie - UK
Date: 5th Dec 2006

This phone is available NOW! From the O2 shop or website or the car phone warehouse. I would like it for Xmas so any user reviews would be great!

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Reviewer: M - UK
Date: 5th Dec 2006

When is the release date for this product?

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Reviewer: Kamran - London, UK
Date: 5th Dec 2006

Hi, for the people who didn't no, the phone is out in car phone warehouse in the UK, so now you can start buying it.

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Reviewer: Jim Bob - UK
Date: 28th Nov 2006

Please tell me the exact date it is out I really am sick of late November early December! ;)

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Reviewer: Adam - Wrexham, UK
Date: 24th Nov 2006

It is mint

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Reviewer: Tundé - London, UK
Date: 24th Nov 2006

This phone is out now in Carphone Warehouse. I picked it up for £129 on pay as you go but that includes £50 Take5 top up which brings the price to £179. It's still worth it, considering the fact that their phones are unlocked anyway! (You can of course get this phone on contract as well).

What's it like? Well the quality & feel of the phone is very impressive. I have the blue colour phone which looks much better in the flesh than in the pictures seen on the Net. It's a cool dark blue which is very nice & has caught many an admiring glance on the train into work.

It has a nice weight to it & it has the same metallic feel as the U6 Pebble. It kind of reminds me of when I first got my Nokia 8850. Those of you who had one will know what I mean! The slide mechanism is very solid smooth & well built. Of my other phones I have a Samsung D800 & LG Chocolate & the slide is way better than both of these. (They have both been consigned to the bottom of my draw now - must stop buying these phones :))the keypad is very nice to use, I think it's easier than the v3\V3i.

I have been playing with the features of this phone a lot (I've only had it 4 days) & the battery life seems to be very good so far. It's on its second charge now as I type.

The call quality is excellent as is the hands-free speaker. No complaints of people saying they can't hear you when you're driving. The camera quality is much better than my V3i but then it is 2MP. The video camera is quite good. I say this because when using it in automode at night it can blur when you move it from side to side or follow a subject. If you switch it to night mode this problem disappears!

The MP3 player is actually very good quality & can hold the bass for those of you who like bassy tunes! However the interface is still very basic in my opinion & would probably benefit from the use of the itunes software. I may see if I can down load this from somewhere.

In the box, which itself is quite impressive, you get the phone (or course! ) battery, stereo headphones, spare ear bud pads, USB cable, cd, instruction manual & charger BUT NO MEMORY CARD! The phone does have 20GB internally though. I had a 1GB mini SD card I got from CPW for £29 so I use that in the phone. This phone has the option to use both the phone & memory card as storage. So when you as looking at files for music, video & pictures you don't have to switch between storage areas.

Now this review is based on the fact that I primarily expect my phones to be able to hold a call & have good call quality. (That & the design). I am not an avid texter although the texting functionality does seem to have improved over the last generation of Motorola RAZRs. Any other features about this phone are a bonus to me as I already have a 7.1 MP digital camera & camcorder & a Sony MP3 player which can hold the bassiest of tunes.

I hope you found this review useful. If I have any more updates I'll let why'all know!

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Reviewer: Scotty - UK
Date: 24th Nov 2006

The phone is released late November/early December.

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Reviewer: Stuart Fox - UK
Date: 18th Nov 2006

What a great looking phone but when is it out in the UK?

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Reviewer: Alan - Glasgow, Albania
Date: 16th Nov 2006

Great looking phone. Motorola has proved yet again they can compete with the best. Only draw back is the release date.

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Reviewer: Edwin - Valdez, UK
Date: 2nd Nov 2006

When will this be released in the UK?

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Reviewer: Hiya - UK
Date: 7th Oct 2006

WHEN IS THIS FONE BEING RELEASED IN THE UK????



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