UK 3G Mobile Phones - Motorola RIZR Z8 Review (MOTORIZR Z8)

Your Motorola RIZR Z8 Reviews

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Reviewer: James - Plymouth, UK
Date: 6th May 2008

It all started out so very well! In terms of looks it's stunning with a quirky little kick out slide thing. & it's got that cool thing about it that not a lot of people have it. Exclusivity. However these things go away. & boy do they go away quick. For example, if, you actually have friends & ever get more then say 500 messages stored in your inbox & outbox the entire phone slows down to such a pace that by the time you open a text telling you about the party, its already done. & then the natural reaction to this is delete your messages but this takes so long & is so drawn out it almost defeats the whole point. Battery life is awful. A day. That's tops if charged over night from dead. Oh also the cool kick slide function as before mentioned gets warn very quickly & in my case has developed a squeak. You can't set the wallpaper without it disappearing when you change the profile & then not reappearing again even when you go back to the previous profile.

The camera is useless, the flash is worse, the buttons are ergonomically very hard to use especially for text & the media player is good when it decides it wants to play both audio & video together which is, at best rare.

So please don't get this phone. For looks yes its very swish but it's not so swish to be stood there endlessly removing your battery & rebooting your frozen mobile, which believe me you'll get very good at if you buy this phone.

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Reviewer: Guy Johnston - UK
Date: 29th Apr 2008

Software crashes a lot, camera is rubbish, not good for a texter, the slider wears away at the buttons too & the screen is scratched easily, overall not a good phone.

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Reviewer: Phil Dean - Devonport, Australia
Date: 14th Apr 2008

It was a great phone for 2 months then it hit the fan, it wouldn't switch on, when connected to charger it got to MOTO screen then green & purple etc screen then recycles. Tried another battery same thing. It was such a great phone trying to get it fixed under warranty but have to send it back to Hong Kong as brought online so here is hoping. Maybe get another brand & model. What a pity such a great phone.

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Reviewer: Mlp - UK
Date: 29th Mar 2008

Phone looks great & has a lot of good features but that is where the good things end. The battery lasts about a day at most (is even the same with a new battery).

It keeps freezing & needing to be turned on about 3 or 4 times to work & then the battery has gone down about 50%. Sometimes it won't charge. If it runs out it won't charge long enough for it to come on because it just goes off again & on other occasions it just will not charge or will just charge for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Quite often the phone will give me a red, then blue, then green, then yellow screen & then just refuse to come on or charge for about a day. If you need to have your phone on for longer than about 3 hours or about 1 hour if you are using it, DO NOT buy this phone!

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Reviewer: Ash - UK
Date: 20th Mar 2008

I Have Had This Phone Since August. It Looks Great, But the Features Are A Disappointment.

Has Anybody Found That the Text just Stops Working?
After A Master Reset, Change Of SIM, Centre Number. The Phone Just won't Send Texts!

It Is So Annoying! Grrr.

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Reviewer: Anthony - Montego Bay, Jamaica
Date: 18th Mar 2008

I just read all the negative reviews for this phone. Yet I am still going to buy one. I just ordered one & I will be getting it by mid June, (remember this is Jamaica, we don't do things in a rush), so all you folks look out for my review.

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Reviewer: Wayne - UK
Date: 20th Feb 2008

HEY all you lot are good at slating the phone why did you not read the reviews before you got it? & the phone is a cracking bit of kit I have had mine about 8 months from Vodafone & have not had one single problem with it, OK the text is a nightmare but other than that I reckon you should buy it.

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Reviewer: Martin Heelam - Stockport, UK
Date: 13th Feb 2008

This phone is ace. Anyone who cannot use it properly is not being fair.

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Reviewer: Mandy - UK
Date: 1st Feb 2008

The camera is rubbish the battery runs down to quick it is not as good as Nokia & Sony Ericsson phones.

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Reviewer: Disappointed - South Africa
Date: 28th Jan 2008

On the whole, worst phone I've ever owned. The design is brilliant & the features excellent, but this device is a dog. It crashes all the time, slow & generally not a device to be relied upon. Multimedia functions are no consolation to the consumer if you can barely make & receive calls or send a text.

Piece OF JUNK, don't WASTE YOUR MONEY.

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Reviewer: Jonnie - London, UK
Date: 23rd Jan 2008

Yes, it looks good. Yes, you'll like that slidey bendy thing for a week or so. Yes, it's got Matt Damon on the box so you can pretend you're a spy & forget your mundane existence for a while. But, tell me this, what would happen to a spy if he had to press about 100 different actions to send one text? What would happen to a spy if he had to make an emergency call to a contact in a split second & he had to search through 3 different address books to find them? & what about when he was in a tight spot being pursued by some KGB spin off & really needed to call base but could only look up one number as it was jammed & he had to reboot? He would be killed of course. If you want to just look at it then buy this phone. If you want to use it, then don't, you will end up with stress sores.

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Reviewer: Hayden - Wisbech, UK
Date: 2nd Jan 2008

The design is brilliant although it crashes all the time. Sometimes you have to switch it off & then back on. But sometimes it won't charge anymore, so you have to contact Motorola & have a word with them. You pay £400 & you would expect it to work well! Although I love the phone & I am going to give it one more chance.

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Reviewer: Nick - Manchester, UK
Date: 26th Dec 2007

Fantastic design phone battery is diabolical & it crashes all the time. Vodafone keep sending me a new one & still having the same problem. Then I have been told to switch 3G off what is that all about the phone is supposed to be 3G friendly it's designed for that. So I am going to sell my phone & I have decided to get the Nokia 8800 Sirocco Gold. My advice, don't get this phone its rubbish.

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Reviewer: Sandy - UK
Date: 17th Dec 2007

Well this phone looks great, has a great screen & that's about it. I don't know how a phone could be so bad in this day & age.

Buttons are all horrible, hard to press, never do the right thing, just BAD. VISTA software, well their website claims it doesn't exist. It's a 2007 phone it should work with 2007 software, of course if you hunt the net you can find a fix.

Predictive text, it can't get words like hot or got or any other small word, gives you strange words & words that you do not find in the ENGLISH dictionary. For some reason it displays complete gibberish as what you put in, spend a few minutes scrolling down the other gibberish, you might find the REAL word you are looking for.

I quite like the slow charge from usb on phones, you can charge of your laptop when you're out & about. NOT WITH the Z8. For some reason the slow charge will only last 1 minute & then stop its self, this isn't to good, cause if your phone is totally flat, you can barely get enough charge to turn the thing on, when it does come on, the slow charge stops & so does the silly phone.

The reception seems worse, camera poor & Symbian phone with absolutely no software to make it worthwhile. Why are people giving this phone high marks, the only thing it does is look good & I really don't care how it looks if underneath it's rubbish. Oh yeah my nice Bluetooth earphones, don't connect anymore, doing everything the same as before.

Basically this is the worst phone I have ever used. Give me back my Nokia 6310. This was an insurance replacement because K800i is not in production any more, I have one month until my contract ends then I am going to get a k850 straight away, it's a phone built by people with brains.

Final Though, Motorola Z8, don't get, its rubbish & it's designed & built BADLY & 5% Usability is TOO MUCH TO GIVE FOR THIS THING.

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Reviewer: Spatz - Hull, UK
Date: 30th Nov 2007

I work for Motorola & I am given the Z8 as a backup to my Motorola Q9H, which is amazing by the way, no one should be using anything other than the Q9H if you need a business Blackberry type device. Unfortunately times I repair the USB driver, reinstall the pcsync software & check the FAQ etc, so gave up.

The menu is clearly based on archaeological hieroglyphics that only Howard Carter could possibly understand. Having had MOT phones for 10 years I stupidly assumed I had seen ever possible incarnation of menu. NOT.

After struggling away for an entire day on trying to work out how to, make a call or text, (you know the basics! ) I went to sleep feeling positively pleased with myself. BUT when I woke in the morning, I found that the Nokia & Samsung gremlins had visited me in the night & rendered my Z8 completely unusable. I now have a constant flashing screen that refuses to respond to any button or even removing the battery. There is no hardware reset so I am left with a lovely looking strobe light! & don't even get started on the manual which is even more unreasonable than the menu itself. This thing is an evil pointless device that should be avoided at all costs.

OH but yeah the box is beautiful & I am sure that watching the Bourne Identity is great. Now where's my CV.

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Reviewer: Frustrated - Uk, UK
Date: 30th Nov 2007

This phone is just like my ex wife. Very beautiful, but total rubbish & it will go where she went, out of my life. I have had it for 2 weeks & it is long enough. At least she lasted 5 years.

Why can I not give it a zero rating? 5% is too high for this junk. STAY AWAY from this PILE of JUNK.

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Reviewer: Fred - Belfast, UK
Date: 30th Nov 2007

Design is good for designers, the kind of people who live on another planet. It looks good, but is an absolute N-Series of options, some of which are only in the manual but not on the phone, & then it does not save the picture, for that you have to go to another menu to show options & then click save. Which imbecile designed the system?

You want to copy contacts from the SIM to the phone or vice versa? Brilliant, it is well laid out on the manual, problem is those options that the manual so eagerly describes are NON EXISTANT on the phone. What a load of crock, what a load of rubbish. Try charging via your computer's USB with the provided cable. Zilch, does not work.

This phone is not just a turkey, it is a dead turkey & it's not just a lemon it's a rotten withered lemon. DON'T BUY IT. & all these after I was so eagerly looking forward to receiving & using it. Never again Motorola & Never again O2.

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Reviewer: Joe - Cardiff, UK
Date: 2nd Dec 2007

No major problems as such, think a lot of the problems in your reviews are to do with different batch & firmware releases of the phone. Having said that I went onto contract August 2007 initially with a Motorola v8, 2 weeks later wife went on contract an was given z8, she found same as a lot of people the phone was a nightmare to use so we swapped. Apart from the odd freeze which requires a battery removal (3 times in last 2 months) I find the phone OK, sometimes the applications do take a while to catch up with the button presses, but that's a minor niggle as for phone getting hot or the battery not lasting I have had no problems.

I find the mobiclip player a bit pointless though the only film that plays on it is the Bourne Identity that comes with it, all videos that you make will only play small screen & not full screen unlike with the V8 after a single button press. Format: MP4, Video Bitrate: 384, Audio Bitrate: 128 & Res: 320x240. I have found if you use these settings when converting a film then on playback using the media player not mobiclip then it automatically replays in full screen mode, using approx 2 meg per minute of video at 30fps giving a good crisp picture & sound for viewing (I used clonemdy or nero recode).

As with any new product there is a learning curve, I think the release may have been a bit rushed, hopefully the software niggles will be sorted out with flash upgrades.

Where as the wife now gets on great with the v8, so easy to use big buttons big display & very user friendly. Having had both if they mixed the functions of both the phones they would be onto a winner, I miss the voice recognition software & voice dialing of the v8 (which was amazing) I can't wait to see if the new z10 is any better, but for now ill be sticking with the z8.

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Reviewer: Joel Folkesson - Broby, Sweden
Date: 29th Nov 2007

It is really good. Movies, broadband & a lot of other applications & it works great with Mac :D.

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Reviewer: Drew - Inverness, UK
Date: 26th Nov 2007

I was looking around for a decent phone & I'll be honest, looks were a big factor in this. I wanted one that looked good, could make calls, could send texts & had a camera. That was all. I actually prefer the clamshell design phones so I was surprised when I saw this one & knew I had to have it. Great pictures on the screen, easy enough to use & looks fantastic.

I have no problems with it EXCEPT form time to time the phone doesn't go into locked mode meaning I have to switch it off then on again. Also, sometimes the on button doesn't work so I have to remove & reinsert the battery (which powers it on). Minor issues really but ones that niggle.

I don't know if I'd recommend this phone as I don't use it to its fullest extent but it does the job for me.

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Reviewer: Dean - Southend, UK
Date: 12th Nov 2007

4 phones since September isn't a good sign & my latest replacement is terrible too. I have given up sending the phone back because it's the same every time. The phone is OK for a couple of days & then it starts to freeze, buttons don't work the movies play with no sound & the phone is so slow. Would recommend not buying this phone I have gone back to using a Samsung D500.

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Reviewer: Rahmat - Jakarta, Indonesia
Date: 7th Nov 2007

I want to know the price, somebody tell me please:), love you all!

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Reviewer: Scott - Scotland, UK
Date: 6th Nov 2007

Got this phone August 28th 2007. Now on my third one. Screen keeps freezing & overheating. Won't be taking another one. Worst phone I have ever had. O2 say they have no complaints, I think they are good at telling porky's! What's the point in having a contract when the phone is no good? Think I'll be seeing out my contract & going elsewhere. Wonder what they'll do if it causes a fire in someone's house?

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Reviewer: Karl - Leicester, UK
Date: 30th Oct 2007

Yes that's right 5% usability. I was so looking forward to getting the Z8 as it was by far & away the nicest looking thing around & was packed with fun. I have now had it for 3 months & it has been in for repair for half of that time. Battery keeps dying, phone keeps freezing, for which I have to take the battery out to turn it off, I get a purple then blue then red & then black screen before it freezes again, keep having to restart the phonebook to find numbers, I am going to university soon just so I can learn to work the menu system LOL! Have gone back to using my old Nokia while new Z8 is being sent (can't wait. ! )

PLEASE DON'T BY THIS PHONE, IT IS RUBBISH.

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Reviewer: Mark - Northern Ireland, UK
Date: 29th Oct 2007

Great looking phone but it is a real pain, never works when you need it, phone hangs, reboots & freezes, also heats up. Took it back to Vodafone shop in Ballymena, (for second time) he stated that because I did not have the box he could not exchange it even though Vodafone do not sell this new phone any more.

My advise is stay clear of this phone & stay clear of Vodafone in Ballymena, service is not an option in this shop.

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Reviewer: Darren Jones - Wrexam, UK
Date: 27th Oct 2007

THIS PHONE LOOKS GOOD BUT I TELL YOU DON'T BUY. CRACKS START TO APPEAR ALL ROUND SCREEN Motorola don't WANT TO KNOW.

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Reviewer: Richard Lebel - Soton, UK
Date: 27th Oct 2007

Absolutely the worst phone I have ever bought, its battery life is terrible the thing crashes all the time, & the key pad size is poor.

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Reviewer: Sam Clark - Birmingham, UK
Date: 26th Oct 2007

Don't get me wrong it looks great the vision of the movie is brilliant & the sound is good too but I have a grade a version of the phone because I got it the day it came out & I have never owned such a shocking phone. I have never owned a Motorola phone before & never will this phone is absolutely terrible keeps restarting when I answer phone calls & also for no reason the screen flashes different colours then restarts so angry : (.

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Reviewer: Big-allan - Edinburgh, UK
Date: 25th Oct 2007

I have always owned Motorola mobile phones as trusted the quality etc. the quality of workmanship of my Z8 is rubbish. Very disappointing. Where is the Quality Control? Why are the phones checked for software problems before being shipped for use to customers?

The 1st Z8 I had lasted only 2 days. The screen went blank when turned on. I was given another Z8 from O2 store & this has software problems also after just a few days. Now it's been sent for repair because O2 store wouldn't replace it as I didn't have the box. The 1st phone was changed without any box at the store. So please note that the O2 Ocean Terminal store will not change any mobile phone without the box it came in. Lolsssss. Excuses, excuses.

In regards the using the Z8 Motorola should have kept to the same format as the V3. Example when you text it's not possible to go into your contact list & add phone numbers to your text mess. Or is this a software fault? My V3 I had before seems more reliable than the Z8. New Technology. More Problems. But where's the Customer Service from Motorola in regards the inconvenience of the Z8?

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Reviewer: Malcouk - Sheffield, UK
Date: 21st Oct 2007

In your review of the Motorola Z8, you make no mention of the fact that it is not possible to view full screen video other than through Mobiclip or did you find some way to do this.

Be very pleased to know. I cannot make my phone contacts & sim contacts available together & stay together. Anybody know how?

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Reviewer: Terence C - Northern, Ireland
Date: 19th Oct 2007

When I first saw the phone in my local O2 shop I couldn't wait, I was due an up-grade & rushed to get the Z8. Looked the best phone on offer. That has changed now having the phone 2 months. It's heavy. Very slow response to any button press. It locks up or turns itself off most days. Can't get Bluetooth to work properly. Can exchange pictures or default video but not music clips I have. & within the last week the phone won't keep a charge. Put it on to charge at bedtime & take it with me in the morning & by lunch time its dead & it hasn't even been used. The software that comes with the phone only works with the latest & greatest PC's not built for a 2 year old PC. I've had it to long to send it back but it's going for exchange of same type now to see if battery & better. All in all. Can't wait till the year passes & I am due my next upgrade.

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Reviewer: Rod Parker - Edenvale, South Africa
Date: 18th Oct 2007

Overall a very good phone. Battery life is questionable though. The apps that come with it are lacking. Can't set the time zone for Pretoria or for that matter any African country.Must agree the launch was rushed.

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Reviewer: Hendri - South Africa
Date: 15th Oct 2007

Wow this is a nice phone. I just love the phone!

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Reviewer: Armitage Shanks - UK
Date: 4th Oct 2007

Well my V3 died the other day & the wonderful O2 sent me the z8 as a replacement. Man it is awful, straight out of the box it doesn't work. It is currently stuck in a cycle of powering up & then powering down. I can't even keep it on long enough to dial a number. Add into the mix the fact that the menus are very complicated I cannot even get into them before the thing shuts down. It is an unmitigated pile of rubbish - never thought I would say this but I am looking forward to getting my old Nokia 6210 out as a replacement until O2 send me some more Motorola rubbish.

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Reviewer: Jade - Luton, UK
Date: 4th Oct 2007

OK I can comment fairly on the Rizr Z8, it is a great looking phone but it has been a little rushed by the developers as many people are having design issues with this phone. I have no problems with my phone & I am honestly very happy with it, a good phone for the price but if things were not rushed so much it could be perfect & a unique Moto phone.

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Reviewer: Nik - UK
Date: 3rd Oct 2007

Absolutely not good - hangs, sticks & needs constant reboot. I never normally write in but this phone is rubbish. Looks good & that is about it.

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Reviewer: Chris M - Reading, UK
Date: 1st Oct 2007

Hi all I got this phone & it was terrible I MEAN BIG TIME it looked the business but as soon as I turned it on well, it didn't LOL, that was a good start then got the thing on & it was good but when I got on the video camera it would freeze & I would have to pull the battery out.

The music didn't skip but that was me being a Muppet you have to go on: playlist>options>play.

So I guess you want to know why I said 100% 100% 95%, well I sent it back & now I have the same phone & I love it. They have changed the settings on it & the phone rocks!

BUY ONE TRUST ME! Oh if anyone knows how to put films on to micro SD cards or what software I need, please advise.

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Reviewer: Jpd - Canada
Date: 30th Sep 2007

Got the phone last week but the service guys have had it longer than I have, they are setting up Internet & stuff because a normal person can't, same as MMS & email. Unlocked! Freezes, programs never have an exit button so they are always running in the background which makes memory run out the camcorder mode screws up in recording your video from time to time, nice flash & camera though. Love the screen no voice recognition for phone calls with Bluetooth, lame. I love Moto's, cheap & functional & look great. This one looks amazing, not so functional & wasn't too cheap. Kind of like the V3x most Moto 3G phones feel plastic & cheap & lack in the working well area.

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Reviewer: Jini - Singapore
Date: 28th Sep 2007

Does this phone have GSM support? Is there any way of inserting a sim card inside it? Otherwise, this phone looks great. But typing sms is an ordeal.

By the way, your applications never exit until you reboot the phone. So, you might have to reboot your phone often if you have opened too many applications & the phone is running out of resources.

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Reviewer: Simone - Cradley Heath, UK
Date: 27th Sep 2007

Rizr Z8 is a good phone.

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Reviewer: H. Corbett - Manchester, UK
Date: 22nd Sep 2007

I have had this phone for 2 days & it's going back! It looks smart (although a little on the large size), & that's the only positive thing I can find about it. I had to put the battery in & out 3 times before it would charge for the first time. Not a good start!

Tried the movie, but the battery on a full charge isn't adequate to watch it from start to finish! The controls are very complicated, it's all folders, in folders, in folders. AGHH! The button to connect to the web is in a daft place, far too easy to press by accident, & the bulky bottom makes texting very awkward.

I can't wait to get rid of this thing!

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Reviewer: Nathan Hodges - Kidderminster, UK
Date: 21st Sep 2007

HAD THIS PHONE LESS THAN 24 HOURS & IT CRASHED TWICE & YOU COULD ONLY ACCEPT INCOMING CALLS ON SPEAKERPHONE.WHILE IT LOOKS GOOD & HAS LOTS OF FEATURES IF THEY HAD ACTUALLY BOTHERED TO SPEND TIME ON MAKING the PHONE WORK PROPERLY I WOULDN'T OF HAD TO SMASH IT TO BITS & POST IT BACK TO O2.
PLEASE PEOPLE NEVER BUY THIS PHONE AS IT'S TERRIBLE!

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Reviewer: Dale - Staffordshire, UK
Date: 21st Sep 2007

Design is awesome - the phone looks & feels beautiful in your hands & it's a real eye turner, on seeing it everybody wants one - & who could blame them! The features are great - its feature packed with featured features galore. Great camera, great MP3 player, great everything! I had one of these as my upgrade from O2 on a 2 year contract & I am now on my 3rd handset in 6 weeks - not my best decision & here's the why:

- Phone turns itself off regularly.
- Phone just starts to burn up - getting hotter & hotter & this just sees all battery power within an hour or so. I was actually SCARED that the phone would spontaneously combust getting so hot & I would end up with burns to my legs - seriously, so much so that I refused to keep it in my pocket!
- the menus take forever to navigate, it takes about 4 button pushes to open a text.
- the phone freezes for no reason.
- the phone required complete reset to restore around 6 times.
- the software has as many bugs as the phone has features.
- MP3 Player- I wanted to use the phone & wireless headset as an MP3 player - wireless stops me pulling my headphones out. How David Beckham uses one I don't know!
- the Bluetooth handset needs reconnecting every 2 or 3 tracks as the phone keeps disconnecting itself. When you try to reconnect once the device is paired it won't let you & you have to delete the device & start from scratch.
- the phone errors for no reason with the message 'general error' which causes it to freeze & you have to physically remove the battery to get the phone working again.
- the phone errors telling you the memory card has been removed, when it so definitely has not been, & refuses to play anything.
- When you are listening to the music, the slightest jolt makes the track you are listening to skip (like CDs used to) - so if you want to use it walking or jogging, just forget it, it's so annoying when you are using the music to motivate - in the end I stopped using it, & put up with nothing, making me less stressed!
- Camera is annoying as there are 2 cameras & one button, & depending on how you have the phone (open or closed) depends on which one you get.
- Finally the buttons are too close - when typing a text (which takes forever because of the strange predictive text method they use - which by the way doesn't save any new words)if you want to go back across text you've typed you have to go forwards first, otherwise it delete what you've typed ! On top of this pressing the delete button in text mode 9 times out of 10 results in you pressing the back button, saving your text to draft.

All in all a very disappointing phone. I've wanted one since they were first in Stuff magazine. Quite frankly I wouldn't recommend it, unless you are able to put up with massive frustration & very patient. I am a driving instructor & don't have the patience for it! LOL!

Hopefully the manufacturers read great sites like this & listen to their customers - so Motorola if you are reading this, then please make sure you sort all of the glitches & put out a phone that works properly, believe me with a phone as sleek as this one, punters will wait an extra couple of months to get one - rather that than have so many returns & unhappy customers, it's almost like they just thought 'Hey it sort of works, & people are expecting it, better just put it out & see what happens'.

I am sorry Motorola but mine is coming back on Wednesday for the 3rd & final time, I am not prepared to try it any more, as the phone is not yet fit for purpose. I am swapping mine for a Samsung U600 - had Samsung the last 3 times, & they've always served me well.

If you do get it sorted MR Motorola then please come back & I'll give it another try - until then, other phone manufacturers learn from Motorola's mistake & if it isn't working, delay the release until it is!

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Reviewer: Sarah - Surrey, UK
Date: 14th Sep 2007

Awful! I love Motorola's, but will be sending this one back asap, & I've only had 4 days. It managed to hold a charge for all of 3 hours today, having been charged overnight. When it is re-charged, the time & date have reset themselves. The screen locks on one colour. Watching films? Ha! You'll be lucky to be able to make calls & send texts!

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Reviewer: Paul - UK
Date: 13th Sep 2007

Good design with a few flaws, almost too many things on this phone - making it difficult to find your way around. Looks great but the tilt/slide is a pain - not smooth & sometimes you have to help it close, using both hands! It is also a little on the large side.

Big problem is transferring files - don't ever change a file or folder name using you PC - I did & the card became corrupt. Having sorted that, I started to experience messages telling me that programs were closing - for no apparent reason.

Had to re-boot several times, after it started to close down during calls, I decided enough was enough. The phone stayed with me for less than a week. Promises so much but fails to deliver on the basics. Now got a Sony Ericsson W580i & this is FAR better.

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Reviewer: Chris - Stockton On Tees, UK
Date: 12th Sep 2007

The z8 is a great phone but Motorola have made a good phone shame the menu isn't like Samsung nice & easy simple to use part from the menu & it's rubbish battery life it is a really good phone, I have had this phone for about 3 weeks & its crashed bout 5 times the memory on the phone is okay but it best to get a memory card for it.

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Reviewer: Idris - Batley, UK
Date: 9th Sep 2007

I like the way its sliding & Power SWITCH best PHONE ever I have seen full 100%.

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Reviewer: JML - UK
Date: 5th Sep 2007

I love this phone. I am going to buy it but I am going to wait a bit to see if it comes out in a different colour because although I gave it a 100% for design I think it is more of a boys colour.

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Reviewer: Emma - UK
Date: 3rd Sep 2007

The only good thing about this phone is that it looks stylish but I still find it tricky to use because of its design. I had the phone for less than a week & in that first week I had a fault with it as the screen wasn't working properly.

Also the phones manual is terrible as doesn't tell you how to watch films or how to use the zoom on the camera. I had to end up ringing Motorola themselves & asking them! I also found that the screensaver would go off very quickly which I didn't like. I didn't find this phone useful at all & I am now getting the Nokia n95.

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Reviewer: Snake - UK
Date: 1st Sep 2007

I waited weeks for this phone. Bought one eventually, had it for 3 days, what a nightmare, worst phone I have ever owned. University education required to get through the menus, do not touch with a barge pole. Gone back to my beloved Nokia N95.

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Reviewer: Tim - UK
Date: 31st Aug 2007

Not that much better than the z3.

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Reviewer: Ram - Northwood, UK
Date: 25th Aug 2007

Hi Folks, I got the z8 2 weeks ago & found it would always crash, re-boot & generally be a pain in the bits!

However good news after fettling with the setting it is working fine no more problems, go figure!

This phone really is a multi media giant, great screen & sound very easy to use too. The z8 is also very sleek looking & beautifully crafted to my hand.

Battery life is excellent, this phone is pretty close to perfect for me & would recommend the Motorola Z8 to anyone, best phone I have ever owned so go & buy it.

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Reviewer: Trev - Doncaster, UK
Date: 24th Aug 2007

This phone is a must not.

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Reviewer: Simon - UK
Date: 21st Aug 2007

I got this phone 5 days ago, this is what I said after 3 days:

'I knew I should have got a Nokia'

I seriously CAN'T use it! Nokias are now my favorite phones because they are so easy to use, they have good features & most of them have a great design too.

This phone has a good design, amazing features, but I was let down by its usability,

Overall, this phone is bad.

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Reviewer: Martin - Inverness, UK
Date: 17th Aug 2007

The phone has many great features which you can already read about in the phone specification. In summary, I am pleased with the phone.

1. The battery will last a long time compared with others unless you continually watch movies & play games etc (common sense? ).

2. It is awkward to text at first because of the design of the phone. If you spend longer than a day with it you will get used to the feel of the phone (common sense? ).

3. The phone will run slowly or 'crash' if you get a bit too excited & try running a game, listening to music, texting, downloading things via Bluetooth, watching a movie & surfing the net all at once! OK so that is an exaggeration. I KNOW you can't do all those things at once in theory let alone practice but my point is that people see all the features on this phone & expect it to be a faultless. Calm down folks! It's just a phone!

Anyway, having addressed these criticisms of the phone I would like to say that I've had mine for about two weeks & I find the Internet capabilities off this mobile second to none. The MP3 player is very good & easy to synchronise with your PC provided you read & understand the instructions. I have watched a movie on it which was the Bourne Identity. It came free with the phone & to be honest the picture is very good. The supplied wireless headphones are amazingly good quality. The battery still had two bars left I think after it had finished. It has a camera both on the front & back which is quite handy I suppose. It will play MP3 & other sounds loudly via the built in speaker. The ringtone volume is capable of being nice & loud so no worries about not hearing it & missing a call unless you're at a rave or something. It plays all the modern formats as you'd expect so you can find your favourite realtone & have it blast out whenever you get a call. Oh yes & you can pay a little extra & get SKY TV on it whilst you are on the move but I presume this is only available in 3G covered areas & the like so I've not bothered to get it due to working in remote locations.

There's a lot more I could say about this phone but I can't be bothered. If you like it just goes see it in a shop, ask for a demo or something, there's no obligation to buy. But if you do then you can come on here & whinge about how rubbish it is or rave protectively about its superiority!

Anyway good phone!

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Reviewer: Mike - Nottingham, UK
Date: 16th Aug 2007

This is the first non-Nokia I've had & after being let down by 3 E65's I thought I'd ditch Nokia. How wrong I was to do so!

This is by far the worst phone I've ever owned. Don't get me wrong it looks great it sounds amazing & feels excellent, but usability is 5%.

It crashes all the time, put itself in offline mode, doesn't recognise MP3 artists, drops calls & the battery life makes it unusable. I was getting a day out of it if I didn't make calls. Talk time about 60 mins then kaput.

It suffers the Nokia disease of poorly tested software, WHY do they release this phone so early? I was told by the rep when returning this Motorola rushed this phone out.

Pros: the Bluetooth headphones are amazing! The phone won't stream music to them for more than 3 hours though before the battery goes.

Overall: Needs new battery & Software.

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Reviewer: Char - London, UK
Date: 16th Aug 2007

Although the phone isn't bad, I liked the design etc, it has some serious faults. I have had 4 in the last 4 1/2 weeks & they have all broken with the same fault, something happens to cause the screen to show only one solid colour & that is it, the end of the phone. So be aware. I will not be taking another.

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Reviewer: Robert Conoway - US
Date: 16th Aug 2007

This is what I call a brilliant phone because the design is really cool & the memory is better than a rubbish Sony Ericsson.

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Reviewer: Lauren - UK
Date: 15th Aug 2007

I loved this phone. That was until it broke. The design is good though a little flimsy in places & the Motorola software has greatly improved when it is in full working order. HOWEVER, I must point out that after less than two weeks of ownership the Z8 decided to reset itself now & again. & then when someone sends me a message. So, naturally I sent the handset back, hoping the replacement would live up to my original expectations. Unfortunately new Z8 did when I turned it on was turn itself off. Then reset itself. Then turn itself off. You get the picture.

All in all, VERY disappointed. Was expecting big things from Motorola & have now settled for a Sony. Oh well.

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Reviewer: Danny - London, UK
Date: 8th Aug 2007

Had this delivered 2 days ago, very hard to use on the go. Looks nice but after having Nokia's for years I can't convert to the Motorola, texting is hard work & accessing phone book is the same, don't recommend!

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Reviewer: Simon - London, UK
Date: 8th Aug 2007

Oh my gosh, I can't believe how negative some of the comments on here are. I've been a Nokia man from the 3310 to the N80 (a Sony K800i & W880i Walkman in between) but this phone kicks them all into touch. Okay, if I was just a texter & talker I would probably go for something a little less cool & a lot more basic. This phone plays full length movies on a 16 million colour screen in at least 320x240 size! What more do you want? Music? No problems, I find the media player more than satisfactory & since I bought a 4GB memory card I can have 10's of movies & 100's of songs on it at one time (a movie is approx 200meg when reduced to size - something you can do with downloadable software). It comes with two sets of headphones: the standard wired version & the wireless S9. The wireless ones do not work so well outside but who cares, you have the wired ones for that. I watch movies at work using the S9 so if I do need to move from the small, yet brilliant, screen I can still hear what's going on. Internet is easy & quick. The interface is basic, even for someone coming over from Nokia. The camera has no autofocus which is a shame. If you're new to Motorola you have to learn a slightly different type of predictive text but that's a small price to pay for FULL LENGTH MOVIES!

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Reviewer: Fubar - UK
Date: 7th Aug 2007

I have had this phone for nearly a week now-True it is an awesome phone. I picked this phone for its looks & because of its OS Symbian. In the past I have had two Nokia N95's, Sirocco, K800i, Nokia 6300, HTC touch & various other models but this has to be the best all round phone out of all of them. Yeah the camera could have been better but hey if I am that hell bent on taking decent pictures I'll invest in a digital SLR!

Let me clarify one thing-I have had not one problem with the software sticking/hanging etc & have not had to restart the phone at all, the battery life is pretty decent & when I put 3GP video clips on it they look amazing on the HD screen.

The phone itself is quite bulky & the keypad certainly takes some getting used to but the kicker action or RIZR should I say works perfect, especially at night with all my mates about & I open the phone & the keypad glows like iluminous green-awesome.

My only real serious problem with the phone is that when it asked you for your SIM pin if you leave it for a few seconds it continues to boot itself up & proceed to the home screen. Now you can't make any calls but you can still access all your texts & media etc without entering your SIM pin! -serious breach in Symbian security, not too sure if Motorola have noticed this but if someone stole your phone, then the very pin code you set up to protect your personal info doesn't work people have access to everything about you & your info!
Anyway this is phone that has to be tried for yourself, if you're on a contract great-get the phone if you don't like it send it back. I bought mine outright SIM free-so far best investment in the mobile market.

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Reviewer: Alex S - London, UK
Date: 2nd Aug 2007

I had a Motorola RAZR V6 which died after only 6 months & was sent off for repair but could not be fixed. Under my insurance, I was then offered a range of new phones, the Z8 being one of them.

I admit, loving my gadgets, the movie on the phone appealed to me as did the curved feature when it slides open & the screen quality, & so I chose it. What a mistake! Within a few days, this new phone didn't work either - it just kept switching itself off, for no apparent reason, so I faithfully took it back to the shop & obtained a replacement Z8. Now, 8 days later, this one is not working properly either, the software jams, making you need to re-boot it at least 2-3 times per day.

The battery life seems to have a mind of its own & is full one minute & low the next & overall, it does not last long. The menu is better than the one on the V6 but is still cumbersome & you can't press one button to go to Home - you have to come out of all the sub-directories & it still is not particularly user-friendly. Sometimes when I go to my contacts, they aren't there & I have to switch the phone on & off for the phone to pick them up again from the SIM card.

As a woman, I don't have particularly large hands & even I found the keys cumbersome - some of them you have to press really hard when typing in a number or text message. I am really disappointed with my experience of 2 Motorola phones & will be looking for an alternative manufacturer. My overall opinion is that it looks great & the screen is amazing but the overall performance of the phone is abysmal.

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Reviewer: Ash - London, UK
Date: 26th Jul 2007

I am a gadget freak & confess to really liking Motorola phones. Even when just about everyone was criticising the 'non-intuitive' menu system (like that of the RAZR) etc - however - after a long period of anticipation on my part, I FINALLY got my hands on the Z8.

What an appalling phone.

No I mean really, it's shockingly poor. Cheap in looks & feel. The keypad was terrible, particularly for texting - the 1, 3, 7, & 9 keys needed a gorilla strength finger to press & the center keys a butterfly could've operated - not good. Plus it just looked like a thin, flimsy, cheap sheet of plastic. OK, I guess it was really.

Then there's this 'symbian' menu. What's going on with mobiles at the moment - everyone seems to be trying to convince us that this 'symbian' menu is the latest thing & is the way forward [just because it sounds 'cool' & 'scientific' like it's something from Star Trek]. Or is it because it's the only interface they've had time to cobble together to work on a new platform? . Because it feels that way - talk about non-intuitive & CLUNKY? ! Goodness, I actually had to READ the MANUAL! (shocking).

Anyway - I could spend all day talking this poorly finished handset off - in summary:

- Battery life = TERRIBLE
- Keypad = very poor
- Operating system = slow & prone to hanging (requiring frequent reboot - & YES, I'd switched off all the plug-ins.)
- User interface = nowhere near as customisable as previous ones & ludicrously over-complex for even the simplest of operations. Too many keystrokes to perform simple tasks.

Basically I had this phone less than a week - & I REALLY tried to like it.

I am keeping my Z3 & waiting for a Z6. Then I'll probably try the iphone - as it'll no doubt be unlocked by then.

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Reviewer: Guy Guata - Israel
Date: 24th Jul 2007

This is a great mobile phone, the best.

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Reviewer: Matt - Bolton, UK
Date: 22nd Jul 2007

Awesome Phone but Sony Ericsson should have made it. I am not very keen on the features of Motorola's but this phones slim sleek look might change my mind. The 1st HD phone.

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Reviewer: Reed - San Francisco, US
Date: 19th Jul 2007

When does this phone come out in the US & if it is already out can I just buy one online from like Europe & will it work?

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Reviewer: John - Newbury, UK
Date: 19th Jul 2007

Definitely a nice looking phone that stands out from the crowd in today's mobile market, however good looks alone can't make up for the disappointing user experience.

The keyboard is quite difficult to text from as the buttons are so close together, plus the 1 2 & 3 buttons are close to the bottom of the slider when its open. There is no real tactile feedback when you press the buttons.

I have noticed a lot of software issues, which Moto really need to address (or perhaps it's related to the Vodafone Network?) When sending a text, if you use the insert smiley function, the text program crashes & the text is lost. I have had the contacts file deleted twice now with no warning. The menu is very clunky. For example there is no quick way to back out of a menu option once you have made a change. You have to keep selecting back to get to the top of the menu tree (even after you have closed the slider, when you reopen it's at the last menu point. There is no way to change the menu structure so that most used items are at the top of any list. The phone does not work with any of Vodafone's live streaming services such as You Tube & most TV functions.

It's a first edition of a new phone, but I would have expected Moto to have at least sorted out the menu system & made it more user friendly. I am going to change phones as soon as I can. 4/10

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Reviewer: Sam - Brome, UK
Date: 19th Jul 2007

This phone is good, I love it to bits. Best phone ever.

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Reviewer: Ajc - Manchester, UK
Date: 17th Jul 2007

The phone itself comes in an arty box, very trendy, but if you've got hooves for hands fiddling about is a pain. The design is swish & comfortable to use, but I can't get over the fact that the phone is designed for the young trendies & misses out in key areas. The op sys is more complicated than the V3X (previous phone. The manual is a bit like a Harry Potter novel, never really finishing what it set out to expl