7. Motorola Unveils Video Editing and Interesting new ROKR Phones

Citing a ’seismic change in how people communicate,’ Jeremy Dale, Motorola’s Corporate vice president of marketing announced new phones that would fit the needs of ’Generation C, a generation of people that doesn’t know the world without networking.” The model Z10 is a phone that Dale said would enable the user to do ’filmmaking on the fly.’ The ROKR E8 was described as doing MP3 better than MP3 players.

The Z10 phone features a 3.2 megapixel camera and can take still photographs at up to 3 frames per second. As a video recorder, the Z10 can shoot movies at a full 30 frames per second. Equipped with 2 GB of RAM, with the addition of an 8 GB memory chip, the phone can store a full 24 hours of video.

Video editing software is also integrated into the phone and enables the user to cut and paste video scenes, apply transitions, add audio files, and save complete videos. The phone is also capable of automatically uploading completed videos to preselected sites.

A 2.2" QVGA display enables the user to preview and edit videos captured by the camera. The phone can also display downloaded content. The Z10 is ruggedly built, featuring a metal case. A feature that Dale called a ’kickslide’ enables the screen to slide over the keys, allowing for more compact storage.

The Z10 is powered by Symbian software. It supports multiple cell phone formats, including GSM/GPRS and EDGE.

Saying that ’this is the first time morphing technology like this has been deployed,’ the Motorola ROKR E8 features a glossy black front panel that has no physical buttons. When turned off, the phone does not display a keypad. When turned on, key images are displayed beneath the plastic surface. When the phone is used as an MP3 player, the telephone keypad disappears and is replaced by the images of the MP3 player controls. Because there are no buttons to press, the user would normally get no feedback after pressing the keys. However, Motorola has engineered tactile feedback using haptics technology. When the user touches the surtface where keys are displayed, a small vibration beneath the key that feels to the user as if a key has actually been pressed is generated.

FastScroll technology lets the user quickly scroll through thousands of songs. The phone has 2 GB of memory built in, and can accept up to 4GB of additional storage. In case the many thousands of songs that can be stored in 6 GB aren’t enough for the user, the phone also includes an FM radio. Songs can be transferred through the phone’s miniUSB 2.0 jack.

A 3.5 mm standard headphone jack, and the ability to broadcast bluethooth stereo give this phone a wide range of playback options. Describing most MP3 experiences using headphones as sounding like music is ’playing inside your head,’ the ROKR E8 features new technology that makes the sound created by the earbuds ’seem like they are coming from outside the ears,’ Dale said. The listening experience using the ROKR E8 ’is a better listening experience than with a normal MP3 player.” Both devices can also be used as phones.

Both phones are expected to begin shipping in 1Q 2008. Pricing was not announced.