Motorola MOTORIZR Z6 slider phone

An update of the RIZR Z3, the upcoming Z6 has a glossier shell and lets you sync with Windows Media Player; no 3G, though.

Design

We weren't too thrilled with the original RIZR Z3's dull shell and stiff sliding action, so we were pleasantly surprised by the Z6's cool, black glossy finish (which is, of course, a magnet for fingerprints), and the phone slides open with a smooth, springy feel. We also liked the bright, detailed display, which showed no sign of a screen-door effect. Otherwise, the phone looks pretty much the same as its Z3 bretheren, with its flat, RAZR-like keypad. The RIZR also felt relatively light in our hand.

Features

The big news with the Z6 is its ability to sync with Windows Media Player 11 in either Windows XP or Vista, which means you can copy over the playlists you created on your PC as well as an DRM-protected music files. You can also transfer you tunes via USB 2.0, a nice change from the poky transfer rate of the USB 1.1 ports you'll find on most U.S. music phones (no word on whether you can transfer music via Bluetooth). You can store you songs on a microSD card (up to 2GB) or with the onboard 64MB of memory. Meanwhile, on-the-go snappers can take photos with the 2-megapixel camera. The quad-band Z6 is good for world-wide calls, but the phone only has EDGE data access -- no UMTS or HSDPA, disappointing for anyone looking to download music.

Pros:
Syncs with Windows Media Player; nice glossy finish; smooth, springy slider action; sharp display

Cons:
No 3G support

Conclusion:

Motorola's update to the RIZR Z3 boasts a glossier finish and greatly improved slider action, and music aficianodos with copy-protected tunes will love the ability to sync their music with Windows Media Player. That said, we're pretty bummed that the RIZR Z6 is EDGE-only (as is the Z3).

Specifications

Quad-band GSM/EDGE
2.0 megapixel camera
Syncs with Windows Media Player
USB 2.0
microSD memory expansion
Stereo Blueooth

Price and availability

The Motorola RIZR Z6 is set for release in the first half of 2007; pricing and carriers have yet to be announced.
1/13/2007 10:51:24 PM
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