CNET Editor's rating: 8.0 out of 10
Reviewed by
Kent German
Review date: 04/16/08
Release date: 04/01/08
The good: The Motorola Z9 has a sharp design, a generous feature set, and satisfying music and video quality. But most of all, its call quality is outstanding.
The bad: The Z9's 3G performance was variable. Also, its photo quality wasn't as sharp as it could be.
The bottom line: The Z9 may not offer anything new but it's a fine cell phone in all regards. It offers an attractive design, a great feature set, and superb call quality.
For the past two years, Moto has been under enormous pressure from many camps (us included) to come up with something completely new. So when we first held the new Motorola Z9 for AT&T, we were a bit disappointed that it doesn't stray very far from the company's Razr-heavy past. Indeed, it has a familiar look in many ways. It has the same shiny mahogany color as the Razr2 V9, it shares similar dimensions, and the bright 262,000-color display is almost identical. So while it's all very pretty, it's also very Motorola.
Yet, the Z9 is a phone that warrants a closer look. During the few days it was sitting around the CNET offices, it won praise from quite a few people--even from one of the most serious gadget enthusiasts we know. It also has a solid and comfortable feel when held in the hand, and the slider mechanism is sturdy without being stiff. Inside is a generous feature set including 3G support, AT&T Navigator GPS service, a digital music player, stereo Bluetooth, an Opera Web browser, a 2-megapixel camera, and Moto's nifty CrystalTalk technology. It's somewhat expensive if you pay full price ($399) but you can get it for a very reasonable $149 with service and applicable rebates.
Design
As we said earlier, the Z9 is easily recognizable as a Motorola phone. In fact, it almost looks as if someone took the Razr2 V9 flip phone and squashed into a slider design. Though some have taken issue with the mahogany color, we quite like it. The hue is a nice change from the standard black and silver, and it certainly makes the Z9 stand out in the cell phone crowd. The bright, vivid display is a sight to behold. It measures 2.4 inches (320x240 pixels) and supports 262,000 colors, so it shows just about everything well, from graphics to photos to text. You can change the brightness and the backlighting time. The menu interface is generic Moto, unfortunately. It's fairly easy to use, but we're hoping for an update soon.
The Z9's navigation array is dominated by a large Razr-like toggle with a central OK button. It's surrounded by a tactile silver ring, which makes it easy to use. The remaining navigation controls (two soft keys, a Web browser shortcut, the Talk and End/power controls, and a Clear/back key) are flush, without any clear separation between them. Yet, a closer look will show that they're not touch controls; rather, they offer a tactile "push" feel and a soft "click" sound when pressed. They're also covered by tiny silver bumps that are similar to the Motorola Rokr E8. The bumps are a nice addition as they allow us to use the controls by feel.
The keypad buttons have a similar design except they rest on a slippery, reflective surface. That can be an issue for fast texters, and we would have preferred a brighter backlighting. Another problem we noticed was that the area surrounding the 5 key had a bit of a "bounce" feel to it. It made us wonder about the keypad's long-term capabilities.
Yet, with little plastic in its body, the Z9 has a wonderful, firm feel in the hand. It's particularly comfortable to hold against the ear while talking, and the slider mechanism has a great construction. We could easily open the phone with one hand, and it slid solidly into place on either end. Also, at 4.48 inches by 2.41 inches by 0.55 inch and 4.93 ounces, the Z9 is very portable.
The Z9's memory card slot is located behind its battery cover next to the SIM card.
The camera lens and flash sit at the top end of the Z9 on its rear side. Unlike some other slider phones, you don't need to open the handset to use the camera. The remaining controls are a volume rocker and a music shortcut on the left spine and a camera shutter on the right spine. Though the side controls are small and thin, they offer the vibrating feedback that we saw on the V9. Just above the camera shutter is a microUSB port for the charger. Included in the box is an adapter for miniUSB devices.
The microSD card slot is located behind the battery cover. Though that's not the most ideal location, we're glad to see that you don't have to remove the battery as well.
Features
The Z9 is packed with a wide assortment of features that should appeal to basic users and multimedia fans alike. It also offers a couple of firsts: it's the first Moto phone to support not only the AT&T Navigator but also AT&T's Video Share service.
As a 3.5 phone, the Z9 supports AT&T's Cellular Video service and AT&T Music. The former application offers tons of streaming video content, while the latter offers wireless music downloads. Click on the links for full reviews of each service.
The music player (WMA, AAC and MP3 files) isn't too fancy but it offers a few useful features including playlists, shuffle and repeat modes, spatial audio, and bass boost. The Z9 also brings a solid selection of music-related features such as support for XM Radio Mobile and Pandora, music videos, a Music ID application, a Billboard Mobile channel, and a community section with access to fan sites and downloads. And for further multimedia fun, the Z9 has MobiTV, My-Cast 5 Weather, and a special mobile version of the Internet Movie Database.
The Z9's camera offers a flash but no self-portrait mirror
The 2-megapixel camera takes pictures in four resolutions (1,600x200, 1,280x960, 640x480, 320x240) and three quality settings. Other camera settings include self-timer, five shutter sounds with a silent option, five lighting options, six color tones, exposure metering, and an 8x zoom. Fortunately there's a flash, but with no self-portrait mirror, vanity shots will be tricky. Picture quality was decent but not without its flaws. While our images were mostly sharp with adequate lighting, the color weren't very bright. Also, some smaller objects could be blurry. The camcorder shoots clips with sound in three resolutions (320x240, 176x144 and 128x96) and three video quality settings. Videos meant for multimedia messages are capped at 30 seconds; otherwise, you're limited only by the available memory. Internal storage is a decent 45MB but you can add a microSD card for more space. And as with all Moto camera phones, a convenient meter tells you how much internal memory is available.
The Z9 offers good photo quality.
Basic offerings include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, a calendar, an alarm clock, a world clock, a calculator, a speakerphone, and a voice recorder. On the higher end, you'll find stereo Bluetooth, voice dialing, e-mail, and instant messaging. Also, you can use the Z9 to send voice messages directly to another cell phone.
The Z9's phone book accommodates a generous 2,000 entries (the SIM card holds an additional 250 names). Each contact holds six phone numbers, three e-mail addresses, a URL, three street addresses, a nickname, and a birthday. For caller ID you can match callers with a photo and one of 25 polyphonic ringtones and alert tones. Three caller groups are available as well.
You can personalize the Z9 with a selection of ringtones, wallpaper, color skins, themes, screensavers, and function tones. More options are available for download through the Opera 8.5 wireless Web browser. Gamers get demo versions of four titles: Lumines, Scrabble Blast, Tower Bloxx, and Super KO Boxing. You'll have to buy the full versions for extended play. And for your business needs, the Z9 offers a Mobile Banking application.
Performance
We tested the quadband (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; WCDMA 850/1900) Motorola Z9 world phone in San Francisco using T-Mobile service. Thanks to Moto's CrystalTalk feature, the handset's call quality was very good, particularly the volume level. In fact, it was the best we've heard from an AT&T phone in a long time. The noise-canceling feature automatically adjusts the sound level to compensate for the surrounding noise. We could hear our callers with no trouble even outside on a busy street. Voices sounded natural as well and we encountered no interference or static. We also had no issues getting a signal.
On their end callers said they could hear us fine. In fact, at times they couldn't tell we were using a cell phone. On a few occasions callers said we sounded a bit tinny, but that was far from a universal assessment. Automated calling systems understood us most of the time, but we encountered more trouble if we were in a noisy environment.
Speakerphone calls weren't quite a satisfactory. Though calls were clear, the volume level could be rather soft unless we stood close to the phone.
The Z9's 3G reception was solid for the most part, but we wish the connection was more reliable. While some Web pages and videos loaded quickly, others took noticeably longer. There didn't seem to be a pattern to the performance but it definitely varied over the course of our test period. Videos were quite decent. We never had to pause to rebuffer, and none of our videos froze while playing. Of course, videos could be a bit fuzzy, but that's not surprising for streaming media. All videos are Real Player enabled.
Music quality also was agreeable. Though the main speaker is on the Z9's rear face, it does have powerful output and clear audio. The music experience was even better when using a headset. Also on the audio side, the sound matched the speaker's mouth in videos.
The Z9 has a rated battery life of four hours talk time and up to 13 days standby time. Though the standby time is respectable, the promised talk time is relatively low for a GSM phone. According to FCC radiation tests, the Z9 has a digital SAR
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Excellent phone quality, good calendar functions, useful navigation
I have used a few PDA's and prefer the Z9, as it is smaller, lighter, and I would rather ...
I have used a few PDA's and prefer the Z9, as it is smaller, lighter, and I would rather have a useful numeric pad than a keyboard. The cost for internet access is also half the monthly cost than that of a PDA.
The phone has very good audio quality and volume (a plus if you are in a noisy environment, or you have some high frequency hearing loss). I really like the ability in the calendar to do relative scheduling (i.e. a recurring appointment on the second Tuesday of the month, etc.). The navigator function (Telenav) is a tad slow to initialize, but quite usable and useful.
I don't use the music features, and don't do much texting, so I can't comment on those aspects.
Unlike some phones, the alarm function works even if the phone is turned off. - Useful in traveling!
I highly recommend this phone if you primarily use it as a phone, as a calendar, to read email (not to write lengthy emails) and for navigation.
Updated Under "Cons" I meant to say "Is there a way to open email attachments?" The email itself works well.
8 out of 10 - Excellent Great phone, bad battery life
I like the phone for ease os use, camera quality is good, sound is good, but the battery life is ...
I like the phone for ease os use, camera quality is good, sound is good, but the battery life is just not as good as I expected from Motorola. This is my 4th Motorola phone, and they have always exceeded my expectations, until the Z-9.
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by pvsandee (see profile) -
May 29, 2008
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 out of 10 - Perfect Alternative to iPhone
I had a Motorola 555 that I upgraded with a Razr V3xx. Loved the look of the V3, but the ...
I had a Motorola 555 that I upgraded with a Razr V3xx. Loved the look of the V3, but the window on the front was tiny and hard to read. Forty eight hours later, I bought the Z9, and am very pleased. (See the Pros above.) We know the iPhone is in a different league than the average, even above average, cell phone; however, if you don't use the features the iPhone has such as iPod usage, and frequent trips to the web, then maybe the Z9 is exactly what you need. It's solid, with many automatic features. One small example: when your caller has hung up, so has your phone . . .no need to fiddle with it. Check your battery level? Say: "Check battery," and a pleasant female voice tells you the status. For calling anyone in your address book, say: "Call (person's name) bingo your call goes through. Yes, it has the web, camera, music, and GPS if you need 'em. The sound quality always attracted me to Motorola, and the Z9 has outstanding quality and volume. CNET says a 10 rating is utter perfection. Well, if the Z9 does everything I desire, and I have no negatives, then . . .why not. Z9 is a 10!
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by Arnie Warren (see profile) -
April 14, 2008
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
7 out of 10 - Very good Pretty Good Phone
The Z9 is an OK phone, Not bad but not anything New or inovative from Motorola (think V3 RAZR) The "...
The Z9 is an OK phone, Not bad but not anything New or inovative from Motorola (think V3 RAZR) The "new" Crystal Sound from Moto dosen't seen to be that noticable, the volume is better than My V3 Razr, Motorola (for some unexplained reason) decided that you can only download MP3's for ringtones that are 300KB or less, this equates to about a 14-16 second clip. I have no Idea why they did this but it limits what you can use for ringtones a lot. The usual supplied ringtones are pretty bad. They also couldn't leave well enough alone with the USB connector, they went with a micro instead of a mini, not a big deal, and the phone comes with an adapter from micro to mini, but the micro usb connector cover on the phone is very cheap plastic that looks like it will most likely break off quickly. The Slide works very nicely, and feels sturdy, AT&T Navagation is a little iffy, and I am not sure it's worth $10.00 a month. Overall the phone is pretty nice, camera quality is OK the flash is not an automatic flash it is just a light you can turn on or off manually, kind of a dissapointment there. If the Z9 were priced any higher than it is it would not be a good buy, a little high priced for basiclly a slider version of a RAZR.
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by PAC-FL (see profile) -
July 2, 2008
I have used many phones and this has to be one of my ...
Received and began using 4/14/08
I have used many phones and this has to be one of my favorites, up there with the Sony Ericsson T616. Previous phones used: Samsung Sync (SGH-A707), Motorola RAZR V3, Sony Ericsson S710a, Sony Ericsson T616, Sony Ericsson T68i
Now on to what I like about this phone: The sound quality is excellent. Wonderful either to the ear or on speakerphone. I hear no crackles or echoes like in my previous phones. Now I'm not sure why the Editor reported the sound on the speakerphone as "soft" unless close to the phone. I had the phone on a desk and stood a few feet away while talking to a co-worker and he came in loud and clear. He also seemed to hear me fine too, of course I'm sure in a noisy environment it would be a bit harder to hear or speak via speakerphone. The speaker seems rather large and the back plate has two little bumps raising the back of the phone up on a flat surface for sounds to go out.
I love the way the phone feels in my hand. It's solid not flimsy (the LG shine came off as such even thru it is a solid looking phone). When it slides out or pops back in, it doesn't feel like it will fall apart. It also slides easily and can be operated with the thumb. I really didn't like the little buttons ("silver bumps" in lieu of regular buttons) at first on the phone but after of week of using the phone it's really not bad. Once you are used to it it's not that hard to use and very tactile for me. I don't really care for the haptic feedback since when I press it all it does is just vibrate the phone. Now the only thing that is kind of annoying is that the section behind the charging port is kind of creaky. When I have the phone slid out and I brace my index finger on the right side of the camera behind the charging port and press buttons it creaks. Not sure if anything can be done about that because well the port is right there.
Now the screen, what is not to like about the large 2.4" screen with 262,144 colors. It's crisp and bright. Watching video on the screen is nice.
My Bluetooth headset, Jabra BT8010, synced up easily and smoothly. Music sounded clear and loud. Now when I was waiting on hold to call up AT&T the sound seemed a little fragmented but I'm unsure if that was the cell signal causing that or the headset connection. Straight music to headset was clear and crisp.
Out of the box the phone was easy to use and quick for setup. admittity I did have a RAZR before so I'm familiar with the interface, but even through it is very straight forward and everything is where I expect it. Menus moved smoothly so the interface was not slow (like my s710a).
The phone uses micro USB, now not as good as using a mini USB as I would like to consolidate my chargers (my car looks like a switch room with cat-5 running everywhere) but it comes with a Micro to mini USB adapter which is a pro. I tried using the packaged adapter on a mini USB charger I have with my Tom Tom and it did not seem to work and charge (and the brief time I got it to charge it turned the phone on when I had it off). I'll investigate it further but thought it was was odd. Cool minor thing is I can hook up the phone to a Pictbridge printer and print from it. Thru allowing it to do that requires navigating the phone's menu to change the connection type (Media Sync makes it appear as a hard drive, data connection for communication with Phone Tools, Memory card to make it a card reader and USB printing for Pictbridge).
Now on to what I dislike about the phone: Well the above mentioned creaking behind the charging port.
Fingerprint magnet with all that metal and glass. I am worried about scratches on the glass but I always stick only some sort of protectors on my screens anyways. I kinda dislike that rubberized backing because I worry over time and use it'll rub off (especially on the two bumps on the back plate for the speaker I previously mentioned). My friends KRZR had this and she mistreats her phone and neither the glass or the "rubber" seemed to be worse for wear. If you are as picky about keeping your phone as new as me then I suggest investing in a case.
Now the first day after I charged it and with minimal use I had no loss of bars up to the third day. But I began using the phone the third day more and began playing around with putting video on the phone and it seemed to fade rather quickly. Now when I started playing full on videos (converted to the 3gp format) it seems to drain battery like crazy (1 day).
I also dislike support via Motorola's website and the book that was provided. I wanted to find more specifications on the phone along with details like type of video, applications supported and it's kinda bare from both. The manual seemed show more importance on how to use the multimedia features like Cellular Video, AT&T mobile music and such (guess it's the way it's gonna work, since these are probably huge money makers for AT&T and so they are more important than understanding how to use the phone).
Now the one thing that irritates me and which I loved about my Samsung Sync is the alarm feature. Like many people I know I use my phone for an alarm. The Z9's alarm app is no different than my RAZR, no planning for the week, weekends, different times, etc. It's turn on/turn off, what time and tone.
I also have a gripe on the photo viewing on the phone. It takes pretty decent pictures and has a nice (and extremely strong) flash but viewing photos is awful. You can't zoom or rotate.
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by mysterieagain (see profile) -
April 22, 2008
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 out of 10 - Perfect Impressive, slick designed phone.
Years ago, I used a Motorola V400 when it was first introduced to Cingular. That phone had its good points, ...
Years ago, I used a Motorola V400 when it was first introduced to Cingular. That phone had its good points, but this one puts those earlier Motorolas to shame. I had since moved on to the Cingular 8125 PDA smart phone.
It has been a rather interesting transition from the PDA phone to this one, namely in the available features and manipulation of phone programs. I didn't utilize the 8125 as it should, which is a work-oriented, email writing/checking machine. From what I've seen, the Z9 is great for reading and accessing emails but obviously isn't designed to be its chief operation.
I like slider phones, and this one has got to have one of the best sliding features on any of the AT&T phones. I didn't like the small size of the Samsung A737. The LG Shine is a nice phone, but my wife has the Red one and I prefer not to have the same phone as she does (we both used the V400 for a year or two before she migrated to the RAZR and I the NGAGE QD). The shine is also somewhat annoying when trying to slide it open, as it doesn't have a lip like the Z9 does to push it up and have it snap into place. I personally was going to get the Shine until I saw this phone.
As a music player, this phone is better than most I've seen. It definitely exceeds any of the default programs on my 8125. I've only put a few songs on the phone, but the sound quality is very nice and I enjoy prowling the menus and still being able to listen to music.
It is definitely thinner than the 8125 but still has some weight to it, though it's not terrible.
The camera takes great pictures, and the video is nice as well, though I don't use video that often.
I think the biggest change in the two phones is the call quality. I couldn't believe how crisp and vibrant my wife?s voice was over the phone. Even with her headset on, I could understand her clearly and not be bothered by the background noise as I was with the 8125. What's more, my wife quickly noticed the sound of my voice being more crisp and louder. I didn't slur words together anymore, or fade out at the end of my sentences (I honestly have no idea what was wrong with the person who ranked this phone with an abysmal. They obviously never used an 8125)
My only real complaint is that I'm tired of the endless features these phones are starting to come with where you're automatically connected to the internet. I don't use the internet on my phone, nor do I want to dish out the extra 20 or 30 bucks for unlimited data transfer. I have a big thank you to AT&T for sneaking in buttons easily mistaken for other programs to push a few additional charges for my carelessness.
The memory card is also a pain to get out once it's been pushed into the reader. Either my fingers are too fat to really get a good grip and push it out, or they didn't make it easy enough to get a finger on the card to pull it out. I tried, and it's not a spring loaded click in click out setup.
Overall, I'm very pleased with this upgrade in phones and I recommend this phone to anyone looking for a nice, sleek phone with great call quality and excellent pictures.
Oh yeah, it doesn't feel like it will break in your hand or drop it either. You don't find many phones with this feel anymore.
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by kreed1228 (see profile) -
April 18, 2008
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 out of 10 - Perfect BEST PHONE EVER IT DOES EVERY THING
IT DOES WHAT ALL OTHER PHONES DO IN ONE I WOULD USE THIS PHONE FOREVER IF I COULD.EVERTHING ON ...
IT DOES WHAT ALL OTHER PHONES DO IN ONE I WOULD USE THIS PHONE FOREVER IF I COULD.EVERTHING ON THIS PHONE WORKS PERFECT I LOVE THE MP3 PLAYER THAT IS BUILT IN IT IS BETTER THEN MY OLD SONY ERICCSON W580I.IF I WAS YOU I WOULD GO BUY YOURS TODAY YOU WONT BE SORRY I KNOW ALOT ABOUT CELLPHONES AND BY FAR THIS IS THE BEST PHONE YOU WILL SEE IN YEARS.
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by jasonblock79 (see profile) -
April 17, 2008
10 out of 10 - Perfect Best I've Ever Owned
I LOVE this phone. I see that it's very hard to get. I went into an at&t ...
I LOVE this phone. I see that it's very hard to get. I went into an at&t store near my neighborhood and they didn't have them in stock. I called the next nearest at&t and they had ONE left. I rushed out and claimed it. This phone's call quality surpassed my cordless home phone. The voice on the other end is crisp and clear. My callers tell me my voice sounds likewise. Motorola's call technology is very impressive. Let's face it, the most important feature in a cell phone is reception, signal strength, volume and clarity! It's a PHONE first!! I love the color. The LCD screen is crisp and sharp. The keypad is very firm and grippy feeling. This is a great phone, and, in fact, the first one that I'd be happy with for more than a few years. I held a friend's BLACKBERRY in my hand and it feels so cheap and unimpressive next to THIS phone. I did a voice clarity/call clarity A-B test with his BLACKBERRY and the Z9 and Motorola won with ease. My friend was VERY impressed. I'd recommend getting one of those thin plastic LCD covers for this phone, just to make sure the screen doesn't scratch. I've also ordered a leather case to keep it in; not the kind that stays on all the time, just kind of a "pouch" type to carry it around. The phone is much too beautiful and feels much too good in the hand to hide it forever in leather. Oh, one caveat; I mentioned in the CONS about the text messaging. Once you figure out that you scroll up or down to the next appropriate "letter" with the round up-down-right-left wheel in the middle, it gets a lot easier. You can't do the ordinary "number of times you press the number" mode of texting with this phone. I was trying to do it that way and it just was NOT working. The instruction manual doesn't explain well enough just HOW to do it!! I had to do the "trial and error" way until, finally, I tried that toggle up scroll UP and voila!! The letters changed in that space! Once you get used to it, it's fun. I do a lot of texting and for awhile, thought my phone was defective. Not. This is a FABULOUS phone. Get one, IF you can find one. I had to pay full price (399) since I wasn't eligible for an upgrade for another 15 months, but, it was WORTH it. This is a phone you can enjoy, love, and live with for years. I rate it so high because, for me, it IS perfect!!
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by Bruce1215 (see profile) -
July 9, 2008
9 out of 10 - Spectacular USER NEEDS HELP
I'm trying to find a phone of this quality that has the message logs of all three: Missed, Dialed ...
I'm trying to find a phone of this quality that has the message logs of all three: Missed, Dialed and Received. I have an old 6230 and want the same features. These logs are invaluable in business. I can't find knowledgeable people anywhere...and thought of the cnet population!
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