MOTORIZR

Motorola finally released a compact phone that's powerful and reasonably priced--very similar to the KRZR but in a candy bar form factor. Like Samsung phones, the RIZR has a non-standard port for charging the phone or connecting an ear piece or a USB cable to your computer.

The Moto RIZR Z3 packs a lot of functions into small dimensions--about the size of a Nano Ipod--touting a brilliant, colorful screen and very loud and clear speakerphone. The music player loads slowly and is simplistic, but the sound quality is superb through the speaker on the back of the phone or using an ear piece.(Distortion occurs when using the speakerphone on phone calls.)

The 2mp camera/camcorder sports a light for indoor shots but is hampered by a 1X zoom lens. You'll get your best shots typically outdoors, although the phone has control settings under options. Running on T-Mobile in the San Francisco Bay Area, signal strength and call quality is excellent, even indoors, the RIZR showing full signal strength much of the time. This is not always the case with T-Mobile on other phones. Battery life under normal usage is good (3-4 hours) but drains quickly when you use Bluetooth to transfer files to-and-from a computer.

The supplied USB cable permits easy media file exchange by dragging files from window to window. But if you want to sync your contacts, calendar and notepad with Outlook, for example, you'll need the latest version of Motorola Phone Tools. (For some reason, the RIZR will not sync if you have either media edition of Windows Vista or XP.)

The voice button on the right side of the phone easily and accurately allows making calls or opening applications by speaking a number or name in your phonebook or giving a command to start an app. The RIZR lacks an email client, unfortunately, although Phonescoop and other mobile phone site reviews claim it exists. The keypad is stiff like a RAZR making texting harder.

If you're planning on accessing the Web, get a good pair of eyes. The type size is very small. T-Mobile re-arranged the T-Zones home layout screen with a search screen at the top and three small tabs underneath for WEB, DOWNLOADS and MY ACCOUNT. If you use the T-Zones menu to read news, sports or check the weather, the text is larger and very readable on the RIZR's screen.

Downloading with EDGE technology is slow. As more users acclimate to 3G and EVDO networks, EDGE will increasingly appear sluggish. Mechanically, the slider is smooth and easy to push up and down, but the left and right edges of the center D button, larger than most Samsung, Nokia and Sony-Ericsson's, is very close to the T-Zones and Clear buttons. If your finger gets too close, you may unwillingly cause the phone to jump to an unwanted screen.

Finally, despite this very attractive phone with its blue and black finish, the screen appears smudgy and needing cleaning. So keep a small cloth handy. All-in-all, the Motorola RIZR is a well-designed, powerful mobile phone with excellent features for its cost--$99 with a one year T-Mobile contract or around $200 without a contract on eBay. If you want a compact multi-media phone with a good camera lens, music player and excellent sound and reception, the Moto RIZR is an excellent choice.