Motorola E398 review: A small stereo jukebox

The same as before

As for organizer functions, the phone is standard equipped. Calendar is well arranged; it shows monthly and daily views, allows users to set start of a day and it can erase expired records automatically. It features the same functions as the previous V600 and V80 models. The same comes for alarm clock and calculator.

Monthly and weekly calendar view • entering an event

The Motorola E398 features a build-in VGA camera, which allows snapping with maximal resolution of 640 x 480 pixels, and offers also max 4x digital zoom. The integrated flash on the backside brings up possibility to light up the taken scene.

Captured pictures can be stored on the 64MB Trans-Flash memory card, which is included in the package. The camera lens is quite embedded into the phone and therefore is hardly accessible for cleaning the dust.

Camera settings • taking a picture

It's possible to connect the phone via Bluetooth or USB cable. You can also use USB cable to record e.g. new sounds on the memory card. Motorola E398 supports GPRS class 10 and features WAP browser, supporting version 2.0.

Sample photos

So small and so loud

The phone includes entertaining functions - three games and one video file in MP4 format - a Motorola blurb. Most interesting is the possibility to play MP3 music files. As I already mentioned, the phone is equipped with an excellent sound installation. Playing music is enjoyable with Motorola E398: the sound is pure and bright, dynamic enough, and if you wish, it could be loud enough to listen to in a car or among a group of people.

Motomixer • playing MP3 • playing video

Another entertaining Motorola E398 feature is also connected with music. The function is called club lights and is the same as the function integrated in the V80 model. Basically, It's an adjustable sensitivity to vibrations, which makes keypad, display and side colour LEDs blink at every vibration over the sensitivity limits. So if you have set the sensitivity e.g. to 1 (which is a maximum), your phone will brightly blink to the music rhythm. Funny, isn't it?

Active club lights

Club lights settings

Interesting thing

Due to the featured good display, camera and integrated functions, Motorola E398 comes among high-class mobile phones. If we close one eye for the speed, add the very good design (except few details) and mainly stereophonic sound, the result is a really good phone.

The phone will be sold most probably by T-Mobile and on the open market. For testing purposes we got T-Mobile's design version, which environment options are different - for example the t-zones key below the display. The key probably won't be available on the open market version phones and it'll be sold with the menu key only.

Pros and Cons

+ Excellent sound
+ Nice display
+ Design
+ Light effects

- Speed
- Back cover creaking
- Headphones connector