Motorola ZN5

• y
• yank
• iBt
• 26 May 2010

DARMOND(Malaysia), 09 May 2010hi there guys...where can i buy this phone??i'm from malays... morewell if can you buy it ,look for that in internet to ibey this cellphone is very cool try it

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• J
• John
• kGb
• 20 May 2010

Terrible lag at times, useless WiFi, buggy battery indicator (no charger, it shows 3 bars, plug it in, it shows 1).

After a while, I would have calls and kept pressing answer but the phone lagged so bad I couldn't even answer and had to call people back.

It's ok for pictures and light users, but it'll drive you mad texting.

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• Z
• Zn5 user
• mu3
• 19 May 2010

Destiny, 07 May 2010I bought zn5 around 3 months ago. about camera really2 dis... moreYou're really a blind, how can you say that a poor K800 can beat zn5, eventho zn5 beats clearly phones like n82,k850,c905,pixon or whatever.

I am sure that you've never owned a Zn5, that's why you're just talkin bullsh*t.

• Reply

• j
• jejemon
• UD%
• 19 May 2010

Destiny, 07 May 2010I bought zn5 around 3 months ago. about camera really2 dis... moreset it to low light on.

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• j
• jejemon
• UD%
• 19 May 2010

Anonymous, 18 May 2010One of the best exteriors of any mobile fone ever, in terms... morei am running google maps via wifi no problem.

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• ?
• Anonymous
• NH}
• 18 May 2010

One of the best exteriors of any mobile fone ever, in terms of materials, build quality and design. But really louzy software. Has anybody managed to run google maps on this. I tried and failed. In fact it dosent seem to run a lot of javas very well, but it is absolutely gorgeous!

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• D
• DARMOND(Malaysia)
• TKb
• 17 May 2010

fmoto : thanks for the info

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• F
• Franz
• Re2
• 15 May 2010

i don't like the zoom that it has

• Reply

• f
• fmoto
• Kx5
• 13 May 2010

DARMOND(Malaysia), 09 May 2010hi there guys...where can i buy this phone??i'm from malays... moreI bought it in Indonesia with IDR 220 M about 4 months ago. Try to look at Tekka in Little India Singapore. There's a famous phone store there. I usually hunt phones on that shop.

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• f
• fred
• LKn
• 13 May 2010

um, wanna know...what's video recording resolution?

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• D
• DARMOND(Malaysia)
• IWH
• 09 May 2010

hi there guys...where can i buy this phone??i'm from malaysia but i heard motorola malaysia and singapore are closing down..do they have it in thailand or indonesia????plz state the price for the phone also..tq

• Reply

• D
• Destiny
• PFx
• 07 May 2010

Whos intruder?
This my right
I say what it is
So what?

• Reply

• Z
• Zak
• u}P
• 07 May 2010

Intruder detected..

ZN5 rock
i tried use silence 7 mod firmware. the phone has better display interface, and it can change with various phone theme..

silence 7 actually based on OER firmware
love my ZN5
best camera at the sunlight, but not the best at dark condition, but thanks it has xenon flash

• Reply

• D
• Destiny
• PFx
• 07 May 2010

I bought zn5 around 3 months ago.
about camera really2 disappointed for me.
K800 more2 better than this one to take photos in the dark place if compare by display.
Im not blind,my friend,somebody else also said like that.
Zn5 totaly blur and video recording very2 bad.
Sony ericsson minimum now 15fps QVGA/MP4.
Zn5 only 15fps QCIF/3GP.
Far far away
Ive plan to sell my zn5 but everyshop phones would not accept bcause its rarely interested persons.
So this is my destiny

• Reply

• R
• RishiGuru
• t@J
• 06 May 2010

I am a music aficionado & give a lot of stress to the audio sound quality of a handset. I have personally tried different handsets from different manufactures like Sony Ericsson, Nokia & Motorola. But when it comes to PURE SOUND QUALITY nothing comes close to Motorola.

I will try illustrating by giving an example:

Think you are the boss in an office where three women are working under you.

1) Extremely beautiful lady who cannot do her work properly: Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson renowned Walkman series phones have an exceptionally beautiful music player interface with so many controls, snazzy feel, ease of use, ability to use different skins in music player, MEGABASS etc. You think you have the best music phone but actually the case is just the opposite.

It is to be noted that the audio sound quality depends on a number of factors, but in case of Sony Ericsson the only factor to be taken into consideration is it's default inbuilt equalizer setting, which instead of being a flat curve figuratively resembles the letter "V" but it doesn't stands for "Victory", alas. You can only dream of the range of 20-20000 HZ, the sound ranges from 0-80 Hz to somewhere behind 12000 Hz, and there's no middle at all. This kind of sound can be easily referred to "squeak & bass" genre, and if it may seem acceptable for those accustomed to boom boxes, a refined music connoisseur is going to be terrified.

Sony Ericsson also do not provide the all important 3.5mm audio jack as it allows to avoid accidental signal distortions and we can also use the headphone of our choice, rather than buying SE branded headphones only. That's how the legends turn to dust - smooth and easy.

2) Beautiful woman who can work properly: Nokia

Nokia renowned XpressMusic series phones have a very good music player interface with many controls may be not as many as Sony Ericsson but still we can use different skins in music player, download online songs, etc.

As for the Nokia music solutions, one must say that they always were in a sharp animosity with those of the Sony Ericsson camp. The strategy of building music phones in Nokia differs just as drastically as the sound in their headphones. Just be pleased to meet all of your best friends: the low, the middle and the high frequencies and they're all balanced and there's not a ghost of a chance to see the familiar "V" letter on your equalizer.

Nokia also provide the all important 3.5mm audio jack as it allows avoiding accidental signal distortions and we can also use the headphone of our choice. I should probably run across this "well-balanced lady" than the one before.

3) Simple looking lady who can work extremely well: Motorola

ZN5 is not a music oriented phone but still inherited all the good qualities from the ROKR series. This is because both ROKR & MotoZine series to which ZN5 belongs runs on the same software & hardware platform.

The music player interface is good, simple & effective and does not have the number of options its opposition provides, lacking the snazzy feel and thus looks pale in comparison to Sony Ericsson & Nokia. It is also a bit slower than both Nokia & Sony Ericsson, and you do not get different skins options for the music player. So by now you come to the conclusion that ZN5 is not good for listening music. Believe me this is where you make the biggest mistake.

It's not much of a secret that every music phone manufacturer tries everything to outreach its competitors in terms of sound quality. Motorola tends to put more emphasis in the idea that quality should prevail over snazzy interface & puts all of your hard earned money in high quality hardware rather than making snazzy interface. The utilization of dedicated Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a detached processor to carry out all of the music operations instead of overloading the main CPU with them it results in a considerable improvement of sounding results in an unmatched quality of sound since DSP puts into action sophisticated algorithms & advanced audio codec’s to improve the audio signal. The DSP separates unwanted noise from the audio signal, and only then is passed to the amplifier.

ZN5 utilizes a dedicated 208 MHZ StarCore SC140e DSP and a selection of advanced audio codec’s. The Spatial Audio technology polishes the resulting audio signal to a state of perfection rarely seen on a mobile phone these days. I also looked in the RMAA sound test graphs as published by different websites, the sound characteristic needs no explanation, because we face one of the best decisions at the personal audio market, ZN5 is not ashamed to compare itself with players from Creative ZEN, Sony, Cowon or even Apple iPod. It also has the all important 3.5mm audio jack as it allows avoiding accidental signal distortions and we can also use the headphone of our choice.

I am dealing with one of the best solutions for pure listening pleasure, with a clean sound devoid of any colorings, embellishment or ornamentation in the sound, commonly found in Sony Ericsson phones. Now I can easily hear many of the previously obscure details in the compositions of a complicated music composition, and if desired, with a quality headset, can clearly set apart all the instruments used in the music composition, thus I am able to focus not only on the primary instrument, which is audible, but also on the fact that what instrument I want to hear.

So, you see at the end of the day when you are forced by your superiors to fire two of the three lady employees & keep only one, you as their boss will ultimately choose the one who happens to be the best worker THE SIMPLE LOOKING LADY WHO CAN WORK EXTREMELY WELL!!!

• Reply

• ?
• Anonymous
• kf2
• 06 May 2010

RishiGuru, 05 May 2010Exceptional mobile phone. Actually I consider it to be the ... moreHi RishiGuru,

I am surprised by your technical knowledge about mobile phones especially about MotoZine ZN5.

Recently, I have brought this phone and updated software from "05R" to "0ER".

I have heard that the SAR rate of this phone is more compared to other phones. I am concerned about the SAR rating of this phone.

Could you please through some light on the SAR rating. How it will effect our health?

Thanks in Advance

• Reply

• R
• RishiGuru
• t@J
• 05 May 2010

Exceptional mobile phone. Actually I consider it to be the Motorola’s MASTERPIECE.

Motorola is known to manufacture mobile phones with rock solid built quality using top notch & expensive materials like steel, aluminum, mineral glass rather than glossy plastic commonly used by Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, LG. This always has been Motorola’s strong point. The ZN5 is no exception either, it is almost built in metal & has a thick mineral glass over the TFT display matrix which is excellent.

The set looks a feels like a monolith. The Motorola ZN5 measure 12mm in thickness, which is a rather nice achievement - it actually puts it in Top 5 of slimmest 5 megapixel cameraphones. The body thickness however increases around the camera area to up to 16mm.

A very famous website www.smape.com did a rigorus durability test on ZN5 and at first rode over the ZN5 lying in the road on a SUV weighing 2.5 tones. The ZN5 passed with flying colors. Only the mineral glass cover over the display was broken but the mobile phone operated normally receiving calls, playing music etc.

Then they put it in a freezer for severel hours at sub zero temapature, then in a washing machine for an hour, dropped it from the hand severel times, cleaned it in running tap water and merged it in a glass of beer. After that they dried it for a night besides a room heater and it started working the next morning!!! I think this is enough of an example of the phone’s durability.

The display in ZN5 is way ahead of the European contenders like Nokia & Sony Ericsson. Actually mobile phones which are manufactured in Japan by Japanese companies have exceptional displays & generally are way better than the European counterparts. Just think about top LCD screen manufactures of the world – Sharp, Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, JVC,etc all reside in Japan. Whereas European mobile phone manufactures use TFT displays manufactured by local European companies, Motorola uses TFT display manufactured by Sharp Corporation of Japan. The display has class leading brightness and contrast levels, the colors are maximally natural and saturated. Undeniably, the best 2.4 inch QVGA display to adorn a mobile phone so far.

The morphing keypad, called ModeShift and first introduced in Motorola E8, is also present in ZN5. It's got haptic feedback on every key press and key designations and backlight change in accordance to the currently used application.

The phone is all about the camera and it does not disappoint on this ground. Believe me, it is the BEST 5 MP camera currently available on the market today, make no mistake about it. Only the Nokia N82 comes close. On the review of www.mobiset.ru they compared the pictures taken by ZN5 & N82 of a same object (say a poster) under high magnification and found that ZN5’s picture contains higher details and better color saturation than N82. The Kodak's participation has brought the Kodak Perfect Touch technology to the ZN5 which can make any picture taken look sharper & brighter.

Motorola ZN5 is also the industry first to introduce VARIABLE APERTURE technology in the camera unit of a mobile phone. The ZN5 camera will offer two apertures values. The camera will automatically pick between F2.8 (the standard for all cameraphones) and F5.6 (when there is enough light). Now that may not mean much to you, but a tighter aperture such as F5.6 will actually bring less lens issues and better corner-to-corner sharpness.

ZN5 has the most powerful xenon flash found on any mobile phone till date. It can take pictures at pitch dark with ease because of xenon flash and produce bright pictures. The ZN5 also offers direct image upload to KODAK Gallery, as well as integration of the ShoZu client, which can upload images to various social networking clients.

The hardware found in ZN5 almost represents the hardware of a stealth fighter plane i.e. built to kill its opposition. Running on a Freescale MXC275-30 platform having 532 MHz ARM11 applications processor & 208MHz Digital Signal Processor speaks for itself. Also it has two Image Processing Units (IPU) instead of one, one is the dedicated Freescale IPU that comes with the MXC275-30 platform capable of handling up to 2 Mpix images & the other is Texas Instruments dedicated DM299 IPU which has a ARM7 processor embedded in it capable of handling up to 5 Mpix images. Thus ZN5 have hardware capable of handling 5+2=7 Mpix images and thus can handle image & video much better than any of its 5 Mpix opposition. Internal memory is 512 MB which is huge, no opposition can match that and also you can extend it up to 4GB with a microSD card.

Audio sound quality from the music player is awesome. Believe me some of the renowned Russian websites like www.smape.com, www.mobile-review.com, etc known for their thorough review have told that the ZN5 can challenge the mighty Apple iPod on this ground which, literally speaking is phenomenal for any mobile phone. Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP), 3.5mm audio/video jack (TV-out) all adds to the list making it a perfect choice instead of a dedicated portable music player. After using Nokia N82, Sony Ericsson K850 and also Samsung, LG phones of the same range, I have to accept that ZN5 is the best of them all when it comes to PURE SOUND QUALITY.

As I looked in the RMAA sound test graphs as published by different websites, the sound characteristic needs no explanation, because we face one of the best decisions at the personal audio market, ZN5 is not ashamed to compare itself with players from Creative ZEN Micro Photo, Sony HD5, Cowon D2 or even Apple iPod.

I am dealing with one of the best solutions for pure listening pleasure, with a clean sound devoid of any colorings, embellishment or ornamentation in the sound, commonly found in Sony Ericsson phones.

Now I can easily hear many of the previously obscure details in the compositions of a complicated music composition, and if desired, with a quality headset, can clearly set apart all the instruments used in the music composition, thus I am able to focus not only on the primary instrument, which is audible, but also on the fact that what instrument I want to hear.

This calls for a detailed elaboration of the DAC and amplifier found in ZN5. Most modern audio signals are stored in digital form (for example MP3s and CDs) and in order to be heard through speakers they must be converted into an analog signal. They normally take the digital output like MP3 and convert the signal into a line-level output that can then be fed into a pre-amplifier stage. The DAC used in ZN5 is definitely of very high quality.

The inbuilt radio have very strong reception quality and the sound is crisp and clear. The best radio I have seen so far on any mobile phone.

This mobile phone is capable of playing videos of very high bitrates (Higher bitrates means better quality) due to its 2 IPU’s & 208 Mhz DSP. Bitrates as high as 1100 kbps can be played easily.

Besides functionality, the quality of assembly and materials is the lodestone around which a phone’s success is built, playing a decisive role in the customer’s choice. Better materials and assembly allow a handset to live longer and sustain more damage

Besides a minimized use of glue (much favored by Sony Ericsson), Motorola phones are also remarkable for a total lack of technical apertures on the chip, commonly found under all onboard components in Nokia and Samsung products. Please don’t take this point for an attempt to start another holy war, an ordinary consumer shouldn’t normally get concerned about this sort of things. Every company does their best to minimize the production costs, but somehow it’s ZN5 alone that uses metal not only for product image purposes (like the face and back panel pieces), but inside the casing as well – to ensure a maximum durability. What goes to the above-mentioned apertures, those have a bad habit of harboring condensated moisture, leading to the decay of neighboring components and lowering the chances for successful recovery after drowning. These subtle nuances concealed from the buyer is what constitutes the difference in lifespan of differently crafted products.

I cannot stop praising the phone isn’t it!! One has to remember ZN5 is a smartphone since it comes with an operating system (Linux) and not just a software. So third party software’s and modding options are limitless.

Lastly, I want to say even if it sounds demoralizing, that there is no phone in the world that happens to be absolutely perfect. Every phone have its pros and cons and it depends on the user needs that how the person will rate his/her phone.

Cons of ZN5 :
1) ZN5 does not support 3G, but have EDGE & WiFi to complement it. So if you are using 3G a lot avoid buying this phone.

2) Video recording is poor. Nokia N82 wins over ZN5 on this aspect hands down. If you want the best 5Mpix mobile phone to shoot still images buy ZN5, but if you want to record videos over still images buy N82

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• r
• rem
• 3de
• 04 May 2010

For a better browsing experience install Opera Mini. I`ve installed version 4.2 on my ZN5 and it works well.

• Reply

• ?
• Anonymous
• nsA
• 04 May 2010

I have buy this phone today
Sound quality is rock
Camera is prefect better than any 5.0 mega an 8.0 mega but video recording is sux
Really great performance for music lovers and capture photo

• Reply

• k
• kris
• v0q
• 03 May 2010

RishiGuru, 18 Apr 2010R6637_G_81.03.0ERrishiguru, can we install new themes in this firmware? or still needs modding to have new themes?

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