Communication and music in your pocket

Communication and music in your pocket

Zatni Arbi, Contributor/zatni@cbn.net.id

Competition can result in rather unusual ideas, with cell phones
a very good example of this. As you must have noticed, I have
test-driven dozens of cell phones. While some do not have truly
distinctive features and others differ from the rest of the pack
only by their appearance, certain models do have strong points
that really stand out. At any rate, the cell phone industry is
marked by the pursuit of fresh ideas.

The idea implemented in the Motorola E398, however, has been
around for some time. But the execution of the idea is certainly
a welcome one, especially for those who cannot live without music
constantly ringing in their ears. Courtesy of Motorola Indonesia,
I was able to play around for two weeks with this tri-band cell
phone with three-dimensional audio capability.

The Motorola E398 can store a lot of MP3 music, and its
powerful stereo speakers can reproduce music without too much
distortion. Of course, due to its size, you cannot possibly
expect ear-shattering, earth-stomping sound from a cell phone.
Still, it marks the arrival of a new genre, as the E398 is the
first mobile phone that can produce 3-D music from its speakers.

Motorola E398 is a one-piece cell phone that feels a tad heavy
in your hand. Actually, the spec. says the weight is 110 grams.
Like other Motorola cell phones that I have test-driven, this one
feels very sturdy, too. The plastic body feels a bit rubbery, so
it does not slip easily from your hand. Texting with one hand is
still fairly effortless. (Please, for heaven's sake, do not do
that while driving!)

Texting could be more convenient if Motorola made a couple of
changes. First, they should change the screen background to plain
white without lines dividing the rows of text. Second, they
should choose a slightly bolder font to make the text more easily
read.

Third, and I really think Motorola should do this, they should
get rid of the box cursor that appears each time you insert a
character. This box always appears each time you type in a
character, but it will disappear if the cell phone does not sense
any additional thumb-press on the same button. If you press the
same button while the box cursor is still there, the character
will change to the next one the button is for. The I-beam -- the
thin vertical line -- should be adequate for texting.

The headset jack is located on top of the unit, and is covered
by a rubber flap. While that reduces the possibility of water and
dust penetrating the cell phone, it does not make it look pretty.

The rest of the phone is highly likable. Its 65k color screen
is fairly large, and you can adjust its backlighting. I
especially like the keypad and the joystick. The buttons are firm
and give you confidence that you have entered the right
character. They are neatly arranged, and it is easy to enter text
without really looking at the keypad. On the left-hand side you
will find the audio volume buttons and the voice dial activation.
On the right-hand side is a button for the camera. All the
buttons are easy to use, and they are equally firm. On both sides
are colorful LED lights that will start flashing the moment a
message or call arrives.

As you would expect from a cell phone designed like the
Motorola E398, the camera is fixed at the back. On top of it
there is a round convex mirror to let you take your own picture
or that of people standing behind you. The VGA camera is average,
and there is a camera flash that will help a little in a very
dark room. This cameraphone cannot record video, although it can
play MPEG4 video files.

The strength of this cell phone, as mentioned earlier, is in
recording and playing back MP3 files. Its key selling point is
the three-dimensional sound that it is able to produce. The bass
is so powerful that it can become a vibrator. Motorola supplies a
USB data cable for transferring files from your computer to the
E398. This means you can easily have MP3 music as the ring tone.

In addition to the USB cable, the E398 also has Bluetooth
connectivity. Data storage is crucial when you talk about music.
The E398 comes with a tiny TransFlash (T Flash) card. This small
flash memory card comes with an adaptor that will convert it into
an SD (SecureDigital) card. The T-Flash card is so small that I
did not even notice it when I was unpacking the phone from its
box.

The card was introduced by SanDisk, and you can expect it to
be used in more and more small gadgets such as cameraphones,
digital cameras, portable MP3 players, etc. Motorola was the
first to use this new format; Siemens is reportedly supporting
it, too.

In conclusion, the E398 is clearly another well-built cell
phone from Motorola that is very comfortable to use. With 3-D,
surround-sound capability, MMS, GPRS, chat, Java games, office
tools, etc., this device can cover a lot of ground. If you want
to show off a new cell phone to your friends and colleagues with
some powerful music and a light show, this will turn their heads.
It will be a great companion for a long time, too.