by Ted Kritsonis
Faze Technology Editor

What it is: It’s Canada’s first mp3-capable phone, and though it’s been out for a few months, it’s still a popular model because of the music and three-year term price. It comes with a tiny 512MB card that can hold about 100-120 songs.

What’s good about it: The music works through iTunes (and ONLY iTunes), so even if you don’t have it installed on your PC, Motorola provides you with a copy of it. The music plays clearly through the earbuds (which are surprisingly good) and you can even get a car adaptor to play all your tracks while on the road. The battery is tough as well, with a lifespan of several hours. And with all the tunes, you get a VGA camera that is just as good as any other phone along with the ability to use Bluetooth if you have a wireless set. But if you don’t have Bluetooth and you’re using the ROKR’s internal speaker, you might be surprised at how loud it is.

What’s NOT good about it: It’s really too bad that you can’t use any of your mp3’s as ringtones. That would’ve been the icing on the cake but the only ringtones you get here are the ones that are downloadable. Oh, and if you think you can just download a few tracks and transfer them over to the ROKR in record time, then you’re fooling yourself. The process can take a while, so try to do it when you’re not in a rush. You’ll also need to fiddle with the controls a bit to try and change the timing of the sleep mode. It seems to do that a little too often.

What’s the verdict: You need to remember that you’re getting a multimedia phone here, so it won’t be the best thing on the market when it comes to talk time, reception, etc. But it does those things pretty well anyway, so if you throw in the music and great sound quality, you’ve got a nice all-around unit. Now if only they can fix some of those drawbacks.

Manufacturer:
Motorola
Carrier:
Rogers Wireless

Cost:
$100 on 3-year term
$150 on 2-year term
$330 on 1-year term
$380 No term