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Apps

The E8's most interesting app is SongID, which usually has to be a downloadable Java application on other phones. Hold the phone up to the radio while an unknown song is playing. SongID listens to around 12 seconds of the track, then 45 seconds or so later, it identifies the track. I had fun trying to trick it; it correctly identified Al Jolson and Andrews Sisters tracks but was stumped by Allen Sherman. It was fun to try and stump it.

You also get an FM radio, which only operates with the headphone jack plugged in. You can seek one frequency at a time or seek and set presets through the FM radio Options menu.

If you want a giggle, play with the E8 voice command. In a dead quiet room, I slowly and crisply enunciated my home phone number. The closest the E8's confirming voice got to the correct number was seven of the 10 digits in around a half dozen increasingly hysterical tries. A dozen monkeys randomly punching a calculator keypad would have had more luck reproducing my phone number. For this I lose earphone music pause function?

Bluetooth

Being able to access both the power on/off and Bluetooth device location via the front Shortcuts menu is a time- and click-saving blessing. Pairing headphones or my Mac was easy, especially since you can activate Discovery mode for up to three minutes. I had no problems pairing or using the E8 with any device, both mono and stereo Bluetooth.

Sending and receiving images or music files from a Vista PC or a Mac to the E8 was mostly seamless with only the usual Bluetooth alert annoyances (yes, I want my PC to receive the photo I just transmitted from the phone); I got an occasional "no connection" error message but nothing exceedingly annoying. I just find it easier to transfer files via USB or card reader.

Clock

If you've replaced your watch with a cell, the E8 is not for you. The tiny type font in the main display makes the time impossible to read without squinting. If there's a method to change the font size, I wasn't able to find it. You don't even get a big-font time when you wake up the phone from sleep mode. There's a world clock in the Office Tools menu, as well as the alarm clock, easily accessed from the main screen Shortcuts menu.

Sync

I had no trouble syncing Outlook contacts, music and pictures on a Vista laptop via USB. You just have to put the phone into sync mode first. The manual said I could sync with a Mac, but the directions were a little hazy and didn't indicate what Mac apps the phone was compatible with for addresses and calendars. For music, it was just easier to use an SD card reader and drag-and-drop files from my iTunes music folder.

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