Phone Scoop - Motorola ZINE ZN5 Info

User Review: good phone,excellnt camera

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:34:02 GMT

maelo submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

i have had this phone for more than 3 months,and this phone is great,the resolution of the camera is excellent,but is still a phone,but i can take excellent pictures and when i print them out they are really nice.this phone is slow sometimes,but that is no a problem at all ..the only thing that i dot not like is predictive way to write a msg,beside that,the phone is wonderful

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User Review: worst phone ive ever owned

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 06:02:45 GMT

Spawne32 submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 1 (out of 5)

With the exception of the camera, which is amazing for being a phone camera, at 5.0 megapixels with flash and adjustments. This is the flat out worst phone I have ever had the displeasure of owning. I thought it would have been an upgrade from my Z9 when I made the switch to T-mobile, boy was I wrong. When i got the phone the first day i realized how much trouble i was in. Starting with the fact that the keypad lock is an actual sliding button the side of the phone, so i would have to insert the phone in my case upside down so that i didnt unlock the keys when putting it in the newly tight fitting case. Then over the course of several months, and coming up on a year soon in july, i realized this phone had a much LARGER problem. Whenever i would try to write a text message the phone would pause, or freeze up, randomly for about 20 seconds each time. At first it was a minor quirk but now after months of using the phone, it has been driving me insane. To the point where i almost threw the phone out of my car window today. Not only does it freeze up consistently when writing text messages, it freezes up on telephone calls, answering and ending the calls. When the phone rings, and i press answer, the phone now pauses and refuses to answer the call after hitting the answer button, then the ring tone goes into an infinite loop for a solid 2 seconds, before finally answering the call. Upon ending the call, it will freeze up again, and show that I am still in the conversation after having hit the end button repeatedly.

I have contacted motorola and tmobile about this SEVERAL times already, motorola refuses to acknowledge the problem despite consistent reports across the web regarding the issue, they have issued no software updates, and tmobile says that it is not covered under insurance or warranty because the phone works perfectly fine. They tell me i just need to clear my text messages. All 20 of them that are stored in the phone.

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User Review: Great camera. Pretty nice phone too.

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:07:17 GMT

Linus Bair submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

Great phone! Reception is sometimes not-so-good, but I'm thinking that's a T-Mobile thing. Hopefully that means I'm also getting less radiation pounded into my brain when talking on the phone. Gotta love the camera. I've used it as my main camera on vacations and have even printed the photos as 8x10s and they looked great!

Pros:
Radio works perfectly
Bluetooth works great
Camera surpassed my expectations
Phone conversations are clear
MP3 player with headphone jack is nice,
but doesn't replace a good iPod
MyFaves is supported
Battery life is very good, so long as
you turn off T-Mobiles "auto-syncing"
when you first setup the phone. If
not done when you first setup the
phone, re-installing the firmware will
give you a second chance to turn off
the auto-syncing.
Camera has Macro option for close-up
shots, which works well.
Camera has neat panorama mode that
automatically shoots and stitches
3 separate 5.0Mp photos together
in one huge photo.

Cons:
Video recorder is pretty lame. I had
better videos recorded with my old
1.2 megapixel camera phone.
T-Mobile's, in my opinion, has the worst
coverage.
Speaker has a screen covering it, which
must be cleaned regularly! If it's
not clean, I will sometimes not hear
the phone ringing from my pocket.
Camera's flash is too bright.

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User Review: Great concept, but just ok

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:36:46 GMT

tarwood submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 3 (out of 5)

Pros:

* Awesome camera, great picture quality... although limited camera features, specifically zoom, but this is a phone not a camera...

* Nice clear big screen.

* Size. Although the phone is slightly tall, in comparison to others, it is slender and fits in the pocket well.

* Wi-Fi

* Removable media-card, so far known support up to 8GB.

* Decent battery life.

Cons:

* Horrible lag from navigating the phone; from just navigating the menu, to scrolling through the contacts, to just coming out of the screen saver.... The amount of lag this phone has is unacceptable... Just shows that it was a good idea, but uses unpolished software/firmware. Keep looking for an update that may help/fix this, have seen nothing as of yet.

* Crippled Wi-Fi access; you can download applications to this phone, but unless they come from the carrier the features are locked!!! Unacceptable...

When I first was looking for a new phone, I wanted something with good battery life, camera and decent features. This phone is pretty much all that. There are a few hiccups with this phone, that if I were to know how severe they were, I would not have purchased it. There is a lot of potential for this phone, just needs a little more refinement. I knocked 1 point for each cons, because of the severity of them.

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User Review: Okay for a good camera phone

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 06:32:19 GMT

Proudmama07 submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 3 (out of 5)

Okay I have had this phone for about 2 months now. It is a pretty decent phone if you are looking for a camera phone. It has a few times just froze on me. Or sometimes it will just reset itself if I have to turn it off due to it freezing on me. It has a pretty good music player i love the fact that I can use the connector and plug it into my tv and listen to my music and watch videos through the tv..
PROS:
*5 megapixel camera w/flash
*big screen
*wi-fi
*plugs into tv or stereo to play music

CONS
*freezes
*resets by itself or by turning it off
*sometimes refreshing media takes forever

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User Review: Killer phone

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:34:52 GMT

bassmechanix submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

I'm a bit of a phone whore,but i stopped on this one,at least for now.
pros:
1.Fast OS!after owning the laggy ROKR e8,this is quite a blessing.
2.Camera is phenomenal,but thats a given for a kodak hybrid.
3.comfortable design.everything from the sounds applied to the button press to the almost neon looking true-color display,this phone feels good,and looks stylish.
4.the wifi browser is fast.

Cons:
It has the classic "oops i sent that text too early" button affinity,which sucks for us fat fingered folk.i hate it when they put a "back" button next to a "Send" key.

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User Review: Nice

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:51:01 GMT

sprawk submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

Pros:
CAMERA!, quality of photos when downloaded to computer, ease of use, size, feel, brand

Cons:
Deleted half my phonebook randomly, some weid key functions, laggy at times, the color of the phone itself is awkward

Easy to use, though it did delete my phonebook (letters A-G) on first use. Good thing I had synced them right before I used it! The camera is awesome and efficient. Pictures looked way better than anything else I've used. I'd kill for this cam on a blackberry! The ops system was laggy at times and I hated the color, but fine otherwise.

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User Review: A worthy phone/camera

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:27:21 GMT

StinkingFish submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 4 (out of 5)

I've had this phone for over three months and found it to be quite adequate. I have only two major gripes with this phone, which aren't dealbreakers in my opinion. They'll be discussed below.
The phone is pretty solid and has a reassuring weighty feel to it. The bottom is coated in a rubber like material that keeps it from falling out of your pocket when sitting, but also makes it tough to take out when driving. There is a slider on the side of the phone which locks the keys, but I find myself rarely using it due to the design of the keys. As for the keypad, this phone is NOT for people with large fingers. I'm a heavy texter with long nimble fingers, and it still took me a few weeks to get used to it and develop any speed. They're just too packed together. My first real problem with this phone is the menu structure. The layout is infuriatingly poor. I found myself looking through it for way too long to change common settings that should be made easy to change. My second gripe, you can password lock virtually everything on the phone, EXCEPT the pictures. Anyone who happens to pick up the phone can view them. tsk tsk, Moto. I live close to Los Angeles, and I find signal, call quality and volume to be excellent. In my opinion, the phone functions weren't sacrificed too much for the camera at all. As for the camera, it absolutely delivers. Though it's not as good as a standalone camera (Especially when your target is far away in a dark room), there are some pictures where I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two. I love the full HMTL browser, and the ability to connect to my home WiFi without having a dataplan.

Pros:
*Great call quality and signal
*High volume
*Excellent camera (And flash)
*Solid design
*High resolution screen

Cons:
*Poor menu layout
*Unable to lock photos
*Sluggish software
*Keys close together

I didn't cover all the points I wanted to in this review (Space limitations) so questions will be answered in the forum.

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User Review: Zine ZN5 is a winner!!

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 22:37:12 GMT

dno36 submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

Having read a number of reviews for the zn5, I was ready for a few hitches when I received it 1 month ago.
I am glad to report that what I expected in slow reacting commands are relatively few and while not perfect, not a deal breaker here.
The phone is my #1 concern and this guy does it primary task better than any phone I have ever used(we have 7 cell phones)!!! Wonderful reception, even in our local "black holes", excellent clarity of calls both ways, and enough "techie" items to even keep my daughter in check.
Texting is no problem at all, easy to find my way around the keyboard.
The camera is really nice, fits in perfectly as a "hey look at that" picture taker, and I use it for my work almost evcery day without disappointment.
Pros - Great call reception.
Call clarity.
Ease of use.
Display is great.
Camera is excellent.
MP3 player is awesome.
Battery lasts me over 2 days!! Excellent!!
Perfect sized for me.
Wi-Fi works great, and fast too.

Cons - Wish controls for MP3 were more convenient.

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User Review: My Quest for a Phone is Over

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 21:33:38 GMT

Davidgojr submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

Pros:
-Bright, clear screen
-Easy to use interface
-Build in WiFi: You don't have to buy an expensive data plan to use the internet
-Great battery life
-Amazing 5MP camera with Xenon Flash
-Durable build quality
-Precise controls (unlike most touchscreens)

Cons:
-Volume can be a bit low at times
-Video quality could have been higher
-Max SAR rating is on the high end (although this is only in the rare case when the phone is transmitting at max power such as when there is low signal strength)

The screen is large, bright and clear. I found the battery life to be the best I've ever seen on a phone. Excellent battery life is RARE on any high end phone these days.

The built in WiFi works no matter what plan you get. It even supports encryption such as WEP, WPA and WPA2! I was able to browse the web at broadband speeds and even watch Youtube videos with ease. To make this work, I simply changed the browser settings to the WiFi configuration/profile.

One cool add-on I downloaded was the "Google Maps" application from Google. Once it was installed, it initially didn't want to connect to the net to work. I went to the apps screen and changed the data connection from "Java" to "WiFi" and this did the trick. Google maps allowed the phone to pull up maps, check local traffic, view satellite imagery and even use streetview on the phone! I was highly impressed!

The camera on the Zn5 is top of the line as far as phones are concerned. It was easy to use and worked much like a dedicated camera. The Xenon flash was very bright worked effectively in dark areas. I'm looking forward to using it more. The video quality was not as good as it could have been but it was still quite decent for a phone. I liked how the camera is protected by a sliding cover when it isn't in use.

Searching for the right phone is quite difficult but I'm very happy with my decision. The ZN5 has all the bells and whistles but it also works great in its main role: AS A PHONE!

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User Review: Excellent phone

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:29:33 GMT

jlundin submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

This is a great phone, especially if you like the idea of not having to carry around a phone, a camera, and a music player. There are a few small caveats though.

The Good:
Awesome camera, of course. It's lightning fast and takes superb pictures, even indoors with the flash off.
Music player is decent, and the 3.5mm jack was a must-have for me. It's nice that you can return to the Home screen and still have some control over the music, even though there are no external controls.
EDGE data speed (Chicago/NW Indiana) is very good, especially when using Opera (BUT see "The Ugly", below).
Phone is easy to use and speedy - except right after being rebooted.
You can put up to an 8GB microSD card in it (mine should be delivered tomorrow).
I was able to text pretty easily with this phone, though I am still having trouble figuring out how to add certain symbols.

The Bad:
Camera settings aren't sticky, and the defaults can't be changed. This stinks if you don't want to have the flash set to Auto every time.
Music volume is a little low - on the maximum setting my music is *barely* loud enough, and I have good earbuds.
Speaking of earbuds, the ones that come with the phone are cheap, and the fact that you have to use them to get the FM radio to work makes that feature useless.

The Unknown:
I haven't tried Bluetooth audio with it.
It doesn't appear that this phone will work with secured WiFi networks, though I haven't been able to confirm that.

The Ugly:
T-Mobile cripples the Java support on this phone so that Java applications can't access the Internet. If you like having Opera or Gmail or whatever on your phone, this is a big, giant problem, and I didn't realize this until after I had bought the phone.

I was about 5 minutes away from going back to the T-Mobile store to return this phone when I found a solution for this on the mmus.us forum. So be aware of this before you buy.

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User Review: Good phone poor quality!

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:28:53 GMT

sekzijimbo submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 1 (out of 5)

All the reviews i see here are very accurate about this phone but...

Cons - I have own 4 of these phones in 1 months 3 were mine and one is my wifes, the phones seem to reset and turn off with the slightest bumb are jarring, its almost like the phones have a short in them, or the batteries dont sit well in them, im going to return it again today but im getting something else!!! I can keep exchanging them.

Final thought: I love this phone but I cant seem to get a working one and neither can my wife.

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User Review: Awesome phone!!! T-Mobiles BEST!

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:02:45 GMT

misfitpierce submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

I must say... I bought this phone maybe a week after it came out and got to say.... It's prob the best phone I have ever bought and i've had everything from G1 to Sidekick 08, LX, iPhone, and everything you can think of... I'm a bit of a phone addict.
I find this to be a phone I don't want to get rid of though. Not right now atleast. It's just too good of a phone.

Pro's:
-Great large screen 2.4" - Bright and Crisp
-Quick internet browser that loads full websites based off same technology as iPhone and G1 (based off webkit) Full websites
-WIFI works for web browser and uploading photos to great Kodak Gallery (works nicely)
-Camera (5.0MP Kodak based with awesome features and great xenon flash. Camera does exceedingly great in dark or sunny conditions, More camera like than phone like) Camera beats some actual digital cameras on tracking times and I have tested against Canon 10MP and the cammera was much quicker on the Moto Zine then the actual Camera and some shots did better!
-I recommend getting it... Too many other pro's to list
-Talking phone mode reads texts to you and more

Just too many pro's to the phone...

Cons:
-Can get sluggish sometimes but very rarely to me
No other cons at all... NO 3G but with Wifi I care less... Not a con for me!

I recommend getting this phone hands down one of the best T-Mobile phones i've ever owned. In fact one of the greatest phones i've ever owned unlocked or T-Mobile based. Get this phone it is the best of the best! The new linux OS based off Montavista linux OS is just spectacular... Very quick and wonderful!

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User Review: Nice

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:32:19 GMT

TMobRulz submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

Love to get new phones and see what they are about...I guess there are worse habits! I had been thinking about a new camera and with the zn5, you can have both. Haven't played with camera much, but, though fairly basic, phone is nice. (P.S...basic isn't bad!).

Pros...Good Feel, seems well built; camera (for what I have used it as); More than "basic" phone, especially what you can do with pictures, etc. Best Motorola I have had (though I haven't had many); screen is large and crisp; like keyboard lock, though a bit gimmicky; personalization (though it can take some time);

Cons...keyboard is not real tactile, but it's fine; typical Moto sluggishness, but all of us need more patience anyway; Kinda large for new phone, but it's fine.

Am anxious to get more into features, but have only had it up and going for a few days. More later!!

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User Review: More camera than phone

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:06:18 GMT

brsmnky007 submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 2.5 (out of 5)

This phone has an incredible camera and a great list of features; this was of limited use for me since the sound quality of phone calls was poor. Volume wasn't a concern, but incoming voices sounded muffled and were difficult to understand. The phone's menu system is also very nonsensical and abstract; there is no "ringer" section, for example, you must change the ringer for each theme you choose. Finally, the keypad is managable but certainly not enjoyable for dialing and or sending text messages. For someone whose main concern is carrying a quality camera, this may be the right phone; otherwise there are probably better choices out there.

PROS:
- Reception was consistently strong, no dropped calls for me
- Build Quality seemed good, although the flap covering the microUSB port was awkward
- Volume was good, not great
- Camera was quite high quality, easy to use, has some neat features, very responsive
- Display is large and sharp
- Outgoing voice quality was good, according to those I called

CONS:
- Incoming voice quality was muddled and difficult to understand
- Menu system is not intuitive in the least, it was also a bit laggy at times
- Keypad is cramped and uncomfortable
- Although the Wi-fi seems great, you can't use it unless you pay for a Web2Go plan
- Odd key-lock switch much like the "hold" switch on iPods

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User Review: WOW!

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:02:35 GMT

A-JoinT submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

Bought the ZN5 a couple days ago, and man! I love it. Wi-fi is a plus! Comes with a gig, lets you hear music through just a normal bluetooth mono headset. Beautiful camera. Looks great, feels great, works great. A++++++++

100%

Enjoy.

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User Review: Zn5 on Tmobile

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:49:56 GMT

celnut submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

Great phone by Motorola. Everything works well & it is one of the best camera phones available.

Pros

Display & Resolution
Camera (more like a real camera)
Zenon Flash
Excellent Reception
Loud Speakerphone
Loud earpiece
Cover for camera lens
Battery Life
Ease of Use
5mp w/Kodak

Cons

Texting is a little difficult due to keypad

I recommend this phone to anyone who enjoys a cameraphone as opposed to a smartphone. I am hoping they come out with a smartphone with all these features.

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User Review: Awesome Phone and completely satisfied

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:22:24 GMT

hucworld submitted this review of the Motorola ZINE ZN5:

Overall rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

i chose to stay away from Motorola's because of the obvious but this device here separates itself from its peers. the selling point of this phone is the camera but surprisingly the reception and overall functionality was great. having played with the z9 and thinking it was great I was blown away by this phone. oh and just a side note this phone supports an 8gig memory card as well. texting on it is not that friendly but hey you sacrifice some things for the greater good of others.

pros:
camera 5mp w/ flash
functionality
size
battery life is awesome

cons:
texting...keys tend to not want to respond at times.

Phone Scoop - Motorola ZINE ZN5 Info

User Review: good phone,excellnt camera

User Review: worst phone ive ever owned

User Review: Great camera. Pretty nice phone too.

User Review: Great concept, but just ok

User Review: Okay for a good camera phone

User Review: Killer phone

User Review: Nice

User Review: A worthy phone/camera

User Review: Zine ZN5 is a winner!!

User Review: My Quest for a Phone is Over

User Review: Excellent phone

User Review: Good phone poor quality!

User Review: Awesome phone!!! T-Mobiles BEST!

User Review: Nice

User Review: More camera than phone

User Review: WOW!

User Review: Zn5 on Tmobile

User Review: Awesome Phone and completely satisfied

Review: Motorola ZINE ZN5