Motorola Z9
Once upon a time, phones didn't have email, browsers, media players, and cameras. Not anymore. Take a look at the phone in your pocket. Chances are, it's chocked with so many features, it almost needs a hit of Adderall to stay on task. So what can manufacturers do to make a device stand out from the pack? Make it smaller, and slather on the features. And that's what Motorola does with with its fat yet functional Z9.
This slider is slimmer and flatter than an iPhone but about the same heft; so it's bulky enough to wear through a pocket. But unlike the iPhone, it slides open noisily to reveal a set of sunken keys marked by tiny, finger-friendly, silver rivets for touch dialing. Buttons on the side provide haptic feedback to ticklishly indicate your button presses. We're not crazy about the proprietary headset/power connector, but Motorola is no way alone in this sin.
The Z9 effortlessly satisfies the standard phone user, and pleases the rest of us with a couple extra perks. You get your email and IM; you can listen to music from the microSD card or buy some more. Calls are above-average quality (trust us, we've been shouting into an iPhone for the last year). In addition to 2-megapixel shots and recording video, it can also video share—send live video to another 3G AT&T users—which is great for broadcasting scenes from your DIY fight club or natural disasters.
But the star of the show is the GPS. This is no cell-tower GPS Lite that only tells you what block you're on; this is the real deal, with turn-by-turn directions, live traffic info, access to the AT&T database for points of interest — you know, stuff that's actually useful. If you don't want to punch in an address, just call the 877 number and speak it. It can even tell you where the nearest hot spot is. In use, it's as good as any standalone GPS, but a little quiet. On the downside, you will visibly age while it initializes, and it sometimes miscalculates your direction. Fortunately, goofs are few and far between and the Z9 picks up on them. Overall, the GPS is OK, setting you back $10 a month or $3 for a day pass.
Anyone who isn't crazed, geriatric, or off the grid carries a phone for all forms of communication and the occasional pic. But with its compelling extras, the Z9 tilts the balance in its favor to be that one chunk of gizmo wearing a rectangle into your pants. —Roger Hibbert
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WIRED__ Excellent call quality. Strong GPS capabilities. Lets you transmit (or receive) live video to other 3G AT&T phones. Haptic feedback tickles.
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TIRED __GPS can be slower than waiting for the Optimus Maximus. Pretty heavy. Proprietary headset/power connector = crap.
$249 (with two-year contract), motorola.com
(Photo by Jim Merithew for Wired.com)
