Motorola SLVR L7 from Cingular (iTunes)

[MacRumors]

Cingular began offering the Motorol SLVR S7 phone today. The Motorola SLVR attempts to address some of the issues which had marred Motorola's first attempt at an iTunes-compatible phone -- the ROKR.

"It kind of came out of the chute with some real flaws in it," said Neil Strother, wireless analyst at research firm In-Stat. "I wouldn't say it was a complete disaster but they clearly had some real problems."

The SLVR, however, still retains the 100-song limitation and still uses USB for the transfer technology. Many of the improvements appear cosmetic in nature. The phone is available from Cingular for $199 with a two year commitment. More information available from Motorola.

 

[yankeefan24]

so this is the replacement for the ROKR. wow, that had a short life span. I saw a pic earlier and it looks cool. a mix between the old ROKR and the RAZR. not bad.

 

[g4pismo]

nice...but

whats with the 100 song limit?

 

[arn]

whats with the 100 song limit?

I would guess Apple's requiring that limitation, don't see why Motorola was want it.

arn

 

[CompUser]

God, why must they only make iTunes phones in Candy Bar shape.

I want a flip phone.

Too bad I can't get out of my cell phone contract for 2 more years.

 

[yankeefan24]

God, why must they only make iTunes phones in Candy Bar shape.

I want a flip phone.

Too bad I can't get out of my cell phone contract for 2 more years.

the RAZR V3i is coming soon (i hope it will be the V3ci verizon and itunes, doubt it). Just when is the question.

 

[Phatpat]

It's just a pretty ROKR

 

[QCassidy352]

It's just a pretty ROKR

that's true, but most of the problem with the ROKR was that it was ugly

 

[TheMasin9]

not worth 200$

sure its nice, but they GAVE razrs away when they came out, if that happens i may finally update my t637, until then, it just looks mediocre.

 

[nagromme]

Well those "cosmetic" improvements were needed

Good to see Apple's toehold in mobile phone players isn't going away. Hopefully they'll do more with it one day... like design the whole UI and controls for a phone (even if not one they make themselves).

 

[zap2]

i want one

 

[the.snitch]

i want one

so do I...to smash into a million pieces.

 

[BlueT]

Here's the link for the ROKR 2: http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/05/video-feature-rokr-e2-hands-on/

The SLVR is NOT the ROKR 2. The SLVR is the candy bar version of the next generation of the RAZR line. It's a bit thinner than the RAZR, costs more, and isn't all that impressive unless you wanted to replace your NOKIA with a Motorola.

 

[psurrena]

vga?

There is no reason to have a vga camera in a premium phone. 1mp at least. I really can't stand moto. Why not a partnership with SE, much more adventerous company.

 

[bigjohn]

sure its nice, but they GAVE razrs away when they came out, if that happens i may finally update my t637, until then, it just looks mediocre.

i went from the T616 to the RAZR and i'd go back if i could. the razr's menu sucks, the address book only sorts names by their first name (!) and it's not that great going from a bar to a flip, it's sort of a pain. too bad SE doesn't make a full-featured up-to-date phone in a small package.

 

[Abstract]

The SLVR is the candy bar version of the next generation of the RAZR line. It's a bit thinner than the RAZR, costs more, and isn't all that impressive unless you wanted to replace your NOKIA with a Motorola.

Yeah, like being too thick was the biggest complaint of the RAZR. Taking off 1/32 of an inch off an already super-thin phone isn't going to impress me.

What if we were offered a phone that didn't suck? Just exclude the camera if it means they will spend more money making a better phone, and yet keep the price the same.

 

[EricNau]

I thought Moto was dropping iTunes support.

 

[Koodauw]

sure its nice, but they GAVE razrs away when they came out, if that happens i may finally update my t637, until then, it just looks mediocre.

Really. I think it was the exact opposite. When the RAZR first came out, it was very expensive. Only a year later around christmas time were they giving it away, and that was only at online vendors.

 

[hob]

There is no reason to have a vga camera in a premium phone. 1mp at least. I really can't stand moto. Why not a partnership with SE, much more adventerous company.

I hear that.

The RAZR was a nice looking phone, but the UI made me feel unwell I had one for 8 months but ended my contract early so I could get a SE K600i

As a self-proclaimed mobile phone connoisseur I must say SE is probably the best manufacturer. Certainly if you like your UI feature-filled and easy to use. Not quite as easy to use as Nokia but that's just plain clunky.

 

[akhomerun]

what a terrible deal

this is what will plague the itunes phone forever

you have to load it up with MORE than 100 songs!!
even the most casual listener can get more than that.

it's not even economical!!

itunes phone:
$199 with 2 year contract
100 songs
ability to call people

ipod nano:
free camera phone that comes with every cell phone plan ever (2 year contract)
masking tape (to tape the nano to the back of the phone)
$199
500 songs
+ when you break your phone / nano your music / phone ability is UNAFFECTED! two devices = less chance of breaking!

holy crap! will it ever dawn on motorola that it's a bad deal?

the reason the original ipod was successful was that it reached out to average joes with easy controls, brainless streamlined operation and at the time 5GB of music on the go was HUGE.

 

[mlrproducts]

i went from the T616 to the RAZR and i'd go back if i could. the razr's menu sucks, the address book only sorts names by their first name (!) and it's not that great going from a bar to a flip, it's sort of a pain. too bad SE doesn't make a full-featured up-to-date phone in a small package.

AMEN!

I went from the T616 to the RAZR, to the SLVR (non iTunes - just a friggin week ago and now THIS!!!). I'm going back to the T616 for a while until I find something better.

 

[luke.111]

iTunes+Moto=Bad Idea

What I thought was the biggest flaw of the ROKR was the slow transfer speeds... SLVR hasn't addressed that. Still 30 seconds to transfer a 4MB song. With a 100 song cap, you'd obviously be swapping your 100 song choices in and out a lot. I personally wouldn't want to wait a half-hour (100 songs x 30 sec/song) a day to wait for this thing to load songs.

Plus, Motorola's UI is the worst. I unfortunately have a Moto V400. The little delay between a button-press and something happening on the phone drives me nuts. I noticed the same thing on my friends' RAZRs. Hey, design is important, but how can you spend any money on a phone that can't even get the most basic things (e.g. button responsiveness) right?

FYI - David Pogue also just had an article on NYtimes.com comparing Samsung's RAZR-wannabe to the RAZR. Needless to say, he took the RAZR UI to task. It made me feel justified in my ill-will toward Motorola

 

[aswitcher]

VGA...what a joke...
100 songs...yawn...
Exy on 2 year plan...
USB1.1...joke no longer funny...
Where are the fabled BT sterio headphones? Now that would be interesting.

 

[mpinsk]

crapola

i have an SE T610 and love it, but it's getting outdated. I use it with my iBook and Salling Clicker for powerpoint presentations, and I use the accessory laser pointer that plugs into its bottom, it's just perfect.

For those of you who complained that SE doesn't have anything good to replace your T610/616, take a look at the K750i. It's got a 2MP camera with flash, bluetooth 2.0, candybar design just like the T610/616, and a memory stick slot for gigs of mp3s. It works nicely with Salling Clicker and I think it'll take those accessory laser pointers as well

 

[asherman13]

I like it.

and I want one!

PM me if you want to buy my black RAZR! but true. See Marketplace.