Motorola's first available slider is a bit long in the tooth, but still packs plenty of features and good-sounding calls. Is it worth snapping open?
Review summary of the Motorola MOTORIZR Z3:
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 Perhaps the RIZR is a simple choice. It is a very slick design, solid and well executed, and it does a good job making phone calls. If that's all you want, the RIZR is a good choice, and a solid step into the slider arena for Motorola. Once you start exploring the advanced functions, the phone becomes less satisfying. The menu is a bit dated, both in its look and its organization. The multimedia functions are there, but are either too basic or, in the case of A2DP, didn't work properly. The lack of 3G on T-Mobile's network will also keep die-hard streaming audio and video fans away. Still, it's a pretty phone with a nice coat of paint, it gets strong reception, and calls sound good, so if that's all you need, the RIZR will be a satisfying choice. Release: January 2007. Price: $80.
Pros: Slick design with a nice paint job. Calls sounded very good. Good calling features. Great battery life.
Cons: Skimpy contact list. No e-mail support. Flat keypad is better than the RAZR, still needs improvement. Stereo Bluetooth seemed to malfunction.
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Full Motorola MOTORIZR Z3 Review:
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Unveiled last July, Motorola's RIZR has taken its sweet time to get to store shelves. Since it's introduction, Motorola has introduced no less than three updates, including the feature-rich RIZR Z8 and the music-oriented ROKR Z6. Still, the Z3 comes in nicely at the bottom of the mid-range of phones, with some multimedia and messaging features, and all the calling options we like.
Design
It would be impossible to talk about the RIZR's design without comparing it to the RAZR and, more importantly, the KRZR. Frankly, we like the RIZR better than both those phones, though we may just have RAZR-fatigue. The RIZR is definitely more appealing than the KRZR, with better keys that have more distinct ridges between them that are easier to hit by feel. The slide is among the best we've felt; it opens smoothly with a sharp click. Motorola has wisely provided a grip beneath the screen to make sliding the phone open a breeze, but the screen itself still retained fingerprints and cheek impressions. Happily, the phone is clad in a rich, soft-touch blue paint job, so the rest of the phone won't be marred by oily hands, a problem we had with the KRZR.
The RIZR's keys fit firmly in the RAZR family of keypad design, with more of an indentation and ridge around them, which makes blind typing slightly easier. We could do without the dedicated Web key, especially on this EDGE-only phone. Instead, might we suggest a music player or messaging soft key? The interface is pure Motorola, which is not great, but better than Verizon Wireless' labyrinthine menus. Though the 262,000-color screen has better color depth than the KRZR, unfortunately, the menu didn't look much better than the most basic 65,000-color RAZRs on the market.
Our favorite: We like the soft touch finish and the healthy snap of the slide.
Our request: The RAZR-esque keypad was cool, but not useful. Let's try something new.
Calling - Very good
Like the KRZR and RAZR before it, the RIZR makes calls that sound better than most phones in its class. The microphone is placed on the scoop of the lower slide, and we think this is why breathing sounds were more of a problem on this phone, but voices sounded very clean, in between breaths, at least. Reception was very good, but not perfect, about a bar or two short of full reception on T-Mobile's network. The phone also packs all of the features we like, including Bluetooth and speaker-independent voice dialing. Conference calling was available, but required some menu drilling to connect the calls. The speakerphone was not very loud, but it did have an accurate sound, not tinny like so many other small speakers. For alerts, the phone has some polyphonics built in, or you can use your own MP3 and AAC tracks as ringtones.
Our favorite: Good sounding calls.
Our request: Better microphone placement would cut down on breath sounds. How about the bottom of the slide?
Messaging - Good
The phone has a nice, simple set of messaging options, and lacks any e-mail capabilities. Instead, you get instant messaging from AOL, Yahoo, MSN, and even ICQ, which is a rare find these days. The messaging app fit about a hundred or so characters on screen at once, which is nice, but not a full SMS message, which we prefer. The keypad, improved since the RAZR, made for easier typing than on many etched keypads, but some soft, rounded keys would have been a welcome addition. Sending pictures and multimedia was simple, and we liked that the phone jumps right to your contact list when sending a message. If you want to send to a new recipient, some menu drilling is required, while the contact list is the default. Also, we think the idea of a preset signature for outgoing messages was neat, though it might eat up precious character space.
Our favorite: Direct access to the contact list.
Our request: Some e-mail options would be nice.
Odds and ends
The RIZR had an unexpectedly good battery. Though the T-Mobile Web site claimed only three hours of talk time, we got more than five and a half hours in a single call. The RIZR comes packaged with a mono handsfree headset, which fits the mini-USB port on the phone, and a 128MB microSD card, which fits into a slot behind the battery cover (though not behind the battery itself, thankfully). The card can store photos as well as music for the built-in music players. Or rather, the two built-in music players. There is a Java based player, and a separate "Sounds" player. Strangely, the Sounds player has a Bluetooth headset option, while the Java player uses whatever headphones you were already wearing. Unfortunately, we had bad luck pairing our Plantronics 260 headset with the phone. Music came out sounding very hollow and distant, as if we were listening to a wired headset that was slightly unplugged. Wired headsets sounded fine, and we had no problem using the Plantronics setup with other devices, so we have to hope that this is a hardware problem with our review unit.
Our favorite: Admirable battery life, better than promised.
Our request: Better stereo Bluetooth performance (and maybe a prettier music player).
Price and availability
The Motorola RIZR Z3 is available on T-Mobile for $80 with a contract and an instant discount of $110. A mail-in rebate of $50 is available, when signing up for a qualifying plan.
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