Motorola ROKR E8 Touchscreen Keyboard Morphs 4 Functionality

rokr.jpgMotorola revealed a new concept in keyboarding at CES with its new ROKR E8 along with a nav wheel the touch screen metamorphoses into different keyboards for different functions, such as a phone dial pad, music player and with  touchy-feely hapitcalness.

When powered off, the surface of ROKR E8 is smooth, with no visible keys. Power on the device and it presents a virtual numbered keypad on the front surface. With one “press” of the virtual music key, the phone keypad disappears and control keys for the music player — play, pause, fast forward and rewind — appear in its place.

Summary of key features in ROKR E8:

  • ModeShift technology transforms the device from phone to music player with the touch of a button.
  • Haptics technology provides tactile response when a virtual key is pressed.
  • FastScroll navigation wheel allows for scrolling through thousands of songs with the slide of a thumb.
  • Patented CrystalTalktechnology delivers outstanding call clarity even in noisy environments.
  • WindowsMedia Player compatibility enables easy transferof tunes from the PC to the device.
  • FM radio with SongID support.
  • Bluetooth support for headphones and speakers.
  • 2GB internal memory; optional external memory support up to 4GB capacity
  • 2.0megapixel camera with 8x zoom, multi-shot feature, video capture and playback
  • Airplane mode to play uninterrupted music in the air, even without a SIM card
  • Talking phone offers a voice readout of text messages while dialing number or when receiving a call
  • MIDI, MP3, AAC, AAC+, Enhanced AAC+, WMA, WAV, AMR-NB, Real Audio (RA) v10
  • Crystal Talk technology
  • Full HTML browser

ROKR E8 is expected to be available in Q1 2008.

Using breakthrough ModeShift technology from Motorola, the quad-band GPRS/EDGE device presents users with only the controls they need, at the time they need them, instantly transforming from music player to phone with the touch of a button.

ROKR E8 also marks the debut of the new FastScroll navigaton wheel from Motorola, a variable-speed touch control that lets consumers easily scroll through all of the content stored on the device. With a gentle slide of the thumb, the wheel quickly scrolls through your music (music mode), contacts (phone mode), calendar (phone mode), or multimedia (imaging mode) content. Information is easily viewed on the landscape 2.0” QVGA display.

In music mode, ROKR E8 delivers great sound through a three-dimensional stereo feature that enhances two-channel audio and an on-board equalizer. Music can be enjoyed on the built-in speaker, with a compatible Bluetooth enabled stereo headset or through a wired headset plugged into the 3.5mm jack.

ROKR E8 also helps consumers discover new music with a built-in FM radio and support for Song ID(2) . The 2GB internal memory can store up to 1,500 songs(3), and the external memory is expandable up to 4GB with an optional microSD card. Music transfers quickly with USB 2.0. The device is compatible with Windows Media Player 11 on the PC, which also provides access to more than 200 online music stores.
In phone mode, ROKR E8 provides outstanding voice quality using Motorola