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Even if it reduced its staff to the lowest numbers in the history of the company, the mobile division from Motorola is still alive and so, a new terminal sees the light of the day. Motorola ROKR U9 is a clamshell with an average cost, which has as a target the people who remained faithful to this brand. Small, sleek, and above all, incredibly aerodynamic, Motorola ROKR U9 has been launched in an effort to limit the disastrous financial results registered last year.

Announced in October 2007, Motorola ROKR U9 was released in February 2008. The phone is available in several colors such as gray, red, pink and gold.


Motorola ROKR U9 shines in many chapters, when it comes to design. Even from the first sight, the aerodynamic shape of the device will draw attention in a particular way. The second asset of the phone is the glossy plastic used in its manufacture. While the front side of the clamshell, which includes a secondary display, is fully covered by the glossy plastic, the back of the phone is covered by a plastic housing shaft, which feels great when held in hand. On the right side of the phone, we found a key, which opens a voice recorder that allows the user to call a contact simply by saying its name. On the left side of the clamshell, there is a dedicated photo / video camera button and a volume key.

The proprietary microUSB port was placed at the bottom of the device. The 2-megapixel camera can be found in front of the phone, and is covered by a thin colorless plastic that protects it against possible scratches. You will also be able to use the touch music keys located just below the external display, but only if the music player is on. The phone keyboard layout is standard, and the keys are quite large. They have an average response time, which means that it must be pressed a little harder. Otherwise, they provide a better experience when using the SMS.



The menu can be controlled easy with the D-pad button and the two contextual keys. Besides the usual keys back (Delete), Motorola has also included a multimedia key, which opens the music player when pressed. Immediately above the keyboard, in the upper left corner, there is a small ambient light sensor. The phone’s backlighting is exceptional, so there will be no problems if you will decide to use the phone in dark areas. The 2-inches main screen s does not touch the keyboard due to a thin rubber band placed on the bottom of the keys. Motorola ROKR U9 measures 90x48.6x16.4mm and weighs just 87.5g (including the battery). The clamshell mechanism is quite robust, which makes the phone stronger. Even if it is a little more difficult, users will be able to open the clamshell with one hand. Overall, the Motorola U9 is pleasant with its shape and its design lines, but let us see what is under these beautiful clothes.

Motorola ROKR U9 includes a TFT (240 x 320 pixels) supporting 262,000 colors. The picture quality is above average, the colors are very well defined and the contrast is extremely vivid. The screen is visible even when exposed under sunlight. The OLED secondary screen supports 65,000 colors and a resolution of 128x160 pixels and it is visible in the sunlight.



The 2-megapixel camera placed on the front side of the clamshell has no special features except the 8x digital zoom. The photo / video camera can be initiated by pressing the dedicated button found on the left side of the phone. You can also set the D-pad button to initiate the camera. The preview image cannot be seen in full screen. There are no additional settings for the camera, so once you open the module, you will be able to take pictures. Saving photos is easy, but requires extra handling of the menu.

The games category contains only Java compatible software, such as Sudoku, Motorola text, Motorola Setup and Backup. The WebAccess category, as suggested by its name, provides users with access to Internet through different access points, which can be set in advance or installed by the network operator. You will be able to choose which access point is used by default if you want to connect to the Internet.

The integrated browser (Symphony 1.1) is mediocre and can be replaced with Opera Mini if you want a better experience. The multimedia category will give you access to the Media Finder, Camera, Camcorder, Voice Recorder and Google. The phone gives users four connectivity options: Bluetooth, USB, voice networks and data Connections. The last of the nine main categories, settings, is the largest and from here, you can do the most important things. There are seven Subcategories: Profiles, Themes, Home Screen, Call Settings, Phone settings, and Network Security.

Motorola ROKR U9 includes Java MIDP 2.0 CLDC 1.1, with 900 KB of free memory. This will allow users to install other Java applications within the low memory.

Because it is an average budget phone, Motorola ROKR U9 includes only technologies like EDGE and GPRS Class 10, which is more than enough for its price. The tests showed us that the phone has an average speed for data transfers: 120 kb / s download and 70 kb / s for upload EDGE. The integrated browser, Symphony, can format any web page on the entire width of the screen, but can also display the image in full screen. Users will be able to save any favorite site directly on the phone’s memory. The user can stop the displaying of images or Java scripts. The clamshell also includes Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support.


In terms of messaging, the phone accepts standard text messages, MMS, Flash and audio messaging, and Email. The e-mail client usually accepts mail POP3, SMTP and IMAP4 protocols. The quad-band phone (GSM 850 / GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900) has a good reception of the GSM signal. The sound, during conversations, has a quite low clarity.

Motorola ROKR U9 is most likely powered by a Freescale i.MX31 processor, which runs at speeds up to 532 MHz. Even if it is a powerful processor, I noticed that the phone is a bit slow, especially when running more than one application. Motorola U9 includes 34.5 MB of internal memory, but only 25 MB are available to users. The storage space can be expanded up to 4GB thanks to the microSD slot. The slot was placed near the SIM card slot, under the battery.

The integrated music player supports a wide range of formats such as MP3, AAC, AAC +, WMA, OGG and AMR. It can be minimized and can run in the background while other applications and phone functions can be accessed. Several settings can improve the sound quality: Equalizer, Audio Space, Shuffle, Auto-Repeat and bass boost. The music player can also be controlled with the touch keys below the external display. The sound quality is average, like the music player interface. Moreover, the phone comes with headphones in the sales package and it does not contain a 2.5mm jack or 3.5 mm jack port. I noticed that the phone also has a lag when the music player is running in the background and you try to navigate through the menu or open another application.

I was pleasantly surprised by the design of the phone, but I was also impressed by what it has to offer in terms of features. Even if it is only a medium budget phone, I expected more than it actually has. I hope that the design will be more important to the Motorola fans than the features, otherwise I do not think that the phone will have a great success.