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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Motorola Zine ZN5

On the outside, the ZN5 is an attractive device with a sleek profile and an understated style. Though you might think it's related to the Motorola Krave ZN4, the two devices couldn't be more different. While the ZN4 has a touch screen, the ZN5 has a standard candy bar design with a full set of physical controls.

The dark gray color scheme is nicely offset with a couple touches of purple. The handset feels great in the hand both sturdy and comfortable without being excessively hefty (5.65 inches tall by 1.98 inches wide by 0.47 inch deep weighing 4.02 ounces). The gorgeous 2.4 inch display (320x240 pixels) takes up almost half of the phone's front.

With support for 262,000 colors, graphics were sharp and colors were vibrant. Menus are straightforward, as the ZN5 has the same simple, but easy to use interface that we saw on the Motorola Rokr E8. You can change the brightness and the back lighting time. The text size is not adjustable, but it should be big enough for most users. The display is easier to see in direct light than on many other cell phones. The navigation toggle and central OK button are raised above the surface of the phone, which gives it a nice tactile feel, even if it is just a bit on the small side.

In contrast, the remaining navigation controls two soft keys, a photo gallery shortcut, a back button, and the Talk and End or power keys are flush with the surface of the phone, but they have a spacious arrangement. Also, tiny silver bumps like those on the Rokr E8 assist in dialing by feel. The toggle doubles as a shortcut control to four user defined features.

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