Editor’s Review: The Motozine ZN5 Camera Phone
In June 2008, press releases announced the Winter 2008 debut of the Motozine ZN5 Camera Phone. The ZN5 was a unique phone for a target market: it was designed in partnership with Kodak in order to supply the phone with state-of-the-art photographic abilities. While Motozine’s ZN5 isn’t the first camera phone, it definitely may be one of the first camera phones that would make us consider using it in lieu of an actual camera. In addition, we feel the ZN5 is one of the best free cell phones available. Other free T-Mobile phones may not be able to compete with this phone’s camera capabilities.
With a sleek profile and understated, elegant style, the ZN5 is very attractive. Dark pewter gray, the device has several purple accents which complement the phone’s look. Sturdy-feeling, the cell phone feels nice in the hand. We thought that the weight was perfect; not light enough to drop but not heavy enough to be uncomfortable.
The ZN5’s 2.4 inch screen covers nearly half of the front face. The imagery is gorgeous. Graphics were sharply defined and all the colors were vibrant. Many other free T-Mobile phones cannot be seen in direct light, unlike this spiffy ZN5.
With the same interface as the Motorola Rokr E8, this cell phone is easy to navigate. We felt that we could intuitively browse through the menus and features without getting lost and asking directions.
We thought that the keypad was nicely sized, and my chubby fingers didn’t have a problem sending a text. The keys have little silver bumps on them to help your fingers traverse the keypad.
The ZN5 has buttons such as a volume rocker wheel, a handset-lock, and a purple camera shutter key. We were thrilled that the cell phone has a 3.5 mm headset jack along with a micro USB port. Many free email cell phones
The ZN5’s camera is pretty darn wonderful. Photos can be shot using one of four resolution choices, anywhere from 5 megapixels to 1.2 megapixels. Kodak wisely incorporated a ton of editing options. The ZN5 has an autotimer, low light setting, five white balance settings, a multishot mode, three focus settings, and a silent option along with the opportunity to use six shutter sounds. The flash is effective and quick. The ZN5 has one of the fastest shutter speeds available among cell phones and cameras – it sports a click-to-capture time of .02 seconds.
Other free email cell phones cannot compare to the ZN5 if we base our opinion on our great picture-taking experience. The camera menu is easy to use, and operating the ZN5 as a camera felt like second-nature.
Among mobile devices with cameras, we thought that the editing features alone may make the ZN5 one of the best free cell phones available. We cropped, resized, and rotated photos; played around and chose one of six color tones; created a mirrored image; added tags; adjusted the brightness and contrast; and altered the sharpness. The Add Elements menu allows you to add other images to the photo, such as a graphic or timestamp.
With 128MB of shared memory, we still recommend you consider using a memory card should you prove to be the next Ansel Adams. In the ZN5’s box, a 1GB card was provided; however, you can insert a card as large as 4GB.
Motorola and Kodak thought of everything; the ZN5 has a number of specific applications for photos. The Moto Tools PC syncing software comes with the phone. You can upload photos to a blog or save them in an online T-Mobile album. Using Internet Explorer, you can connect to the Kodak Photo Gallery online service. By the way, the ZN5’s Wi-Fi offered an incredibly fast connection, even though the T-Mobile GPRS network speeds are also healthy.
The ZN5 has a number of other nice features outside of the camera. Offering a file manager, full Bluetooth with a stereo profile, USB mass storage, a voice recorder, instant messaging and text messaging capabilities, and Web-based POP3 email, this phone is loaded.
The best camera phone photo quality is our ultimate opinion of the ZN5. It’s images end up looking gorgeous – no blurry edges, bright colors, and sharp objects all highlight this mobile device’s sophisticated camera.
The ZN5 has a number of other nice features outside of the camera. Offering a file manager, full Bluetooth with a stereo profile, USB mass storage, a voice recorder, instant messaging and text messaging capabilities, and Web-based POP3 email, this phone is loaded.
The best camera phone photo quality is our ultimate opinion of the ZN5. It’s images end up looking gorgeous – no blurry edges, bright colors, and sharp objects all highlight this mobile device’s sophisticated camera.
