Motorola have been a bit slow on the megapixel uptake. Its first 3.2-megapixel camphone, the Z10, launched in September last year as its rivals were already hitting the five mark and now its debut five-megapixel blower, the MOTOZINE ZN5, arrives when heady eight-megapixel heights are being reached.
Still, it’s better late than never and a five-megapixel lens should never be dismissed so lightly. But while the ZN5 is loaded with the requisite photo skills for a sharp shooting camphone, true to Moto’s recent form, the handset infuriately skimps in other departments to make it an outright contender.
Let’s start with the design: this unwieldy battleship grey slab looks like it’s still at the prototype stage, sporting uninspiring chops straight from the industrial revolution. The prosaic minimalist looking flushed mechanised keypad doesn’t help the style cause either but luckily it’s very lucid to thumb with Braille-like nipples for added guidance.
The absence of 3G is also puzzling but countered by including built-in Wi-Fi for high speed uploading of photos to the Kodak’s online gallery and nippy web browsing. But hop outside a wireless connection and you’re left with sluggish EDGE speeds. Oh dear.
Thankfully, there’s little to complain about its camera performance, although truant extras like face detection and ISO settings means its still lagging behind more accomplished competitors. However, its bright built-in Xenon-flash and perceptive autofocus are both impressive and Moto has roped in Kodak to polished picture quality; its Perfect Touch tech trickery helps to deliver vibrant and crisp-looking printable snaps.
Verdict
Another hit and miss handset from Moto. Its great camera performance is unfortunately overshadowed by a lacklustre design and absent 3G download speeds.
Best features
Impressive camera performance
Built-in Wi-Fi
Easy to thumb keypad
Integrated 3.5mm headphone jack
Not so good
Lack of 3G or HSDPA
Unattractive design
Closest rivals
Samsung G600
Like the ZN5, this five-megapixel-toting slider shirks on the 3G download speeds but has a far prettier face and pocket-friendly chassis.
Nokia 6220 Classic
A Symbian smartphone with a Classic tag but Nseries-esque features. It’s accomplished five-megapixel snapper is joined by built-in GPS and HSDPA.
LG KU990 Viewty
This touch-phone packs a sharp five-megapixel camera lens and an eye for video. It’s shoot slick VGA-quality footage, not to mention slow mo dallies.
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