Motorola Launches Second ROKR Phone, the E2

Motorola ROKR E2

Motorola ROKR E2

Motorola ROKR E2

Today at the 2005 CES show in Las Vegas, Motorola unveiled the second device in the ROKR series, the E2.

While it shares its music focus with the much-maligned ROKR E1 (the iTunes phone), it is notable mostly for what has been changed since the E1. For example, new dedicated music controls are now located on the side of the device, to make music playing easier. Also, there is no iTunes software in the E2, and as such it does not have the 100 song maximum that the ROKR E1 did.

Other changes have been made to make the music experience more satisfying as well. For example, the ROKR E2 accepts full size SD memory cards instead of the TransFlash/microSD cards found in the E1. This means an E2 user could load around 500 songs on the device at 4MB per song. New USB 2.0 support means that you won't need to use a card reader on your PC to quickly load up the memory card, either. Also new is a 3.5mm stereo headset jack - no more adapters required to use your own stereo headphones. And if you need more than MP3s to listen to, a new FM radio receiver is now built-in to the E2.

But a number of other non-music related changes have been made since the E1 as well. For example, the E2 makes use of Motorola's Linux based OS and implements the company's Screen3 live standby display technology. A related upgrade is the use of Opera's mobile web browser in the E2. A new 1.3 megapixel camera will be able to take improved photos, and a new 2" 240x320 (QVGA) display will make viewing them on the phone more pleasing. The display will also make viewing the 15fps video clips you capture with the E2 easy to watch.

Motorola expects the E2 to be available some time during the first half of 2006. No word yet on pricing or carrier availability.

Check back in a couple of days to see live photos of the E2 from the CES show.

 

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