Motorola U9 review
Posted on April 5, 2008
Filed Under Motorola, Motorola U9
An interesting new phone from Motorola, the U9. A flip phone with a color interface on the front of the flip that you can control functions on the phone, that has bluetooth stereo support.
First off, the specifications.
1. GSM, 850, 800, 1800, 1900. No 3g
2. 2MP camera on the face of the flip
3. Bluethooth with A2DP support
4. MicroSD under the battery
The U9 is small and feels good in your hand. It has nice flip action. The keyboard is flat, has the razr styling, and the numbers keys have raised edges between them. On the sides are the volume control and dedicated camera button. On the right side is the vr command button, aka voice recognition.
On the back of the U9 is the battery door. The back and sides have a slight rubber feel to them. The front of the phone is where all the action is. Motorola wants this phone to stand out, and it does bring attention.
Closed, the U9 has a shinny front face, made from plastic or it seems, so it may be prone to scratches, stay away keys and change in your pocket.
The interface has nice navigation, from main screen you have two action buttons, one that take you to, shortcuts and the other to the main menu. The shortcuts allow you to do what Motorola thinks you may frequently use, such as changing alerts, capturing video and playing music.
The menus are responsive and there is almost no lag time between button press and action. The menu icons have a nice stylized look to them, and animate slightly when selected. This is a nice addition as it helps in navigation.
Messaging and music is something to take note on the U9.
First off, Microsoft Exchange support. Yes. I said Exchange support. Running under the application name of Motosync, you can configure Microsoft Active Sync protocol. My U9 did not have this option, but it does list the option in the manual. Perhaps a later firmware update will enable this.
Music is what the U9 is really all about, as least that what Motorola wants you to believe.
According to the manual, the U9 will play Microsoft DRM protected files. My music is mostly unprotected mp3’s and some itunes purchases. I tried to transfer my itunes purchase to the U9 and it does not like that format. The phone does support mp3 formats and Microsoft DRM files though.
With the clip closed you can control the music player, but your not able to start the music player with the flip closed. Weired. So you need flip open the phone, start the music player and close the fip and use the font face controls. Not the most intuitive.
With the flip closed, after you start the music player, you will see the interface to control your playlists. Kinda a simple interface, but play, advance to next song, back to previous song and pause are present with volume control using the volume rocker on the side of the phone. Getting clear pictures of the interface is difficult, but in the unboxing video you can view that.
Sound is decent considering there is only one speaker on the U9. But since the phone supports A2DP, bring a pair of bluetooth stereo headphones and your good to go.
Phone quality is decent, but the caller on the other end did note a slight echo. I suspect the mic is a little so sensitive, so it may be picking up more background noise then usual.
Overall thoughts on the U9. A decent little flip that had some interesting surprises. Support for Microsoft Active sync, a cool take on a music player interface on the front of the flip and some nice style.
Thanks to Overseas Electronics for the review Motorola U9.
