The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

Motorola remasters Rokr music phone

Linux meets Microsoft

Not content with simply revamping its Razr, Motorola has updated its Rokr handset - the original iTunes phone - this time bringing it more in tune with the latest Moto look.

Motorola Rokr Z6 Motorola Rokr Z6
Motorola's Rokr Z6: front and back

Released in the West next month, the Rokr Z6 ditches Apple's technology in favour of Microsoft's Windows Media - an ironic choice, perhaps, since the Z6 is based on the open source operating system, Linux.

Incidentally, Motorola said it would be promoting Napster as the Z6 music source of choice. A sign of a acquisition to come? Maybe - Motorola's main rivals, Nokia and Samsung, both have music offerings of their own. Would Motorola want to be left out? It's certainly launching a store of its own in China.

The Z6 is a quad-band GSM/GPRS/Edge handset with a 2in, 320 x 340, 262,144-colour display; Bluetooth; A2DP wireless stereo support - Motorola also launched the Rokr S9 Bluetooth headphones set yesterday; a two megapixel camera; and 64MB of on-board memory expandable using MicroSD cards.

Motorola Rokr Z6 Motorola Rokr Z6
Motorola's Rokr Z6: side ways

Motorola claimed the Z6 has a talk time of 3-4 hours, slightly lower than the Z6m variant aimed at CDMA/EvDO markets - though this model has a lesser, 65,536-colour screen for some reason.

The Z6 goes on sale in China this month, with a wider Rokr roll-out coming in June. The Z6m is sometime in Q3, Motorola said.

More from The Register

Android is a mess and needs sprucing up, admits chief
Can Google really fix it? It isn't in control any more
New Lumia 925: This, loyalists, is the BIG ONE you've waited for
Nokia veep drills high-end master plan for El Reg
Android device? Ooohhhh, you mean a Samsung phone
Koreans nabbed nearly all the Q1 profits – more even than Google
Review: HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook
All roads lead to Chrome?
Borked your iDevice? Pay EVEN MORE to have it fixed by Applecare
Or scream at their hapless techies on their forums
Euro PC shipments plummet into bottomless pit of DOOOOM
11th quarter of decline, 20pc drop on last year - Gartner
Report: AT&T dropping Facebook phone after dismal sales
Turns out folks won't buy that for a dollar