Entertainment

While not a replacement for a PDA, the Motorola E815 does take advantage of its plentiful storage space. Common PIM (Personal Information Management) applications only provide consumers with the bare essentials, leaving many business users helpless. Able to store 1000 contacts, the E815 incorporates Alarm Clock, Calculator, Currency Converter, Datebook, and Voice Recorder features. Additionally, an integrated email client allows connections to POP3, IMAP4, and SMTP accounts (when used with optional Verizon data service).

Fortunately the E815 supports the BREW (Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless) platform. Allowing users to transfer and install games and productivity tools on the E815 through a PC or through the web, BREW is a popular platform for Java applications developed by third party developers.

Conveniently, Verizon Wireless also uses its network to bring consumers software, wallpapers, ring tones, and more with Get It Now. For a nominal fee, users can transfer multimedia at the touch of a button.

Utilizing the EV-DO broadband connection, consumers can also take advantage of Verizon's Get It Now service with 3D Gaming. Costing more than standard games, about $10 for a 3-month subscription, the 3D games are considerably more entertaining providing 3D rendering and effects reminiscent of the 90s consoles.

Currently a few games in a wide range of genres including EverQuest: Hero's Call, Frogger, JAMDAT Bowling, Name That Tune, NBA Basketball 2005, Suzuki Motocross Challenge, SpongeBob Darts.

Internet

The highlight of the Motorola E815 and the backbone of its multimedia capabilities is its compatibility to Verizon Wireless' broadband EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) service. Through EV-DO, users can browse the Internet, stream videos, and transfer high-resolution photos at DSL speeds of up to 2.4 Mbps, theoretically; realistic rates will be more around 300 to 500 kbps. Surfing on an Openwave UP 6.2 browser, web pages are rendered upon WAP 2.0 - WML, xHTML Mobile (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language) and xHTML Basic markup languages.

But the Motorola E815's true power shines when accessing Verizon's VCAST service; streaming video clips using Windows Media, currently the highest-quality digital media format available for streaming applications. For a $15 month access fee, customers can receive unlimited access to more than 300 daily video clips, including news and entertainment from the News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox studio and Viacom Inc.'s VH1 and Comedy Central cable channels.

Similar technologies have been available in Asia for years, but VCAST marks the North American wireless industry's initial push into mobile television; delivering live and prerecorded TV programs from such networks as ABC News, CNBC, MSNBC, and the Weather Channel.

Additionally, Video-On-Demand is available through Verizon Wireless' Get It Now service. Preloaded with thePlatform, a media publishing technology, customers can subscribe to and select preferences for their favorite content; receiving text alerts when new videos becomes available, viewing new clips within their favorite channels, and checking summary reports on videos purchased. Coupled with PacketVideo's media player, the E815's content catalog allows users to fast forward and rewind streams, or download for local playback.

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