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A couple of weeks ago while checking out Motorola’s new ROKR E8 and ZN5, we received a pre-production version of the Motorola MOTOROKR EQ5. The EQ5 is a Bluetooth device that acts both as a pair of wireless stereo speakers as well as a regular wireless speakerphone. It weighs only a hair over 100g (3.5oz) and measures 116mm x 65mm x 16mm (4.6″ x 2.6″ x .6″) in size, which makes small enough to stuff in a pocket, and perfect for an overnight bag or a briefcase.

Unlike the Sony Ericsson MBS-100 that I reviewed last week, the EQ5 has a number of controls on-board. In order to serve music playback best, it includes the same pause/play, volume, and next/previous track controls that you would find on a pair of stereo Bluetooth headphones. It also has a call button for making or answering phone calls, and has a nice, obvious sliding power control, so that you don’t have to hold in a button to power the device on or off. So far, so good.

As a speakerphone, the EQ5 performed quite well for short range tasks. Audio was pretty clear in both directions, and nobody had to strain or speak excessively loud to be heard and understood. There was more than enough volume for most environments, as well. The only audio issues that can be found on the Motorola EQ5 are tied to music playback. The EQ5’s built-in stereo speakers just aren’t capable of handling the amount of volume that the device is able to send their way. When played anywhere near its maximum volume level, the EQ5’s sound quality deteriorates into a painful mess of vibration sounds and distorted music. It’s not pleasant. At lower volume levels the EQ5 performs admirably, but still lacks the bass sound one would expect from a larger device like the previously mentioned MBS-100.

Motorola touts the EQ5 as supporting SRS’s WOW HD audio technology, but the device just can’t pull it off. We can hope that full production level devices might fare a bit better, but I think the physical limitations of the small speakers and thin housing are probably the issue, not firmware.

Motorola claims that the EQ5’s battery should be good for up to 8 hours of non-stop music or speakerphone use. It can be recharged with a micro-USB connector, the same type being found on many new devices from the likes of Motorola, Nokia, and Palm. If you don’t have a Bluetooth stereo phone, you are still in luck since the EQ5 includes a regular 3.5mm socket so you can hook it up directly to an iPod or similar device. Lastly, the EQ5 has a very handy built-in desk stand.

In terms of compatibility, we were able to test the EQ5 with Motorola’s similarly shaped ROKR E8, a Samsung BlackJack II, a Nokia E66, and an HTC Touch Diamond. It performed fine with all but the Touch Diamond, so it is quite possible that the phone was the issue, not the EQ5.

Overall I found the Motorola EQ5 to be a solid little device that would be good for an office desk or a hotel room alike. It won’t give you concert hall quality sound, but it will certainly outperform most any stereo speaker equipped phone on the market.

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