With missing Android overlay
Mobile phone manufacturer Motorola has launched the successor to their second ever Android mobile phone, the Milestone 2.
The new version arrives with a 3.7-inch touch screen, Android 2.2 and also features a slide out Qwerty keyboard, that has been improved since it’s the predecessor. Milestone 2 is now accompanied by Motorola’s overlay to the Google mobile OS known as MotoBlur, which was missing from the original phone.
MotoBlur brings full message notifications onto the home screen, from social networking feeds, text messaging and emails only in a much more seamless way that HTC’s Friendsteam, as it’s thoroughly integrated into Android.
MotoBlur also offers up the ability to have all the phone’s contents backed up into a Motorola online user account, where if the phone is lost or stolen the handset can be tracked and all the contents remotely wiped - then completely restored to a replacement mobile.
Powering the Milestone 2 is a 1Ghz processor, where the original Milestone only ran from a 550Mhz chipset and Android 2.0. The new mobile now has the 802.11n specification, where the phone can also be run as a mobile WIFI hotspot thanks to the new OS.
HD video capture is also possible with the new model from its 5 megapixel camera at 720p, with video content being stored on the internal 8GB memory or on to the accompanying 8GB microSD card.
The Motorola Milestone 2 will be available in the UK and the rest of Europe between October and December. No networks have been confirmed as yet to be carrying the handset, but last time around the online phone reseller Expansys exclusively sold the phone SIM free and unlocked.
More reserve for the British market
The European TV spot for Motorola’s Milestone has been released. Maybe not as exciting as a racehorse duct-taped to a scud-missile, but we British are above those kind of cheap, adrenaline packed, energising commercials. Aren’t we?
Ok, so I wanted a phone that said DRRRROOOIIID!, but now the Milestone is back on my list of desirables.
Phones from Mars and Venus
This week sees starkly different advertising styles pitching products for girls and boys. Samsung announce its new ‘Diva’ design range of phones, specifically targeted at a female audience and the Motorola Droid gets a very boy-centric new advert for Verizon.
Haute couture
Premiering on the catwalk this season from Samsung are the S7070 touchscreen and the S5150 clamshell. Both phones feature a quilted texture cover and high gloss finish to catch the eye. The S7070 is for the sophisticated woman, unshy of her femininity in the workplace and the S5150 makes a statement of fashion awareness when out about town.
Samsung plan to refresh the Diva range with new models each year.
Gritty reality
Boys get a high-injection in-your-face new advert from Verizon Wireless for the Droid. I feel all manly again now after writing the Samsung paragraph. An almost-Droid is out in the UK next week, the Milestone.
Android 2.0 in the UK
The Motorola Droid is a Verizon Wireless exclusive built for North American CDMA networks. The European GSM version is called the Milestone and has started to become available across Europe. Stock goes on sale in the UK on 7 December.
Not yet announced as available through any UK carrier, the Milestone is appearing on independent web sites. Priced at around £450 it’s listed for sale from next week. The Android 2.0 phone retains the features of the droid, but sadly not the red demon eye and robotic voice. Europeans do gain the advantage of multitouch support, so iPhone-like pinch control for zooming and navigation is a great addition. The phone comes with a trial version of MotoNav, but I expect users to switch when full functionality for free Google Maps Navigation is released for Europe. Let it be soon!
I like Android, I love full QWERTY-sliders. So why am I so disappointed at the name change? Answers on a postcard, or at least a comment.
