Motorola Dext review

The Dext has access to the wonderful Android Market, which makes zillions of apps easy to find and install. That means the Dext has huge potential for growth, whether you're exploiting the infinite jukebox of Spotify or turning it into a Skype phone. Many of the apps are free, and, although they don't tend to be quite as slick as the apps available for the iPhone, the Android Market wins points for giving its developers more scope for creativity.

As well as its Android goodness, the Dext has solid specs, with a 5-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi and HSDPA for fast downloads over 3G. It comes with a 2GB memory card (it supports cards of up to 32GB) and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack so you can listen to your tunes on your own cans.

Real or virtual keyboard?
The Dext's physical keyboard is a mixed bag. The keys are large and raised, but there's no space between them. Still, it's impressive that Motorola has packed them into a small space without sacrificing too much usability, and we had no trouble typing our emails and texts accurately. There's also a fairly good on-screen keyboard. It's very responsive, although it doesn't offer the useful shortcuts to numbers and symbols that the HTC Hero does.

The slide-out Qwerty keyboard is easy to type on accurately, and there's a responsive on-screen keyboard as well

In general, we preferred to type on the physical keyboard, even though it can be a pain, because you're forced to flip from portrait orientation to landscape when you pop it open. In some cases, that meant we stuck to the on-screen keyboard when typing a quick missive on a screen that looked better in portrait orientation, such as a Web page.

Ugly duckling
With the power of Android, a peppy touchscreen and some fun social-networking features, there's only one big drawback that kept us from loving the Dext like a long-lost friend: its frumpy appearance. It's a surprise that Motorola, which is known for producing sexy phones like the Razr, took a major design cue for the Dext from the lumpen Nokia N97. It's rather chunky, with a dull chrome trim over boring black plastic, and the white labels for the buttons on the side look like temporary stickers that should peel off but don't.

It also feels rather flimsy, and the slider wobbled slightly on our sample. This poor build quality had a brutal knock-on effect on the call quality of our test phone, with a loose speaker leading to a terrible buzzing noise during our calls. We think other Dext handsets might not suffer the same problem, but be ready to test it right out of the box to ensure you haven't got a dud.

Although the Dext is the N97's cousin in terms of looks, it's definitely the smarter, more talented of the two. The Dext is actually everything we hoped the N97 would be, thanks to its zippy, attractive, capacitive touchscreen and a user interface that's a pleasure to use.

Conclusion
If you're drowning in a social-networking deluge of updates and messages, the Motorola Dext may be the answer for keeping everything under control. Throw in a full Qwerty keyboard, you've got an excellent phone that's built for staying in touch, as long as you don't actually want to make calls.

A good-looking, responsive touchscreen and the powerful, expandable Android operating system help to make up for the Dext's uninspiring looks and slightly questionable build quality, making for a well-rounded smart phone that we'd be happy to be caught typing on.

Edited by Charles Kloet