Instead, the Milestone fobs us off with MotoNav, Motorola's own sat-nav system. After a brief test, we're not huge fans, since it's not easy to use. But it has one big advantage over Google Maps Navigation. Because the maps are installed on the phone, you can use MotoNav without having a data connection, which is handy for avoiding data charges when you're abroad.
Screen stunner
Since we've been spurned by Google Maps Navigation, the marquee feature of
the Milestone has got to be its stunning screen. Clear, sharp and deeply
vibrant, we could stare at it for hours. Maps in particular are
wonderfully easy to read on the 94mm (3.7-inch) screen, which packs 480x854
pixels into a widescreen display that's taller and narrower than the iPhone's.
The keyboard hiding underneath is slightly bigger than the screen, so, when the keyboard's stowed away, there's an odd ledge that pokes out below the display. We found the sliding mechanism to be quite stiff on our test phone, so it wasn't easy to pop the keyboard out. To keep the phone slim, the keyboard is almost totally flat, which doesn't make it particularly easy to type on. It's not terrible, but touch typing isn't a piece of cake when there's almost no differentiation between the keys.
Next to the keys, there's a five-way function button, which we found accurate but almost totally unnecessary. Bizarrely, there are also two empty spots in the keyboard. Surely Motorola could have put something handy there?
The five-way function button is a gold colour, and the whole handset is dotted with gold accents. We've heard that some people have fallen in love with the Milestone at first sight, but it's no beauty in our eyes. It's more like a slimmed-down G1, especially since the part of the keyboard that protrudes below the screen is reminiscent of the chin seen on HTC's smart phones.
The Milestone is definitely sleeker and more stylish than the Dext, and it feels solid, heavy and well-made. While we're not fans of its gold-trimmed, angular appearance, we'll leave it up to you to decide if it suits your style.
Take the shot
The Milestone's 5-megapixel camera has two LED photo lights, which do a
good job of brightening up dark situations, although their light is harsh. In
good light, the Milestone lives up to other camera phones with a similar
resolution, snapping decent, but not stunning, shots. The camera will come in handy for spur-of-the-moment photos.
The Milestone's video-recording capability is sound, capturing the moment with decent resolution and accurate colour. YouTube also looks good on the Milestone's gorgeous screen, and videos download quickly, thanks to the Wi-Fi and HSPA connectivity for fast data over 3G.
Like other smart phones that pack in every feature under the sun, the Milestone's Achilles heel is battery life. We had to recharge every day while using it normally. We also found that the call quality wasn't impressive in our tests over the T-Mobile network, occasionally sounding tinny or echoing.
Conclusion
The Motorola Milestone is a fast, powerful and feature-packed smart phone with a
stunning screen and great connectivity. The slide-out keyboard is as flat as a
pancake, we still pine for the missing Google Maps Navigation feature, and it lacks the style of the iPhone or the Palm Pre,
but we can't deny that this is the smart phone for the user who wants it all.
Edited by Charles Kloet
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User reviews4
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martinb999 30 June 2010
Good: screen, apps
Bad: slider, lack of programmes, awful sound quality
Comment: Taking a call is sometimes difficult to interpret what the other person is saying as it is really is awful call quality....... like they are in a tin box thousands of miles away stuttering!
Naw, the potential is there but at the moment just doesn't come up to the mark. Sorry motorola.
j_gsk 27 April 2010
Good: screen, speed, hw keyboard, camera (in the daylight) customisation......
Bad: battery could be better,
Comment: I believe there is very few people out there who would have done such a comprehensive research about their future phone as I did. It was worth it. Milestone is more than a phone and android from google is such a ingenious thing. it really took google guys to cause little revolution in a mobile world and make it roll forward where seemed to be not that much invention, and where even the top end devices from giants like nokia still felt not finished, not fast enough and didn't provide customer experience you'd have wished for .. (and that's what made iphone stand out btw)
Back to the phone.
Screen is brilliant and responsive, whole device is fast, taking into consideration that it runs half RAM and half the processor speed of Desire or Nexus, what is it only those can do hmm??
So why did I choose Milestone if I could have bought better Desire, nexus or Xperiax10 with bigger screen and better camera??
Well,
a) should i mind that phone is running on 550 Mhz and not 1Gh? ..i don't, its FAST,
should i mind mind that ram is 256 not 512? well, i could make a use of it but, i installed an app that kills apps that are not in use to manage and free up ram and save battery.. works FINE!
b) built quality - just great.. I bought milestone before i had a chance try on hands Desire but built quality is very good. Will last the time it's been purchased for
c) and the biggest factor - Hardware keyboard. this is a thing that was critisized on the phone.. and i wasn't excited either when I held the phone for the first time. (there r 2 things that are in the way of your right thumb - the 'lip' and the D pad - why the heck couldn't they put that thing on the left so you wouln't have to strech your right thumb so much?) Well, after two months of use i can tell you that HW keyboard is the top feature and i HOPE that if milestone ever has a succesor that that next phone will have similar keyboard as this one. The flatness of the keys is what makes them very sure to press, I practically don't mistype. I don't remember ever pressing between the keys and getting something different. the keys sink very little at a press but have very good tactile feel to them. and this makes keyboard fast. So it just works and i'm glad guys from Motorola designed it this way. another thing, of course you need to be able to use phone with 1 hand (biiig downside of otherwise very good nokia n900) sw keyboard is always there (try to install swype keyboard from androyd market - just Abrilliant thing!)
There is one more factor that you might take into consideration when deciding hw/sw keyboard.. i comunicate in 2 languages. and for the 2nd one (no predictive typing on SW keyboar), the HW keyboard is just irreplaceable. And that's why this phone still, 8 months after release and after arrival of new beasts on the market, has no alternative out there.
If you do have reservations against 'screen only' keyboards and that is what puts you of android phones, than i can thoroughly recommend this one.
these are mostly mine experiences, you'll find a lots of videos on youtube, a lots of reviews about how phone works, behaves and what it lookes like and what it can do (and that list is looong.. i realized, i really don't need to open laptop for so many things i used to.. starting with emails and FB)
if phone today than one with android and if you're not sure how ur gonna get along hitting those tiny keys on screen.. or you tried and it drove you crazy, it's gotta be milestone.
blackie60 19 February 2010
Good: the dogs dangly bits
Bad: no motonav!!
Comment: brill device and its not an i phone !!!!!
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