Motorola MILESTONE XT720

Introduction

The original MILESTONE was the lifeline by which Motorola pulled themselves out of their deathbed. And now the once ailing giant breathes again – but is in no mood to rest or make peace. Instead, it’s breathing fire on the enemies.

Motorola had itself a true droid army in almost no time – and the best thing is it’s not an army of clones. Creative designs and rich equipment helped the company make an emphatic comeback, and the XT720 is focused on keeping up that momentum.

It’s not as simple as calling it a sequel – a QWERTY-less alternative of the original MILESTONE. 8 megapixels and a Xenon flash for a physical keyboard is a trade-off many users would be delighted to accept. But the Motorola XT720 is keen to offer more. It packs its punch with character and personality.

The Motorola MILESTONE XT720 will certainly be up against some tough competition. There are bigger screens out there and devices with better specs. And it’s not a Snapdragon either, something that’s become almost standard at the high end. But the next MILESTONE for Motorola doesn’t come unarmed. Let’s take a look at the highlights of its spec sheet.

Key features

Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support
10.2 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support
3.7" 16M-color capacitive touchscreen of WVGA (480 x 854 pixel) resolution
Android OS v2.1 Eclair
ARM Cortex A8 720MHz CPU, PowerVR SGX graphics accelerator; 256 MB of RAM
8 MP autofocus camera with xenon flash, AF assist light and geotagging
720p video recording @ 24fps
Wi-Fi and GPS with A-GPS
150MB storage, microSD slot, bundled 8GB card
Accelerometer and proximity sensor
Ambient light sensor
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
Great build quality
microHDMI port with 720p output (bundled HDMI cable)
Excellent audio reproduction quality
Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic

Main disadvantages

No DivX or XviD video support
No smart and voice dialing
Somewhat clumsy camera interface
GPS navigation app only offers a 60 day trial
No Flash support for the web browser

Judging by the list above this Droid is putting all the eggs in the camera basket. 8 MP stills and 720p videos are the best Android has to offer and this is the first time they come together on a single handset. And Xenon is a first for the platform. HDMI out is still novel enough to be a key selling point on its own.

And even though the MILESTONE XT720 is not currently running the latest version of Android, Motorola promise to deliver the Froyo update in due course so there’s no reason to get upset.

We are now about to check out if the performance is there to match the specs. We start with the styling and hardware right after the break.

Franziska Knuppe

Friday, May 6, 2011