Sometimes living in Canada really sucks – and not because we get blasted with high taxes, tons of snow and arctic temperatures (and I actually like the snow part). No, what sucks about living in Canada is the fact that we often don’t get the same products that are made available to our neighbours to the south, such as the Motorola DROID. What we get instead is the Motorola Milestone. But wait; might the Milestone actually be better than the DROID?
The first aspect that makes the Milestone better (or maybe just different) than the DROID is the pinch/squeeze zoom capabilities (the DROID requires a double tap). Next up is navigation: The DROID comes with Google Maps Navigator, but the Milestone comes with Motorola’s proprietary MOTONAV, which gives spoken turn-by-turn directions (also featured here are Easy Search, Lane Guidance, and Maps). Finally, while the DROID offers CDMA radio standards, the Motorola Milestone has the more popular GSM.
Aside from service providers (Milestone is on Telus, by the way), that’s pretty much where the differences end as the hardware is basically the same. However, I can say that the Milestone is Motorola’s first Android phone to become available in Canada. As such, this Android 2.0 mobile device is a game-changer for Canadian smartphone users; Android phones make surfing the web faster and increase what’s seen on those pages.
While neither the price nor the exact release date have been announced, you should expect to see the Motorola Milestone hit store shelves sometime in early 2010.
Undressing the Motorola Milestone
The hardware itself on the Motorola Milestone consists of an attractive slider (with a full QWERTY keyboard) that makes nearly full use of the face’s real estate in order to bring you a 3.7-inch 16:9 WVGA widescreen with over 400,000 pixels. Microsoft Exchange is provided, giving you full access to personal and professional e-mail. There’s also access to 3G networks and Wi-Fi, giving you the ability to text or IM and browse in full HTML with Flash 10. A 5-megapixel camera with auto focus and D1 video capture (720x480 and 24fps capture and 30fps playback) is onboard and with 16GB (expandable up to 32GB), it shouldn’t be a problem to store them on the device. There’s also the ability to sync your contacts and information in Gmail or on Facebook, plus Milestone features Quick Connect, which allows you to simply tap on a contact to gain access to his Facebook, phone, e-mail, or text. There’s also access to a wide range of Google services, including the more than 12,000 Android apps. The home screen will prove to be useful, allowing you to search for and retrieve various applications, contacts, songs, etc.
Take a deep breath and give thanks for the Milestone’s coming to Canada.
