With all the hype around the iPhone 4 launch yesterday, it would have been easy to miss the confirmation of a new handset in the Motorola Android stable, the Motorola Milestone XT720. And it would be a shame to ignore this handset, because it is a top end, high class smartphone with a fairly healthy spec list. Android has done a lot to help revive the flagging fortunes of Motorola, and with handsets like this one in the pipeline, those fortunes are set to keep on rising. The sleek XT720 takes on all that made the original Milestone such a great device and adds in a host of new, exciting features.
One of the standout features of the Milestone XT720 is the devices imaging capabilities. The handset incorporates a high quality 8.0 Megapixel camera, with autofocus, and is the first Android device to be released in Europe that includes a Xenon flash. The inclusion of Xenon makes a real difference to images captured in low level lighting conditions, and firmly puts the XT720 in the top league of camera devices. As well as a Xenon flash, the camera supports face and smile detection, as well as offering geotagging, and the camera interface has been overhauled making it easier to access various imaging features like face filter, red eye reduction, multi shot and camera shake prevention. The video camera on the phone can capture video clips at HD resolution at up to 20 fps, and Video output is also improved on the XT720, with HD video playback from the phone via a built in HDMI slot. A cable should ship with the device in the box allowing you to connect it to a compatible TV.
Unlike the previous Milestone, the XT720 has no slide out QWERTY keyboard, which helps keep the size of the device down; overall the XT720 measures in at just 10.9mm thick, which is pretty impressive seeing all the technology that is packed in. The handset is at the top end of heavy, weighing 160g, and offers a large, 3.7 inch TFT touchscreen, supporting up to 16 million colours. The touchscreen is a capacitive display, with an impressive resolution of 854 x 480. Multi touch input is supported, and there is a proximity sensor for auto turn off on the display, and an accelerometer for automatic display rotation.
The XT720 is a Quad Band GSM handset, with Dual Band HSDPA support. The phone is capable of download speeds of up to 10.2 Mbps, with HSUPA support of up to 5.76 Mbps. WiFi 802.11 b/g is included, and the phone supports DLNA which helps easily integrate the handset into your home WLAN. To back up all the high speed data options, the XT720 boasts Class 12 GPRS and EDGE, and offers Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP and includes a v2.0 Micro USB connector.
The handset will ship with Android 2.1 on board, and will be upgradeable to Android 2.2 in the near future, and is powered by an ARM Cortex A8 600 MHz processor. Internal memory offers 150MB of storage space, with 256 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM, and there is a memory expansion slot which allows you to increase capacity with Micro SD memory cards. The XT720 can handle cards up to 32 GB in size. We already know the handset has GPS on board, thanks to the geotagging support. aGPS is also included, which helps deliver a fast fix on your location, and will deliver a supreme experience when used in conjunction with Google Maps, as well as the variety of location based apps that can be downloaded from the Android Market.
The handset also boasts a strong set of entertainment features too, with the obligatory built in media player, which supports a wide range of digital formats for both music and video. A stereo FM radio with RDS support is also included, and a 3.5mm audio jack offers support for generic stereo headphones. Messaging features well on the phone, with push email support included, and there are a variety of apps available that offer access to all the major social networks on the Android Market, as well as those that come pre-installed on the device.
There is a lot to like about the Motorola Milestone XT720, and the phone has all it takes to fight it out with the big boys at the top end of the smartphone market. Available initially in Black, the XT720 will be available to pre-order in the coming weeks, with networks that will carry the device yet to be confirmed.
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