The Motorola Milestone XT720

A few years ago, Motorola launched an extensive ad campaign announcing the arrival of the Droid smartphone. It was money well spent, as the Droid proved to be a good device. As time has passed, however, Motorola has let up on the gas so to speak and allowed other manufacturers to surpass them with more advanced handsets. In an effort to stop this trend and place its name back at the top of the smartphone heap, Motorola has unveiled the Milestone XT720.

In creating the XT720, Motorola has shed a bit of size and weight from the handsets predecessors. The Milestones dimensions are 116 x 61 x 11mm and it weighs in at 160g. Of note is its somewhat odd shape. On the top right (when looking at it in landscape mode) are three lights which indicate the camera option the phone is currently in. The front and back of the phone are slightly incongruous, almost as if they consist of two separate pieces. Some critics would argue that the change in shape is superfluous, but its design certainly sets the Milestone apart.

Aside from the controversial design of the handset itself, the Milestone XT720 possesses a 3.7-inch screen that has been featured on previous models. It is a capacitive touchscreen containing a 480 x 854 pixel display. The large screen is perfect for displaying photos taken with the Milestones 8-megapixel camera. The camera includes a Xenon flash, a feature currently found on no other Android smartphone. Face detection and a panorama mode are also nice aspects of the camera. Of course, a phone that features a high-quality camera will likely have an advanced video recorder as well. The Milestone does, capturing video at 720p. The customer is also treated to an HDMI port and the necessary cables to connect the phone to the big screen.

Some customers will be saddened to learn that Motorola did not offer Motoblur on the Milestone, but it did include Android 2.1. There may be no built-in social networking, but customers are treated to a trial version of MotoNav and the companys new Phone Portal app. With this application, users are able to manage the XT720s data from any browser on a PC or Mac linked to a USB or WiFi network. Youtube and movies are then viewed enjoyably on the 3.7-inch screen.

Motorola has not eliminated the competition with the Motorola Milestone XT720. They have, however, staked a claim once again as a leader in smartphone technology. The XT720 is sure to meet the needs of customers looking for a practical and speedy phone.