Motorola unveils re-chiselled Milestone smartphone

Motorola has introduced two new Android handsets: its second incarnation of the Milestone and the all-weather Defy. Both feature enhanced Motoblur, the company’s widget-based management tool that integrates e-mail, messages and social networking updates.

Milestone 2 runs Android 2.2 (Froyo) and takes 720p video

The Milestone 2 features a 3.7in, 480 x 854 touchscreen, 1GHz CPU, 8GB of on-board storage and supports SD cards of up to 32GB capacity. It has the same 5Mp camera as before, but now captures 720p video. The slide out Qwerty keyboard has improved spacing and responsiveness too, and the Webkit-based browser supports Flash 10.1.

Featuring 802.11n Wi-Fi, the Milestone 2 can function as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot, cellco permitting, allowing up to five devices to connect. With DLNA on-board too, the handset can share its multimedia content with compatible devices.

The Defy gets an IP 67 rating for water and dust resistance

According to Motorola, the Defy is designed to handle “everything that life throws your way” which presumably doesn’t take in fluctuating exchange rates and house repossessions. However, it does include the weather, as the rubberised (rather than ruggedised) Defy exceeds the IP67 standard for dust and water. Apparently, it can survive being submerged in liquid for 30 minutes.

Handy that, if you're in the habit of dropping your phone into your pint and not noticing straight away...

With a 3.7in touchscreen, the Defy has an 800MHz processor, 2GB of on-board storage and runs Android 2.1. It is also Motoblur enhanced, and both handsets feature the Connected Music Player, which enables song downloads along with a karaoke-style song lyric presentation. Songs played from the on-board Shoutcast Internet radio can also be identified by SoundHound and then purchased from Amazon.

Both handsets will be available in the UK in Q4, but prices have yet to be announced. ®