Maybe the Motorola Milestone XT720 we’re pressing through a review was named as such because milestones are an integral part of life, be it a human’s lifespan or a company’s. These help us benchmark each phase in order to assess the progress of a company. Motorola too has accomplished several milestones with some top-notch devices and technology. The XT720 was ready to affirm every single praise that it has received. The handset almost self-confidently challenged us to tear apart its outer suaveness and behold the power-packed beast within.
We set out on the mission all geared up by everything that we had heard about this device. The box receives a pat on the back for the elegant draw-like bassinet. Designed just like one of those jewelry boxes, on pulling it open the Milestone appeared like a glistening midnight blue sapphire. Below the cradle that housed the handset, rested placidly all its accessories. The box bundled up the charger, an HDMI cable, a USB cable, earphones, as well as manual and warranty booklets.
Creating an independent aura around itself, the device stands apart with its chic form factor. Stepping aside from the normal rectangle block design, the XT720 handset has a smooth bump on its lower right spine. On comparing it with its predecessor, the QWERTY keypad bids adieu while throwing in an 8 megapixel camera with Xenon flash. Losing out on the keyboard, the device slims down to a thinner variant. The slight hump on the right edge is embedded with a dedicated camera key along with a camera mode toggle button next to it. Sliding our fingers up on the same panel, we locate the volume controls. The left panel on the other hand holds just the microUSB port. The top rim houses the 3.5mm earphone jack coupled with the power/hold key.
Just above the 3.7-inch screen is a noir grill behind which lie the incoming call speaker whereas the small opening below the screen is the microphone. The Motorola Milestone XT720 maintains itself at 10.9mm in thickness, tipping the scales at 160g and measuring 60.9×115.95×10.9mm. On its flipside, the Xenon flash, speakers and 8MP camera are housed. The touchscreen showcases a row of four touch sensitive buttons for Menu, Home, Back and Search. The hump on the right fashions LEDs indicating the camera/camcorder and media gallery notifications. The Milestone has been crafted in a metallic navy blue matte finish with a well-built battery cover. Right below this was the black speaker trellis.
Instantly lighting up, the handset recommends you to set up your Google account, location, date and time first whilst displaying how all of it has to be done. The large touchscreen offers a clean polished look, however we would have appreciated if it was a little less reflective as smudges and fingerprints caught on really fast. The simple interface was amalgamated excellently with the device’s intuitive touch abilities. Three homescreens have been included offering easy customization. The pull-up menu was flanked by the call and messaging shortcuts, whereas a pull-down menu furnishing notifications is displayed in the topmost area of the screen. It offers us a choice of personalizing the phone with live or static wall papers. After finding out the hard way we realized that the live one may seem enticing but will influence the phone’s speed to great levels.
A prolonged tap on the Contacts icon will open special options like Facebook, Call and Message. Virtual keypads have often been criticized for their lack of responsiveness. Well, this one is surely going to put all your worries to rest with its quick and sensitive haptic feedback. We were exceedingly pleased with the virtual keypad which showcased its true prowess in the landscape mode. As we began composing the message, the text prediction geared up instantly while our messages were displayed in a threaded format. The CrystalTalk function proffered decent incoming call clarity. This even lets you tweak the settings and alter the call reception to suit your requirements.
Wi-Fi connectivity proffered no hassles, barely taking up any time to start. Web browsing was a pleasurable indulgence especially in the landscape mode. The true prowess of the screen came alive at this very instance with display employing a richer pixel density with almost every move. Pages loaded really quick, while rendering support for double tap to zoom or pinch to zoom. Social butterflies that we are, we spread out our wings to hop onto the integrated Facebook application which was well suited for the screen. Powered by a 750MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, the actual might of this beauty truly stunned us.
With Tegra 2 dual processor already seen in the LG Optimus 2X, enthusiasts might surely be looking out for more than the one this is fitted with. However, we beg to differ the device supported all our impatience pretty well without showing any signs of latency. Although we did experience a slight faltering while we jumped between functions. Those who can’t live without their daily of dose music should be satisfied with the entertainment provided by both the player and the FM Radio.
The one facet of this phone that we’ve wanted to unleash form the very start was the 8 megapixel camera. The camcorder and camera show up as two separate functions allowing users to toggle between them. Some of the features included scene modes like sunset, portrait, landscape, sport, night, macro and auto with the choice of turning the flash on/off. Offering a further slew of functionalities, the Milestone XT720 was loaded with us camera, autotimer, self-portrait, multi-shot and panoramic capture modes. Video alternatives subsumed night and auto modes. One could tag images with the help of the GPS or even make up some interesting customized tags.
Opting for switch of hobby from photography to filmmaking the handset has something to offer to you too. Dilettante filmmakers can tweak videos using the video editor feature that offers options like Storyboard, Music Movie and Auto cut which got us pretty intrigued. In fact, the screen lends a touch of mastery to the entire video. It appears as if its expertise lies in playing videos and movies with top-notch clarity irrespective of the viewing angle. Travel bugs will be happy to know that the compass, aGPS and the GPS receive full marks for being precise and easy to operate.
Offering a suite of HDMI formats, you can choose from Automatic, 480P and 720P @ 60Hz, and 576P and 720P @50Hz. The touchscreen again shows off its capabilities whilst we used the MotoCar Home, Maps and MotoNav functions. Moreover, the XT720 bundles up some features like a dedicated YouTube application, a shortcut to the Android Market, Text-to-Speech, QuickOffice and My Sign. Pairing up the device with a PC was simple, as the Motorola installation software poped up almost instantly taking us directly to the world on the Moto Phone. On a downside, the battery died out in a matter of 24 hours.
Pros:
The design and screen no doubt go up as number one advantage.
Next, would have to be the pristine 8 megapixel camera and its HD video recording abilities.
In fact, the taste of Éclair still is left behind thanks to the efficient Android 2.1.
Cons:
While toggling between different functions, the device sprouted up quite some issues.
Lack of Bluetooth support for music files was another downer.
Also, the audio quality could have surely been better.
All in all, the Motorola Milestone XT720 left us bewitched and hooked on till the very last. It surely matched our expectations with its enchanting looks and pristine screen. Other than the slight lag that we felt at places and a few other flaws it seemed the ideal phone. However, the price is surely hefty at 34,990, wouldn’t we get a Galaxy Tab by throwing in a couple of crisp thousand notes. Leaving aside our qualms pertaining to its price, we rate the Milestone XT720 at an admirable 9 out of 10.