Milestone -- Engadget Mobile

milestone posts

Motorola Milestone headed to Telus in early 2010

by Thomas Ricker posted Nov 10th 2009 @ 7:27AM

You heard the rumors now it's official: Telus is getting the Motorola Milestone. The Android device is the same 2.0 QWERTY slider already announced for Europe and set to run exclusively on Telus' new 3G+ network in Canada sometime in early 2010. Unfortunately, that means no Google Navigation unlike those pesky North American neighbors to the south. Hmm, in that case maybe you should just wait for the beefier Sholes Tablet expected in Q1 -- just sayin'.

Motorola DROID's built-in apps don't have multitouch support, third-party stuff is another story

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 4th 2009 @ 5:05AM

Turns out that the DROID does support multitouch after all -- it's just not as baked as the MILESTONE's, and it's certainly not the kind you'll see out of the box. The DROID's European cousin features multitouch right in the phone's core software load (most notably pinch-and-zoom in the browser, which we've seen demoed on video) whereas the DROID itself still features multitouch capability in APIs but doesn't expose it through any built-in app. Translation: the apps you use every day -- Google Maps and the browser, chiefly -- get left out in the cold for some reason that neither Google nor Motorola (nor Verizon) have thus far been willing to adequately justify. Where you can experience the magic of pinch-and-zoom is in third-party apps written to take advantage of Android 2.0's new APIs (Phandroid demos it on a fresh version of Picsay, for instance), but at the end of the day, that's a consolation prize -- we still want a spin-free explanation of why this was all turned off for the base apps. Follow the break for video of Picsay's support for the good stuff in action.

[Image via mobile-review]

Continue reading Motorola DROID's built-in apps don't have multitouch support, third-party stuff is another story

Motorola MILESTONE does what DROIDon't

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 2nd 2009 @ 7:14PM

We've already seen the MILESTONE showing off multitouch capability, something the DROID clearly lacks in the States despite the fact that Android 2.0 rocks kernel support for it -- and now we've got another smoking gun: the official spec sheet. A quick glance at Motorola's tech specs for the Euro-flavored handset lists "pinch and zoom" as an interface feature, so yeah, it looks like this'll be in the shipping firmware. There's speculation out there that Apple was somehow involved in making sure that multitouch "fell" down a flight of stairs before reaching US-bound Android devices, but really, it's anyone's guess what's going on here -- and Moto's official statement isn't helping much:

"We work very closely with our carriers and partners to deliver differentiated consumer experiences on our mobile devices. At times, similar devices come to market with different features, depending on the region, carrier preferences and consumer needs."

Nor is Google's:

"The Android 2.0 framework includes support for multi-touch. As with other platform technologies, such as the text-to-speech engine, carriers and OEMs can choose to implement it."

So let the speculation -- and the firmware hacking -- begin.

[Via Gearlog, image via mobile-review]

GSM DROID with multitouch pinch-to-zoom demoed on video hating America

by Thomas Ricker posted Nov 2nd 2009 @ 4:34AM

The GSM flavor of Motorola's DROID, or Milestone as it will be known in Europe, has multitouch built-in to the UI. For reasons we can only assume have something to do with an unspoken intellectual property agreement between Google and Apple, the US version of the user interface lacks multi-touch features like pinch-to-zoom even though the underlying 2.0 OS supports multitouch events. However, the video of a GSM DROID headed to Europe clearly shows this feature at the 3 minute mark. No really, see for yourselves after the break.

[Via SlashGear]

Continue reading GSM DROID with multitouch pinch-to-zoom demoed on video hating America

DROID headed to Germany as Motorola MILESTONE (update: Italy too, no Google Maps Navigation)

by Paul Miller posted Nov 2nd 2009 @ 1:31AM

O2 Germany has confirmed a GSM version of the DROID for Europe going by the name of the Motorola MILESTONE. The news comes courtesy of a sliver of O2's online store page that left itself exposed to the wiles of Google, complete with the above picture and the new moniker, and follows close on the heels of a leaked business guide which says the MILESTONE will retail for €404.20 to corporate customers, and will be available as of November 9th.

Update: It's now official on the Motorola Germany (and english language Western Europe) website where it lists Vodafone and O2 as local carriers. Italy now too, on an unspecified carrier. Oh, and it also lists "pinch and zoom" as a feature not found on the Droid. See for yourself after the break. It's carrying a public price tag of €481.

Update 2: As noted by a few readers, Milestone will ship with MOTONAV turn-by-turn directions, not Google's Maps Navigation.

[Via Boy Genius Report, Thanks Vincenzo, Peter B.]

HTC reportedly moves a million Magic smartphones, boogies down at midnight

by Darren Murph posted Aug 13th 2009 @ 6:07AM

These days, the whole "I shipped a million!" claim is becoming more and more common, but it's still worth pointing out that HTC has managed to move a whole bundle of its Android-based myTouch 3G (or Magic, as it were) since debuting in April. Or, that's the story, anyway. According to a dangerously brief blurb over at Digitimes, the outfit's head honcho quipped that the Magic has "surpassed one million units," and he also noted that it would begin to focus more on the mid-range market as opposed to always dealing devices at the high-end. So, raise your glass high for this one folks, and let the countdown to a million Hero handsets begin while you're at it.

[Via InformationWeek]

Apple's App Store crosses the 1.5 billion download mark

by Laura June posted Jul 14th 2009 @ 9:54AM

Yes, it seems like only yesterday (or about 3 months ago) that Apple crossed a landmark -- 1 billion apps downloaded from its App Store -- and here we are again. Apple's just issued a press release stating that it's now seen another half a billion apps downloaded in about three months -- putting them over the 1.5 billion mark. Apple doesn't get all the kudos to themselves, though: after all, someone's been downloading The Moron Test. A lot.

Apple's App Store hits a billion downloads

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 23rd 2009 @ 5:06PM

Here's to another billion -- and not just from the App Store. Windows Mobile, Symbian, Android, webOS, BlackBerry -- we're expecting every bit as much out of you guys, so let the games (and the productivity apps, utilities, flatulence simulators...) begin.

Worldwide cellphone use hits 60 percent, developing nations largely to thank

by Darren Murph posted Mar 3rd 2009 @ 1:31AM

Outfits like Nokia have been just rolling in profits from selling oodles of low margin handsets in developing nations across the globe, so it's no shock at all to hear that those very countries have propelled the worldwide usage tally well above the 50 percent mark. According to a wide-ranging United Nations report, around six in ten people across the globe now use mobile phones, and as expected, fixed line subscriptions have increased at a much slower pace. If you're wondering just how significant this figure really is, chew on this: in 2002, just under 15 percent of the global population used a cellie. Impressive, eh?

[Via TG Daily]

UN communications chief predicts four billion mobile phone subs by year's end

by Darren Murph posted Sep 27th 2008 @ 5:32PM

No need to adjust your set -- the United Nations communications chief has boldly predicted that half of planet Earth's population will be hooked on some sort of mobile phone before 2009 dawns. Granted, the numbers he's talking about do look strictly at subscriptions, so a small percentage will be skewed by those with multiple accounts (and thus, multiple numbers), but really, the forecast isn't all that outlandish. After all, we already hit 3.3 billion mobile phone subscriptions back in November of last year (and 4 billion lines overall). As predicted, it's growth in developing regions such as Africa and the Middle East which will boost the overall figure the most, with yearly increases in those areas expected to hit 27% and 25%, respectively. So, what are the chances a post eerily similar to this pops up in 2012 or so saying the entire world has a cellphone? Our trusty Magic 8-ball says "Signs Point to Yes."

[Via Core77, image courtesy of Road and Travel]

MobiTV breaks the 4 million subscriber mark

by Darren Murph posted Aug 5th 2008 @ 5:59PM

MobiTV has been around for quite awhile, and although it has seen its fair share of ups and downs, today's a day for celebration in the offices that remain. After hitting the 3 million mark in February, the company is now claiming that its benefiting from some 4 million subscriptions. Charlie Nooney, MobiTV's CEO, was quoted as saying that the firm was "thrilled to be on the cusp of mass market acceptance for mobile entertainment in North America." We don't know if we'd go that far just yet, but here's a tip of the hat to you anyway.

[Via RCRWireless, image courtesy of PDAsNews]

Super 3G hits 250Mbps downlink in NTT DoCoMo field test

by Darren Murph posted Mar 26th 2008 @ 8:53AM

Just think -- this time next year, we'll all look back at this milestone and wonder how on Earth we thought it was impressive. For now, however, we wouldn't blame you for high-fiving everyone around, as NTT DoCoMo has stretched the boundaries again with a recent Super 3G field test. Reportedly, the outfit was able to record "a downlink transmission rate of 250Mbps over a high-speed wireless network in an outdoor test of an experimental Super 3G system," and while it's not quite the 300Mbps we'd heard about before, you won't find us kvetching. If all goes to plan, the firm is hoping to "complete development of the technologies required for the eventual launch of a Super 3G network" by 2009, but who knows how long we Americans will have to wait to indulge after that.