Motorola Milestone 2 - Review

“Milestone 2 fixes most things wrong with the first edition of the smartphone, yet it offers little more in the way of cutting-edge features or reasons to buy”

Out with the fingerpad

Milestone 2: Better looking?

The Motorola Milestone 2 builds on the original Milestone’s strengths by offering slicker looks, a redesigned keypad and a newer edition of Google’s Android operating system (OS) - “Froyo” version 2.2.

The single biggest difference between the two smartphones though is Motoblur - Motorola’s user interface (UI) installed onto the Milestone 2 to give you more features than Google’s OS does alone.

Motoblur handily pulls new Facebook updates, Twitter posts, emails and other information directly onto the homepage. And because there’s then no-need to open different apps to find out what going on all the time, staying up-to-date socially becomes much easier.

The UI also helps conserve battery power by letting you specify which apps should be automatically closed when the screen times out.

This feature is especially useful because battery length isn’t one of the Milestone 2’s strengths. One end of the phone also gets unnervingly warm while recharging.

No deals for selection

Motoblur will also back-up important information, such as telephone numbers online and help you track the phone’s physical position online. Handy if the smartphone’s lost or stolen.

In with Android Froyo

Motoblur adds some excitement

The interface even adds customisable and resizable widgets to the phone’s homescreen, including a handy contact widget that lets you pin photos of your best friends to the phone’s homepage and stick shortcuts to the Facebook pages beside.

Google Maps often found my location within two seconds or so of me having clicked on the app, but despite the phone having a respectable 1GHz processor inside (just like the iPhone 4), many apps took a little longer to respond.

In my original Milestone review I noted the gold trackpad was “pointless”, so I’m glad Motorola dropped it from the Milestone 2. This move gives more room for the keys and ensures the new phone is much easier to type with.

I was surprised that Motorola didn’t give the Milestone 2 a more powerful camera than its predecessor’s 5Mp shooter. The new model’s pictures were a little dull, as were the original model’s images, but the phone retains a dual LED flash and pre-set shooting modes to liven photos up.

Screen size (3.7in) and resolution (480 x 854 pixels) hasn’t changed between the two models either, but this won’t stop you from comfortably browsing the web or watching movies on the Milestone 2.

Motoblur

Pictures were no better than before

Motorola has given the new model’s screen an anti-reflective coating for outdoor use, it’s worth noting.

Overall the Milestone 2 fixes most of the things I didn’t like about the first Milestone, but offers little more in the way of new features.

The phone’s UI does make it rather fiddly at first and you’ll need to spend some time getting used to things, but stick with it and you’ll find that the phone is really rather good.

Find your perfect Motorola Milestone 2 deal

---

Compare Phone Plan: PAYG Monthly

Compare Compare contracts costing up to: £5