Smartphone review: Motorola Milestone XT with HDMI Output

Decent camera, but laggy performance

Smartphone review: Motorola Milestone XT

by May Chua
05:55 AM Jul 16, 2010

MOTOROLA has launched yet another Android phone, and what sets this apart from the rest of the pack is the inclusion of an HDMI output.

Using an HDMI cable, you can easily connect the Motorola Milestone XT to a high-definition (HD) television to play your multimedia files. It worked like a charm when I tried it, delivering smooth playback.

The phone looks sleek, with a trim 10.9mm profile and shiny metal frame around its front. Weighing 139g, it feels nice and solid. The 3.7-inch display is sharp, making Web surfing enjoyable.

The Android 2.1 device runs on a 550MHz Cortex A8 processor, and is more laggy than the 1GHz-powered handsets I'm used to. The task manager and messages take longer than usual to load when several applications are running in the background.

The pre-installed task manager, however, is a useful feature for a multitasking platform like Android, especially since there's no quit function for many apps.

Moto Phone Portal - a Web browser that lets you access data like contacts, SMSes and media files in the phone from your computer through a USB or WiFi connection - also deserves a thumbs-up.

The 8-megapixel camera in the XT takes decent pictures. I like the fact that it allows you to select an area to focus on using the touchscreen, and that you get seven scenes to choose from. But I tend to get grainy pictures in low-light environments where using the (blindingly bright) xenon flash results in overexposure. The night mode helps, but not always.

The four touch-sensitive buttons below the display sometimes get in the way of photo-taking. I kept activating the Home or Back buttons just as I'd finished framing the picture. Video clips recorded are sharp enough, though the camera has problems focusing when it comes to close-up shots.

Battery life is reasonable, lasting about 17 hours with push mail, WiFi and Bluetooth on. The Motorola Milestone XT ($988, without contract) comes with an 8GB microSD card, and is sold exclusively from StarHub. May Chua

http://www.todayonline.com/Tech/Techreviews/EDC100716-0000048/Decent-camera,-but-laggy-performance