Motorola SURF A3100 video (and pictorial) hands-on

Like the Curve 8900, it turns out that Motorola's SURF is a device that kinda needs to be seen in the flesh to be fully appreciated. In light of TouchFLO and its endless competitors, the skin Moto's developed for this thing -- while tasteful and seemingly finger-friendly -- really isn't anything to get terribly excited about, but it does an adequate job of making the superficial surface of Windows Mobile reasonably finger-friendly. The screen feels great, and yeah, the SURF includes a stylus -- but hey, what WinMo phone doesn't? Ultimately, we think it's going to be a totally serviceable alternative to, say, a Touch Diamond -- only problem is that the Touch Diamond is like 8 months old. If Moto had launched this running Android instead of WinMo, on the other hand, it would've been the runaway hit of the show. Follow the break for a super-quick video tour of the UI!

Gallery: Motorola SURF A3100 video (and pictorial) hands-on

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[Aaron @ Jan 8th 2009 4:53AM]

I don't know about anyone else, but I rather like the look of this device. It's a shame that it lacks the proper hardware buttons to play most games -- a problem I ran into when using my Touch Pro. I still like my Touch Pro, however, because it has a lot of functionality in a phone that I was looking for.

[Josh G @ Jan 8th 2009 6:21AM]

Tell me about it! I wish my Omnia had a proper D-Pad.

"If Moto had launched this running Android instead of WinMo, on the other hand, it would've been the runaway hit of the show."

See, this is what I don't understand. Android is a damned cool platform with heaps of potential, yeah, but it has nowhere near realised it yet.

The UI is frankly annoying [to myself, your mileage may vary]. While I'm certainly not an Apple fanboy [*cuddles Omnia*], the inconsistent UI and real quirks to Android turn me off it.

Don't get me wrong, it's got the potential. You bet it does. But it's nowhere near proven yet. Winmo is meant as a business OS [basically], and until Android has proper Exchange support and the like... well, its not going to get *that* install base. Even Apple saw that, and subsequently implemented it.

Android has the potential to destroy Winmo's share. That is not a bad thing, competition breeds innovation. But I don't see much innovation at the moment.

[chefgon_ign @ Jan 8th 2009 7:00AM]

I don't get the complaints about inconsistent UI on Android. Each program has its own look, sure, but not any more so than a desktop OS like Windows. There's still standard UI controls that most programs share, and I think that for the most part Android programs have a much more consistent UI than the wide array of web sites that we're all accustomed to using daily.

[ZSX @ Jan 8th 2009 9:09AM]

@Josh G

"If Moto had launched this running Android instead of WinMo, on the other hand, it would've been the runaway hit of the show."

Yes, well, the "Does it run Android?" comments are becoming a new internet meme, along the lines of "Does it play Doom?" and "Does it play Crysis?".

It is tiring, but something Engadget readers have to ride out until Android is released on more attractive hardware.

[Patriks7 @ Jan 8th 2009 5:08AM]

What an iPhone ripoff! It has a touchscreen and that silver strip around it!

[AlDeezy @ Jan 8th 2009 5:23AM]

piss off!

[Steveorevo @ Jan 8th 2009 7:27AM]

Not even! Its no where nearly as refined. Its not a crystal clear bright capacitance screen like iPhone. Does it have visual voice mail? Doubt it.

[cwj @ Jan 8th 2009 6:58AM]

nuh-uh! it's a KIRF Bold! but it's so KIRFy that they forgot the keyboard and added extra screen!

near death seems to have finally lit some sustained fire under Moto's ass.

[zephxiii @ Jan 8th 2009 8:45AM]

I think Patriks7 is a ripoff of an iphone fanboy.

[LloydChiro @ Jan 8th 2009 9:12AM]

I know you are being sarcastic, Patricks, but it is true. This is an iPhone rip-off, but they managed to make a tawdry version of it--it looks like a cheap knock-off of the iphone. They ruined it by rounding off the corners too much, and they gave it too much chrome chin.

[Patriks7 @ Jan 8th 2009 11:48AM]

I agree.. take off the chrome and it is nowhere close to an iPhone..

[tekdroid @ Jan 8th 2009 5:30AM]

I'm assuming the sides are faux-metal (silver paint). Disappointing. Not that I'm in the market for this.

Otherwise seems like an adequate interface from that brief vid.

Rounded edges are favourable; seems comfortable enough to hold and would be far less block-like in pocket.

I'm assuming there's a removable battery involved somewhere.

[lazyjai @ Jan 8th 2009 5:50AM]

does anyone know when this will be out in Australia?

[Josh G @ Jan 8th 2009 6:24AM]

Not for a while, I'd imagine. We typically get phones quite a while after they are released. I see this phone either being picked up by Voda [if Voda get it worldwide], otherwise Optus is the most likely candidate due to the lack of NextG [if I recall correctly, if it has it, expect Telstra to snap it up].

[Aaron @ Jan 8th 2009 5:55AM]

Does anyone else think that the round top and bottom make this phone look chubby? What's happened to Moto's designers? Have they all left?

[eric @ Jan 8th 2009 6:25AM]

I think if you look at the overall length of the phone and consider how small/big the screen is, the screen proportionally doesn't look that big.

basically for this kind of device it needs a bigger screen or less "non-screen area".

[Todd @ Jan 8th 2009 6:53AM]

"If Moto had launched this running Android instead of WinMo, on the other hand, it would've been the runaway hit of the show."

Sad but true. From the the specs page it has a Qualcomm MSM 7201A chipset, so at least there's the means to hack cupcake onto it...

...but WTF? Just what are the 10,000 people Moto hired specifically for Android doing all day?

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2008/09/29/motorola-getting-friendly-with-android/

[chefgon_ign @ Jan 8th 2009 7:03AM]

It looked prettier in renders.

But seriously, Motorola needs to stop pasting their fat ugly logo front and center on every single phone they make. That big M is definitely not a status symbol, all it does is ruin the aesthetics of every phone they put out.

[tekdroid @ Jan 8th 2009 7:12AM]

I have mentioned this before, but refrained this time. I agree. Especially there at the earpiece. The logo is extremely dated, too, Mr Motorola. http://www.motorola.com/

[zephxiii @ Jan 8th 2009 8:46AM]

I don't see what the hell the problem is with the logo, it is classic. I like the way it looks too.

[mocax @ Jan 8th 2009 7:24AM]

cool.... finally a touchscreen moto that does 3G and WiFi.

Does it have CrystalTalk?

i'd love it if it uses the krave zn4's form factor.....

[halfmoonmaiden @ Jan 8th 2009 9:43AM]

This looks like a really fun and additcing gadget! I would love to try this out. I am sure it will be a fairly successful model for Motorola. It probably won't reach the popularity of an iPhone or a BlackBerry but it will have it's own loyal following that can't do without it.

[Daniel @ Jan 8th 2009 9:43AM]

Oh no... looks like a poor attempt at eye candy. I wonder if the lag between the swipe and the changing of screen was added just to look cool, or if it's severely under powered. Cramming a load of buttons onto a device is a poor solution. However having to do 3 full swipes and wait 3 to 4 seconds to get somewhere on the phone is even worse. It's slow and you don't get any physical feedback. The worse of both worlds.

It's the phone design equivalent of putting a splash screen up on your software and telling it to sleep for 5 seconds so people can see how cool the logo is.

[JAG @ Jan 8th 2009 9:47AM]

Anyone know if this supports Tmo's 3G? Motorola's site claims it's triband 3g (850/1900/2100). Sounds like the type of phone (just good enough but not top of the line) that Tmo likes to offer.

[Quikboy @ Jan 8th 2009 10:21PM]

"If Moto had launched this running Android instead of WinMo, on the other hand, it would've been the runaway hit of the show"

I like WinMo quite fine, thank you. Android may be neat, but WinMo has its own perks. WinMo can work with or without touchscreens, some people like the stylus because they can actually write stuff with better precision and it's easier to manipulate many small items on the screen all at once (no finger smudges!). Exchange support, Smart dialing, .NET to make apps, etc. It's great if you like to tinker with your phone.

One of the main reasons why Android, iPhone, and other such type cellphones are so popular, is because the media does a wonderful job of promoting certain devices, and pushing away non-favorables like WinMo.

[Benjamin @ Feb 9th 2009 12:38PM]

First off... the guy that said Windows Mobile is geared toward business users is right. People are buying this "lackluster" mobile operating system for the high end business features that most casual users won't even touch.

That said, I own a Motorola Q9C on Verizon and it was my first smartphone. Of all the phones that I have owned, nothing has been more of a pleasure to use than this phone. It does everything I need and more. I've had it for almost a year now, and I am not tired of it in the slightest (like I was with my LG Voyager, LG EnV, and so on)

I can run a full blown DOS emulator on my handset (just the other day I was playing Commander Keen), I can even emulate a true Palm environment and run Palm applications, I can stream my DVDrips to my handset from *anywhere* with Orb, and even browse the FULL web with flash, activeX, javascript, and all with Skyfire's free browser.

I am going to use my phone until it withers away into dust, folks. That is the miracle of Windows Mobile. It's only as good, polished, or powerful as YOU make it to be. If you just open a Windows Mobile phone up and use it as-is without any registry tweaks or 3rd party software then it will be an awful experience, but if you have the time and knowledge to tweak your device there isn't a whole lot this thing *can't* do.