Motorola i1 video tour
By Sean Cooper 
posted March 23rd 2010 8:33PM
posted March 23rd 2010 8:33PM
posted March 23rd 2010 8:33PM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
please, motorola, stop trying to beat the evo
@samin100 I'm not quite sure moto is reaching for the same market as HTC with this one...
@ossger
sorry, my mind just assumes that all android phones are trying to murder each other
@samin100
sorry, my mind just assumes that all android phones are evil and are trying to murder each other.
We all know that little android buggy means us no harm. But sometimes the name android gives me nightmares... just think about it... just think
@samin100 Or better: Please stop torturing our eyes with ugly looking devices...
@ossger It looks good except for that bulge around the side, there'll be a lot of android phones to come this year, I say, just wait. Btw, the i1 phone is called the Moto Opus in its first concept.: http://bit.ly/moto-opus-is-the-i1
2007-2009: Age of the iPhone
2010-?: Age of the Android.
@Kinte Kunta
You do realize that the Droid outsold the iPhone 1st Gen right?
@Kinte Kunta You never know! Android is gaining popularity, will it surpass the iPhone (OS), well, maybe, it depends on the hardware on which it is based. For instance, here, you have the Moto i1, a crap-gadget. Whereas the Evo 4G is DEFINITELY not crap-gadget. And iPhone, also not crap-gadget, but is now aging. Time for a new form factor Apple. What do you think about a qwerty slider? eh? Maybe AT LEAST amp up the resolution a few notches? The iPhone's screen is beginning to look a bit to old.
@GenericMessage You mean the droid, a phone from a mature platform with numerous predecessor phones from the same platform, outsold a seriously overpriced dumb phone from an OEM new to the phone market? My God, Android is the platform of the future.
/sarcasm
For the record, I love android and the droid, it's probably going to be my next phone. I just don't think it's a valid comparison.
@Kinte Kunta
Android is awesome because it doesn't limit you to a single form factor, nor a single phone. You can get a 3.7 screen, with a decent processor(same one as the iPhone) and a keyboard droid, or you can get the nexus one, and soon, you'll be able to get the EVO. Basically, you have SO many more options with android.
Plus, don't get me started with the software, and how open it is. I'm currently running a 800mHz overclocked droid, with a custom ROM. Something that you can't compare to anything with the iPhone.
Although it didn't have the same impact (market), Its still better then the iPhone, and I consider it the more superior.
@I was swhite237 I lost my passwo Apple was new on the phonemarket but it wasn't a little unknown company either was it? I think apple has ALOT more loyal customers (and fanboys) who are drooling on ANYTHING they make then any other company out there.
@Kinte Kunta They've enabled the growth of a market that would have stagnated and descended into a mess of disparate platforms. They've created a standard. What's more important than that?
@Kinte Kunta actually Motorola gave out numbers for total shipments of Android phones for the Q4 in their financial report which at the time included only the Cliq and the Droid and only included two months worth of data for the Droid. I can't remember if the Cliq debuted before then, but everyone assumes the vast bulk of the number was Droid.
TWO MILLION.
@Kinte Kunta They weren't languishing by any means. Without Android, many people would still be using blackberry's and windows mobile 6+ devices. While neither of those are bad, I adore RIM's keyboards, the elderly use paradigms and the lack of innovative development models was holding the market back. Android has been one of the prime movers behind the current surge in powerful, modern smart phones; and they provide a common (if occasionally fragmented) target for developers.
It's poop. Rugged poop. But poop none the less.
iDen? Who uses iDen? What networks even have iDen? isnt that like, Boost Mobile?
@apenaroks Nextel.
@Ezye1313 Gotcha
@apenaroks Boost mobile does too.
@apenaroks I work for a Sprint dealer that sells a good amount of IDEN and this is a HUGE deal. A lot of construction companies still use Iden since jobsites mandate the use of direct connect. Given that in the last 6 years, Nextel has come out with 4 phones that would not be considered a dumbphone (Blackberry 7100 and 8530, i920 and i930) the fact that they came out with an android phone in the same decade the technology is still relevant is amazing. This phone has a specialized niche and will sell well in it
Oh, and why would anyone compare this to the Evo? Not meant to wrestle in the same ring.
I'm actually pretty stoked about this. I have a Nexus One as my personal phone, but my staff and I need push-to-talk for work. This leaves the Blackberry Curve as our current best option, and we all hate that phone. I will be a hero when I upgrade everyone to this when it's available.
@thintheherd Wow. You would choose this POS (Piece of s***t) over a Curve?
@apenaroks
I would.
@apenaroks I hate everything about the Blackberry OS. I really like android. The push-to-talk version of the Curve is complete garbage, and we do a lot of manual work, which has led to a lot of broken Curves (even using an Otterbox). It's just a matter of personal preference.
@apenaroks anyone who needs PTT for work, but prefers android over the blackberry OS or a generic motorola OS. and it wouldn't surprise me if that statistic is about 60-75% of iDEN users in the US, as well as tons of iDEN users in other markets.
i mean, i'm ditching the blackberry tour, arguably the second-highest-tier blackberry device out there (the bold is better, the storm certainly isn't), for an android phone in a few months, maybe nextel customers want android too.
Ummmmm... Just to clear something up... Who uses PTT?
@shakeoctane construction workers, truckers.
It would be great to views videos about cell phones on a cell phone and in the app. Thx.
Being a non-commercial PTT user, and knowing a lot of them, I think this will be a very popular phone in other countries that also use iDEN. Data speeds are not fast, but most countries that have an iDEN network will offer cheap unlimited data when the other 3G providers charge a lot for it. People will put up with it, and having WiFi will be great for being at home.
You guys don't understand who they are trying to target w/ this phone. The point of it being rugged is so that people who have jobs that involve alot of...(how do I say this) ruff stuff, can get a android smartphone that won't break after the third time of you dropping it. Oh, and people like construction workers use PTT. I think that cleared it up.
iDen is the slowest wireless tech on the planet besides GPRS, right? That would drive me nuts trying to surf the web on this thing while not connected to wifi.
@Ezye1313 believe it or not GPRS is faster. iDEN is something like 14Kbps.
Giant glass display worries you? What do you think the whole front of the iPhone is made of?
Rugged is good.
What's the first thing you do when you get an iPhone? Stick a silicon skin on it. There are so many phones out there nowadays that look good, but it's wasted because you have to put them in a protective shell.
Making phones able to withstand normal daily life is a good thing.
@Gregorian I totally agree.
@Kinte Kunta
Dude, come ON. You were engaging in a healthy debate above, now you're just trolling.
I upgraded (intentional use of that word btw) from the iPhone 3G to the Droid. My iPhone was never mistreated and was showing cracks on the back within months. My Droid was dropped on concrete steps multiple times by a drunken friend who was obsessed with it. It has a few dents but it has held up wonderfully -- Motorola makes good phones.
The iPhone, while used by many without a case, is not a rugged phone. My dad regularly breaks phones. He has some POS Casio, rugged as anything but really dumb and he will be psyched for this phone, as it will allow him to have something like my Droid.
In any case there was no FAIL happening here. Don't troll.
@Kinte Kunta this is marketed toward Nextel users, the ones who swear by Nextel. Often used for things like construction sites, trucking etc because you can instantly communicate with multiple handsets like a two-way radio.
I think this is great i am on sprint but not on nextel. so its nice they will be able to put there blackberries 8350i to rest and pick up a new age smart phone. And this is no Evo. differnet markets. What i want to see done are android phones on the pre-paid providers and also lower end androids that may not be able to run as full smart phones but a messing based android phones with more limits in place on it but lower prices and for more people to spred the love. Android is able to cover messging and smart phone market so just needs to have people make the software for it.
What would make this phone truly rock? If it were a Hybrid running CDMA/iDen!
Can we stop using the iPhone's crappy camera for video reports already? Thank you.
You know what? I really, really dig the look of the phone. Hopefully it won't be CDMA only. Motorola, give us an unlocked GSM version compatible with AT&T please.
Great. Thanks.
@HurricaneDC Man, people are totally not understanding the market for this phone. Glad you do. How many cool smartphones are available with push to talk for the construction crowd and like professions? Most of what I've seen has been dumb, dumb, dumb. A utilitarian device. At the right price, this could be cream of the crop for the iDEN crowd.
Durability is the key.
Rugged. Android.
That's what this phone is and it's not trying to be anything else:)
I'm already on Boost so I will be getting this phone as long as nothing better is announced before this goes on sale.
I don't get why there are so many haters of this phone. Not everyone needs 3G/4G on a phone. Besides no phone gives a true desktop internet experience so why pay $50 to $80 more per month for it?
With this I get unlimited everything for $50 per month + WIFI + Android app library + 5MP cam with flash with no contract.
What's wrong with that?
@PHug
im with u my friend, nothing else to say.
If I can get back to the topic this thread is addressing. And away from the iPhone droid futility......the i1 is a concession for the die-hard nextel user that lives for rugged direct connect phones. As a nextel tech rep I can definitely say that this phone serious flaw an best selling point is the iden radio. 200 person direct connect calls are a feature that has yet to be duplicated, great for fleet managers an warehouse foreman alike. But this phones data rate is 9.6kbps, same as every iden before it. Iden phones are the only phones sprint still allows phone as modem on since running full throttle for 30 days straight they can't crest the 5GB data cap. Sprint made a serios error by not giving this phone the same dual radio setup with wimax they're planning for future CDMA devices. This phone is for all the techies working their 9-5 on their feet instea of in their cubicle
Since when were they hireing Marvin the paranoid android to demo their phones? Dude sounded like he was almost appologizing for it.
I'm rocking an i680 right now, and I sort of wish I would've waited. This may not be the phone for the construction workers in the trench, but it'll be what their boss has on his waist. Much bigger screen than the 8350i and otherwise just as functional. Perfect for showing blueprints onscreen.