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Cincinnati Bell brings Froyo to Milestone XT720, holds your hand through rooting process
Rooting is the dark side of the Android platform. It opens your phone up to a world of unsanctioned opportunities and typically has carriers swatting you back with illegal network usage fees. So you'll understand how bizarre it is that Cincinnati Bell is offering Milestone XT720 users software and an instructional video how-to that boots Eclair out, for its Froyo successor. Making use of the widely-popular SuperOneClick app, intrepid owners will be walked through the usual root, back-up and ROM-flashing steps. But the regional carrier's no dummy as the procedure ends with users unrooting their devices, freeing the network from unwanted congestion and reducing the risk of a bricked phone. Customers of this Ohio-based provider should check the source for a forbidden peek into Android's underbelly.
Motorola Europe repents, restores Milestone XT720 CPU to 720MHz speed with software update
Bought a Motorola Milestone XT720, only to find that "up to 720MHz" processor was actually clocked at a paltry 550 million cycles per second? If you live in Germany or the UK, you're in luck -- Motorola's poised to wash your troubles away with a software update that restores the OMAP3440's full 720MHz potential, and reportedly adds DLNA connectivity to the device as well. The company released the news on its official Facebook page earlier this week, and it was then reportedly available "today," so barring accident or injury you should be able to update your device or wait for the OTA. It feels like just yesterday we were discussing how software-updatable silicon felt slimy, but look -- it's not all bad.
Motorola's Milestone XT720 makes US debut... on Cincinnati Bell
We aren't quite sure what kind of deal Cincinnati Bell has going on, but darn if this regional carrier doesn't score some fairly fantastic handsets. Also known for landing Nokia's white E71 and its XpressMusic 5800 first in the US, the operator is now the first American home to Motorola's Milestone XT720. As we'd heard most recently, the smartphone packs a 720MHz TI OMAP3440 processor, 3.7-inch FWVGA touchpanel (854 x 480), Android 2.1, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, an inbuilt accelerometer, USB 2.0 connectivity, proximity sensor, 8 megapixel camera (with Xenon flash) and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It's yours for the taking -- provided that you reside in southeastern Indiana, southwestern Ohio or northwestern Kentucky, that is -- but the $199.99 on contract ($449.99 sans strings) price tag might just push towards more fully featured alternatives. Tough call, we know. [Thanks, Josh]
Motorola Milestone XT720 pops up stateside courtesy of Newegg
It may not look too appealing in the face of some of Motorola's more recent wares -- most notably the Droid X -- but if you're still looking to score that elusive Motorola Milestone XT720 in the US, it looks like retailer Newegg has you covered with an unlocked version (which they interestingly refer to as the "Milestone II") for $540. Sadly, there's no indication of the 3G bands supported, so far all we know, you're going to be brokenhearted when you discover that your AT&T (or T-Mobile) SIM tops out with EDGE data -- and for over half a grand, HSPA is the least we'd expect. Caveat emptor, eh? [Thanks, Freddy]
Milestone XT720 spec changes again, this time for the worse
Hey, we admit it, as far as Motorola's concerned hacks like us probably have no business browsing its Motodev pages, but we can't help but be a little peeved at the freestyle updates the company is making to its Milestone XT720 spec sheet. The processor hasn't changed -- it's always been a 720MHz-capable TI OMAP3440 -- but its speed rating has fluctuated between 550MHz, 720MHz exactly, and now the most enigmatic value yet: "up to" 720MHz. The RAM too has gone on a rollercoaster journey, jumping from 256MB at first, to a tasty 512MB, and now back down to a lean quarter gig. What's going on over there, too many webmasters spoiling the spec soup? [Thanks, Marius]
Motorola boosts Milestone XT720 spec with 720MHz CPU and 512MB RAM
Some of you weren't too pleased to see Motorola's new Milestone hitting Europe with just 256MB of memory and a 550MHz processor, and it seems like Moto has listened. We're sure the XT720 would've done just fine running Android 2.1 with its previous spec, but we're hardly going to begrudge a free upgrade. The TI OMAP3440 is now running at 720MHz -- something Motorola had told us the phone was always capable of, though the company had initially opted to downclock away from it, presumably in an effort to extend battery life. RAM gets a healthy doubling to 512MB, bringing the Milestone XT720 more in line with its "premium multimedia" boast, while the launch date seems to remain unaltered: later this month for Europe and a big fat question mark for the USA. [Thanks, Thomas F]
Motorola Milestone XT720 announced: 8 megapixel cam, 720p video, and Droid heritage (update: video!)
Motorola has just outed a Europe-bound Milestone XT720, a handset intended to grab the attention of camera lovers with an 8 megapixel sensor, 720p / 24fps video and -- a first for Android handsets -- a xenon flash. Speaking of Android, this will come loaded up with version 2.1 when it launches later this month. Plans for 2.2 upgrades are, as usual, not yet formalized and not under discussion. Other specs include a 3.7-inch, 480 x 854 screen, a 550MHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU, and a promised 9 hours of talk time and 320 hours of standby time. It looks very much like Moto's selection of Droid-esque handsets that have been prowling the Chinese market, and it seems the company has enjoyed success with the keyboard-less form factor and is pushing it out to Europe. US release plans are also not being discussed -- it might happen and it might not, seems to us like it'll depend on the Euros' reaction. We're just getting to grips with the handset right now, and will furnish you with video of it as soon as we can. P.S. We're told this handset is closer to the Motoroi than anything else, Motorola describes them as sister devices. We also spotted a network update from Orange on the demo handset, implicating it as a possible carrier for the XT720 in the UK. Update: We've now got Motorola's full press release plus a promo video after the break, as well as some comparison pics between this new handset and the original Milestone in the second gallery below. Update 2: And we've just added our hands-on impressions and video, you know where to find them.%Gallery-94517%%Gallery-94522%
Editorial: What happened to the US-spec Motorola MOTOROI?
Motorola, in case you haven't noticed, hasn't done much in the way of high-spec gear since the announcement of the original Droid way back in October of last year -- and, well, that's a problem for a company that's in the midst of trying to kick-start a recovery to get its corporate split off on the right foot. The so-called Sholes Tablet -- alternatively known as the XT720 or the MOTOROI -- had seemed destined to become Moto's next volley thanks to comments by SK Telecom and Motorola execs at the phone's Korean launch, even going so far as to call out a March launch window, but March has come and gone and the phone is nowhere to be found. Heck, we even found FCC evidence that the phone would be hitching up with T-Mobile, but that was way back in January and we're on the cusp of Summer now. We understand that delays happen in this business -- in fact, delays always happen -- but these protracted, phased roll-outs around the globe are never good for a product's image since the last markets to get the product have been exposed to it (thanks in part to yours truly) for months. This would be a killer high-end device for T-Mobile USA, but it's got to launch immediately; the Nexus One's been out there since January, and we can pretty much guarantee that Google doesn't intend to back down with the superphone assault. We suppose it's possible that the Sholes Tablet will actually reemerge as the "Nexus Two" -- Sanjay Jha wants to offer a Nexus-branded phone, after all -- but however it comes out, it's got to happen right now. Trust us, Motorola -- you've got a golden opportunity to learn from Sony Ericsson's mistakes on this one.
Motorola XT720 spreading Android, BLUR to South Korea?
Though its market share pales against the home teams, Motorola has maintained a continued presence in South Korea for some time -- and seeing how the company is going all-in with Android globally, it makes sense that they'd be launching it here, too. Enter the alleged XT720, a localized version of the XT701 that's seeing duty on China Unicom on the other side of the Yellow Sea. Rumor has it this will be coming to SK Telecom, but details are sketchy and conflicting: Mirae Asset Research says the phone will feature a 5 megapixel cam while the source of this picture here says it's 8; they're also quoting the screen as a 3.7-inch 480 x 640 unit, but clearly, it's going to be WVGA if the pic is legit. The research firm believes we'll see this launch next month which would likely make this the first high-end device out of Moto to feature BLUR; whether that's a good thing or not, though, is strictly a matter of personal opinion.
