Yesterday’s post about the Motorola Milestone coming to Telus has officially been announced by Motorola. This will mark Motorola’s first Android-powered phone in Canada, and marks a triumphant return of Motorola to the cellphone scene.
Here is a snippet from the official press release:
TORONTO, Ont. — November 10, 2009 — Motorola Canada today announced it will bring its first Android™-powered device, the much-anticipated Motorola Milestone, only to TELUS customers in early 2010. Motorola Milestone, powered by the newest version of Android, sets a new standard for what a smartphone should be with a richer mobile web experience, superior messaging and top-of-the-line multi-media features in an innovative design that could only come from Motorola.
Milestone features the best of both worlds with a full QWERTY keyboard and touch-screen capabilities, as well as the opportunity for users to customize their mobile like never before with widgets and the freedom to run multiple applications at once.
“With Motorola Milestone, Canadians will no longer be limited in what they can do with their smartphone,” said Rick Gadd, vice-president, Motorola Canada Mobile Devices. “They will experience the web the way they’ve always wanted on a mobile device, with lightning fast speeds and pages that show them more.”
…and here’s the confirmation by Telus:
“TELUS’ new 3G+ network gives Canadians access to a world-class selection of mobile devices such as the Motorola Milestone,” said David Neale, senior vice-president of Product and Services at TELUS. “It is TELUS commitment to offer Canadians the most comprehensive and advanced smartphone line-up available so that we can meet their needs to stay connected, informed and entertained wherever they go. That’s why the Motorola Milestone will fit perfectly in our TELUS smartphone selection.”
Some additional features of the Milestone:
- Superior call quality with CrystalTalk(TM) Plus that filters out background noise and enhances voice quality
- Powered by the latest version of Android, Android 2.0
- 3.7? widescreen display with 854 pixel width and more than 400,000 total pixels (more than twice the leading competitor) so you can see more of the web, e-mail, and more
- Use stereo Bluetooth(R) to take calls and listen to music hands-free
- Plug your favorite headphones into the 3.5mm headset jack and kick back to your favorite music or movies
- Full suite of Google applications including: Google Maps(TM), Gmail, Google Talk(TM), YouTube(TM), Google Latitude
- Advanced Video record/playback at D1 resolution (720×480) with up to 24fps capture and 30fps playback
It looks like Motorola has come up with a pretty successful device here that is feature-rich and powerful. Motorola is still suffering a decline in profits but things are looking to turnaround. In their latest third quarter results, they actually turned a profit of 12 million compared to a year ago loss of almost $400 million. Could the Milestone/Droid be the next “RAZR” for Motorola (in other words, will your grandma soon be sporting one)?
Telus Gets Milestone Exclusivity–Rogers Users Shut Out
Either way, Telus customers are going to be extremely pleased that they will have exclusive rights to the Milestone (and the HTC Hero!). Now that Telus has their HSPA+ GSM network up, Rogers no longer has exclusivity on all the best handsets. As for Rogers/Fido customers you’re out of luck at the moment. Who would’ve thought the HTC Dream can now be acquired for as low as free when it was initially $199 on a 3 year contract.
Did Rogers drop the ball on this one? Some would agree. They should’ve continued to push for more Android phones and support, instead of leaving its initial userbase in the dust. I can see one thing that is certain though–expect more Android OS-based phones coming to Canada. This is a just a tip of the iceberg!
[Motorola]
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Posted under: Android Phones, Featured, News, Rogers/Fido, Telus Android
If the Milestone is a GSM phone in Canada, this should make it quite a bit easier to obtained an unlocked version for Roger's customers.
Well, technically, it's Bell that has shut out its users…
Telus: Motorola Milestone, HTC Hero
Rogers: LG Eve, HTC Magic, HTC Dream
Bell: zip, zilch, nada
Still, it's hard not to notice that Telus is getting the two most desired Android handsets right at the same time that Rogers has lost its iPhone exclusivity. That has to be a blow for Rogers.
And where iw Motorola Cliq? Doesn't anyone want to offer it?
No mention of turn-by-turn voice navigation. This has been a big deal in the U.S. blogosphere – are we getting this or no?
Well as far as I'm concerned, if the Motorola Milestone come to Telus, that mean it will be gsm and 3G+ the same as for Roger's, so just get an unlocked one and that's it. If it is not a gsm then both Motorola and Telus are more than stupid, and since I don't thonk they are……
I don't know how accurate this is, but I read at another source that we aren't getting turn-by-turn as Google doesn't have the rights to use their Canadian mapping data for that. Take this with a grain of salt.
Either way, I'm glad I didn't run out and grab a Hero 5 days ago.
Wasn't there an official announcement that Rogers was going to carry an Android-based Motorola phone soon? If so, by elimination, Rogers will get the Cliq.
Hi All, this is Mary with Rogers.
Just wanted to add that at Rogers, we've been selling Android devices since last spring when we were the first to introduce the platform into the Canadian market (just as we were with Blackberry and iPhone).
Our Android line-up is the largest in Canada and includes the HTC Dream, HTC Magic and new LG Eve. Rogers' has tens of thousands of Android customers who are supported by reps that have been trained on the OS and have had months to get familiar with it.
Stay tuned because in the coming months, we will continue to lead the Canadian market by introducing more and more Android-powered devices
Take care!
Mary
What a total load of crap. Your reps don't have a clue about supporting the OS. Updates are incredibly slow and there is still not paid apps in the Market for Canada. If this is “supporting Android” then I really really don't want to see what poor support looks like.
Maybe Telus will actually roll out the paid Market. They at least will have Android 2.0, and the timely update to 2.1.
Agreed, it does not take this long to push out 1.6, not to mention the paid app store. I gave Rogers a chance and now I am getting burned hard. I will be watching the Telus release very closely; if they can actually support the phones we pay big bucks for then I will switch to the Milestone. As for Rogers, it has been a short but definitely not sweet period being a customer. Never again.
We don't want more and more Android powered devices… We want SUPPORT for our EXISTING Android powered devices. 1.6 has been available for 2 months and yet we are still being burned. I have been offered the chance to cancel my contract without cancellation fee and if there's no support by the time the Milestone hits Telus, I'm going to take the offer. I doubt i'm the only one.
We don't want more and more Android powered devices… We want SUPPORT for our EXISTING Android powered devices. 1.6 has been available for 2 months and yet we are still being burned. I have been offered the chance to cancel my contract without cancellation fee and if there's no support by the time the Milestone hits Telus, I'm going to take the offer. I doubt i'm the only one.
I totally agree with you bjtheone. You would think that cell phone companies would want their users to have the best that they can offer instead of limiting them.
Thanks for information, I'll always keep updated here!
hi, There is no clear date on the release of the phone but you may sign up here for periodic updates ..
hi, There is no clear date on the release of the phone but you may sign up here for periodic updates ..
I like these hi-fi mobile phones.
[...] system thanks to the Verizon Droid Ad campaigns. Some time after, Canadians were introduced the Motorola Milestone on Telus which was the equivalent of the Droid here in [...]
[...] system thanks to the Verizon Droid Ad campaigns. Some time after, Canadians were introduced the Motorola Milestone on Telus which was the equivalent of the Droid here in [...]