My mini-review of Motorola Defy:
One of the reasons I bought the cell was that the design will not get old even after a few years and it will 'last' me all those few years! The phone in fact looks very good in hand and feels sturdy.
The screen is, as you know, made up of Gorilla Glass but it is a fingerprint magnet! The Motorola log, the 3.7 inch edge to edge capacitive touch-screen and the touch buttons are all below the glass, so they will stay as they are as long the glass holds up. The back does feel a little rubbery but the good type rubbery and its attracts less fingerprints than front. Also, there is no Blur logo though the device comes with MotoBlur.
There is also the 5MP camera with LED flash and the battery lock on the back. There are screws all around the sides except top. On the right side, there is the USB/power port which is covered by a protective flap, where in the right side there is the volume rocker; however a physical camera button would have been nice. On the top is the power button along with the headset port with a cover and on the bottom if you notice very closely, you will find the mic just below the search button.
Now onto the software side. Defy comes with Android 2.1 Eclair pre-installed. However, it can be upgraded. The device boots up considerably fast compared to the other Android devices I have seen. After it's booted it will show the lock screen. You swipe through it to get to the home-scree Here you can select your widgets but the best part is you can re-size the MotoBlur widgets
I couldn't test the internet widgets as I don't have a data connection nor I have a WiFi access
Apart from that, all the widgets work as you expect them to.
The device hardly has any cool installed by default but luckily applications can be installed easily; Angry Birds is fun
Calls: Forget earpiece issues, the call quality is excellent.. it is like the person at the other end is talking right in your ear! There is also an option to make voice calls.
Messaging: I am not big on ‘texting’ but I am in love with Swype. It is in a word.. awesome!
Music: Defy is certainly loud! The default music player goes the job well but there is no equalizer within the app and you will need to go to system settings to choose from five presets.
Radio: Default radio comes with RDS but sadly there is no loudspeaker playback! However, there is an app for that (no pun intended
)
Camera: The photo quality is decent but don’t expect anything great. Also you will miss the physical button if you have using it so far. Also it doesn’t record in HD yet, may be with the next update!
Speed: The phone is fast. Have not benchmarked it but it works smooth. There is no lag when switching the screens or apps.
Issues I faced so far:
- The screen lock would sometime stop working and will only work after restart.
- There is some problem with the compass calibration.
- Could not get Nexus One live wallpaer to work; may be not supported.
- When using Launcher Pro, it showed some lag while switching back to the homescreen from the app drawer.
- Asphalt 3 not working. Screen is all scrambled up.
This review is based on personnel experience and no, I have not tried to dip it in water.. yet! If you want tech specs, please
check here.
