Milestone 2 Unboxing

[karnka]

My Milestone 2 arrived this morning. Lots of work to be done setting it up but the hardware seems very nice. I would describe it as extremely 'solid'.

Pleased so far. Will post more thoughts when I get round to it.

 

[Szadzik]

I was just about to create a thread asking if anyone already got it. I will probably get it somewhere before Christmas, so now I am waiting for the news from all of you new MS 2 owners.

 

[DukeL]

Lucky guy. Is wifi hotspot included? Unfortunately no 850/1900 3G so it won't work in N. America.

 

[kumar3234]

@karnka

WOOOOOWWWWW!!!!!!!Cool man.....congrats.......cmon explore it!!!!!!!!!!phone looks kickass...

was waiting for this thread...

when u say the phone is "solid" I remembered reading a article on MS2 where a female blogger felt that the phone feels "Masculine" ;-)....good....many evidences on a solid build quality then..

Many users feel that the Motoblur lags at times and makes the touch sensitivity a bit sticky because of the smaller font sizes...whats ur experience???

you ordered it from Clove????

 

[karnka]

So, some more thoughts hopefully answering some of the questions above. I'm moving from a Samsung Galaxy S so I might make a few comparisons. The phone came from Clove.

Hardware
As I said, feels very 'solid' and I would say functional. It may not be the prettiest phone around but it feels like it would survive a fall quite easily. Did feel a bit heavy at first especially compared to my SGS but within a few hours I'm not really noticing.

In vast contrast to my SGS the phone has not lagged noticeably once in the last day. I am thrilled about that to say the least. About 6GB of the 8GB flash is available so plenty of space for apps and there was an additional 8GB Micro SD card already fitted, which was nice.

The cell radio and wifi reception seem very good. SGS was always a little flaky with both of these but I get very good signal on the Milestone 2 and it seems to be managing the roaming from T-Mobile to Orange and back again more successfully. Audio quality is also quite good.

The screen is fine. May not be the beautiful SAMOLED from my SGS but it is certainly better than a Milestone 1, the viewing angles are fairly decent and it was readable outside (although it wasn't exactly sunny). I'm liking the aspect ratio. The extra 54 pixels in height makes everything feel a little less cramped than the standard 800 x 480. The touch sensitivity is good and I'm not really too bothered about moving down to a slightly smaller screen. One nice little touch is the fade on the auto brightness which is quite subtle.

The keyboard slider mechanism is very satisfying with solid 'clicks' opening and closing. It will never open by mistake and feels much less vulnerable than the hinges on a Desire Z. Keyboard itself is very usable, though as with all landscape sliders, not really one handed. I found the placement of the comma and full stop (period) keys a bit odd but I will get used to them I'm sure.

Camera
Seems decent enough. I agree with a couple of reviews I've read that the shots are a little washed out but they're perfectly good for what I expect from a phone camera. The flash is a welcome addition for me and I was able to take some reasonable pictures in fairly dark conditions (which I couldn't do on the SGS) although they were even more washed out. Video capture also seems ok.

Battery
Obviously way too soon for a proper answer to this but I'm cautiously optimistic. I used it a lot last night and it's now been off the charger since mid afternoon and has maybe 20% left. I think I will get a full day's heavy usage out of this phone. There is a nice battery profile feature that will suspend synching etc when idle over night.

Software
I don't like Blur. My wife has a Flipout with 2.1/Blur on it and I don't like quite how pervasive it is. I knew that before I bought the phone and was confident I'd be able to mostly eradicate it.

So far, that's going quite well. First thing on was LauncherPro which works fine. Also, the one type of account that Blur treats as external and doesn't mess with is Google accounts. As all my contacts are in Google and I use GMail this is all handled outside of Blur. I've also added Handcent SMS so another thing I'm not using the Motorola client for.

I have added my 'Corporate' (i.e. Exchange) account/mail through Blur and the email client itself seems fine. I don't have this notifying or using push so I can't comment too much but it does seem to work.

The other thing I'm using Blur for is Facebook. I'm not too bothered about seeing updates in the blink of an eye and the Blur 'Social Networking' widget is quite nice so that's thrown on one of my home screens.

Couple of other things, briefly tried the 3G hotspot stuff and it worked as expected. There's also a bundled copy of QuickOffice which is a nice touch. Have tried quite a few apps with no noticeable problems including Kindle (which is quite readable on the screen) and Angry Birds.

Wrap Up
I'm pleased with the phone. The hardware is lovely albeit quite heavy but having a nice hardware keyboard is worth it. My biggest worry was the quality of the screen and I'm pleased to say that I'm fine with that now.

Blur is a pain but can be gotten around and it is worth the effort. There are a couple of little niggles with the software that I haven't quite worked out yet but I will post a separate thread about them.

So very happy and I think given the very reasonable price tag I'd happily recommend this.

 

[kumar3234]

@karnka

The cell radio and wifi reception seem very good. SGS was always a little flaky with both of these but I get very good signal on the Milestone 2 and it seems to be managing the roaming from T-Mobile to Orange and back again more successfully. Audio quality is also quite good.

The Droid 2,when landed in the US had a issue that the data connection was acting weird and was wonky.Hope that is not there on MS2 and droid as well....

The screen is fine. May not be the beautiful SAMOLED from my SGS but it is certainly better than a Milestone 1, the viewing angles are fairly decent and it was readable outside (although it wasn't exactly sunny). I'm liking the aspect ratio. The extra 54 pixels in height makes everything feel a little less cramped than the standard 800 x 480. The touch sensitivity is good and I'm not really too bothered about moving down to a slightly smaller screen. One nice little touch is the fade on the auto brightness which is quite subtle.

read in some article that Moto have switched over to a new LCD...


Camera
Seems decent enough. I agree with a couple of reviews I've read that the shots are a little washed out but they're perfectly good for what I expect from a phone camera. The flash is a welcome addition for me and I was able to take some reasonable pictures in fairly dark conditions (which I couldn't do on the SGS) although they were even more washed out. Video capture also seems ok.

Once again read somwhere that the camera sensor is also different from MS1.

Hows the audio output through headphones?How good are they??My experience say that Moto headphones are louder than HTC ones...

How about the DLNA feature??

Thank you for your observations.way to go...

Regards,
Kumar.

 

[kumar3234]

@karnka, Hello. Hows the battery of your MS2 doing?
decent?
bad?
mind blowing??
your one week observations depending upon your settings of GPS,BT,Wifi,music,brightness??

Regards,
Kumar.

 

[karnka]

Not bad I would say.

My general usage profile is as follows:
Wifi: On
3G service: On
BT: On
Brightness: Auto
Couple of hours of music (over BT)
1-1.5 hours of screen usage

Battery seems to be lasting a little over a day, which I'm quite pleased with. Better than my SGS.

 

[talvi]

Battery seems to be lasting a little over a day, which I'm quite pleased with.

I've had mine a few hours, haven't connected to the net, have tried to connect through Bluetooth to my laptop and via the USB cable, have explored the thing generally and .... just noticed that it was charging via the USB and that the battery level had dropped to 50%. That doesn't seem right.


and .... it just crashed ... I had been trying to trasfer a test photo I took on the MS2 to my PC (without opening new online accounts, navigating through my browser via Blur through the cloud and back again and without synching to media player or ... and and and and....) I had taken the photo as soon as I got the phone running. It looks surprisingly good, on the phone. But that was hours ago and, despite all the connectivity offered, I still have not discovered any simple way to transfer file X from device A to device B

Along the way I discovered that the white status bar at the top of the screen was draggable - drawing it down displayed details about notifications, bluetooth status, battery level, etc. After the phone crashed it is still draggable but the only details are my service provider's notifications. Any ideas what that's about?

btw the helpful man at US Expansys tech help desk said the reason for the flimsy design of the battery cover was because it was not intended to be removed often. However that's the way the manual says to remedy crashes. At this rate I may need a replacement battery cover soon.

My conclusions at the moment is that it is fast, responsive, and reasonably intuitive to use once/if you manage to uncover the basics. But it seems to me (with Blur etc) to have been designed as a channel for services providers (entertainment) rather than as a productivity tool for users (business).

REALLY hoping to find out I'm completely wrong about this.

 

[Szadzik]

REALLY hoping to find out I'm completely wrong about this.

It seems that this is your first smartphone and only thing I can tell you is that you have a lot to learn

First of all, MotoBlur is not the only Home Launcher application you can use and second of all you have the Market and can find almost everything a productivity seeking user might need.

Let us know what you expect and we will help you achieve it, at this moment you are just talking about what Motorola put on the phone and that is just a small particle of what you can do with the phone yourself.

 

[karnka]

It's definitely a learning curve. I think the most important thing to starting to get to grips with things is customising your homescreens, widgets, shortcuts etc to put everything you're likely to use frequently within easy reach. This will take some time to get right.

The phone really shouldn't crash (at least not often). I've not removed the battery once... Touching the home button will usually throw you back to the launcher if you get stuck anywhere. About the notification bar; normally has time, battery status etc as you say, very small and at the top. When you drag it down you get in addition network name and a list of any notifications (eg emails). Once they're dealt with it'll be pretty empty.

Motoblur is poor, yes. It was originally meant as a social media 'aggregator' and now pulls all sorts of things together. I get around it where I can as mentioned above.

I'm going to agree that Android is mostly for consuming data and isn't the best productivity tool. However, the same can be said about iOS and WP7. As said above, take a look around the market. There are lots of useful apps to improve things.

 

[Szadzik]

As for the frozen phone. Just pres the power button as if you wanted to lock the phone and press it again to wake the phone again. Unlock it and it should be fine again.

 

[Szadzik]

Some guides for you Talvi

Motorola Milestone 2 User Guides - Know Your Mobile

Some more:
http://www.motorola.com/Support/GB-EN/Consumer-Support/Mobile-Phones/Milestone_2_with_BLUR

 

[talvi]

Really nice offer again Szadzik, thanks very much! Let me quickly reply to your first points and then answer the main deal.

It seems that this is your first smartphone and only thing I can tell you is that you have a lot to learn.

Not my first smartphone but my first of the new generation. Yes, Life = learning. Death = not-learning.

First of all, MotoBlur is not the only Home Launcher application you can use

I've seen the term but what is the definition of a "Home Launcher Application"? I've seen others out there but it seems there are a number of "functions" bundled into this software/app. Is it the term for that central icon (the white circle on a black square)

second of all you have the Market

Thanks, I've seen the icon, and know of the app stores (iPhone Apps, Ovi, etc).

can find almost everything a productivity seeking user might need.

If I had the time (and knowledge!) to look, test for functionality, invasiveness, conflicts, usability, security, etc then true.

Let us know what you expect and we will help you achieve it

So, again, thanks Szadzik. Really nice offer, and very much appreciated. Ok:-

1. I want the absolute minimum of "clutter" and AI. I want to disable everything I don't need and to then enable it one program at a time, as and when I want/need/have that time.

2. I want connection to voice, both via cellular providers and via WiFi/VoIP. The latter predominantly in my home network(s) rather than in WiF hotspots. The former is in the UK and Finland on different networks.

3. I do not want continuous or embedded always on connection to any other service providers than voice and that includes email, social networks, chat, news, weather, location device, etc etc.

4. I want to be able to connect the device with any other device that has Bluetooth or WiFi or any other connectivity that the devices have.

5. I want to be able to transfer a single photo (and any other type of file), as well as a selection of files or a folder of files, to any other device that I can connect to, without being dependent upon 3rd party service providers (cellular or "cloud") nor (as we said on another thread) upon any 3rd party apps (similar to Nokia PC Suite for instance) that exist as an extra "layer" of software on top of the basic utilities of the OS being used on the devices. This is really the fundamental requirement and I think it's actually a deal breaker.

6. I would really want to get rid of the "shutter" noise .... but ... arrghh, Can't get the (hard) camera button to work consistently. Using the "App launcher" button worked. Any ideas?

The camera is one of the three core functions I want from the device (camera, productivity, phone) so that button would get used a lot and taking a photo is fundamentally about timing. If the button doesn't work identically each and every time then the camera is fatally flawed.

enough? HELP!!! RoFL


p.s. thanks for the guides etc

 

[Szadzik]

I've seen the term but what is the definition of a "Home Launcher Application"? I've seen others out there but it seems there are a number of "functions" bundled into this software/app. Is it the term for that central icon (the white circle on a black square)

A Launcher is like the whole iterface you see (apart from the notification bar at the bottom which is not changed by the launcher).

Various launchers offer different features and if you like to et organized, have a look at Launcher Pro, which offers a great deal of customizations.

So, again, thanks Szadzik. Really nice offer, and very much appreciated. Ok:-

1. I want the absolute minimum of "clutter" and AI. I want to disable everything I don't need and to then enable it one program at a time, as and when I want/need/have that time.

Nothing to worry about. Just use apps and when done with them close them. You will not even notice them in the bckground and when they are idle long enough, they will disappear on their own.

[/quote]2. I want connection to voice, both via cellular providers and via WiFi/VoIP. The latter predominantly in my home network(s) rather than in WiF hotspots. The former is in the UK and Finland on different networks. [/quote]

I suggest APNDroid to turn off data.

3. I do not want continuous or embedded always on connection to any other service providers than voice and that includes email, social networks, chat, news, weather, location device, etc etc.

Same as above.

4. I want to be able to connect the device with any other device that has Bluetooth or WiFi or any other connectivity that the devices have.

Install Bluetooth FTP other than that everything is already there.

5. I want to be able to transfer a single photo (and any other type of file), as well as a selection of files or a folder of files, to any other device that I can connect to, without being dependent upon 3rd party service providers (cellular or "cloud") nor (as we said on another thread) upon any 3rd party apps (similar to Nokia PC Suite for instance) that exist as an extra "layer" of software on top of the basic utilities of the OS being used on the devices. This is really the fundamental requirement and I think it's actually a deal breaker.

No need for ANY PC software, connect the phone to the device and mount is as mass storage device. DONE.

6. I would really want to get rid of the "shutter" noise .... but ... arrghh, Can't get the (hard) camera button to work consistently. Using the "App launcher" button worked. Any ideas?

Just hold the camera button long enough for the phone to focus.

The camera is one of the three core functions I want from the device (camera, productivity, phone) so that button would get used a lot and taking a photo is fundamentally about timing. If the button doesn't work identically each and every time then the camera is fatally flawed.

If timing in photography is a priority for you, forget about taking photos with a phone and use a DSLR. Autofocus is slow on phones. Period.

enough? HELP!!! RoFL

Never enough!

p.s. thanks for the guides etc

You're welcome.

 

[talvi]

A Launcher is like the whole iterface you see

So basically it's the GUI.

The GUI of the Milestone/Android seems ok to me.

I thought that maybe I could "expand" the "Calls" icon to become one of those "Window" thingies, in the hope that might possibly show missed call information etc, but no joy. What are those "windows"? Can you "make" one (easily!)? Where do they go when they're binned? How do you get them back?

Just use apps and when done with them close them.

I wanted quick access from that circle-button-list of apps (what is that button called?!) to apps I want/use. At the moment it's full of stuff I don't want so if I add anything I'll always have to hunt for it. If I could file stuff away, I could get directly to stuff I use all the time.

I suggest APNDroid to turn off data.

Presumably it will let me turn it off and on in some simple manner - touch of a button. I don't want not to use data, but I want to use it when I want to use it not when someone wants me to use it. (Pull not Push)

Install Bluetooth FTP other than that everything is already there.

Great ... err ... how? I couldn't get the device to pair with my PC nor vice-versa. Tried various PINs to no avail.

connect the phone to the device and mount is as mass storage device.

I should be able use the USB to do that if I can find the path to that setting.

The motoblur software I installed on my PC started driving the system nuts (it kept demanding to connect to the net/cloud) so I cut the process. I am thinking of uninstalling it. What is it for? What is the downside to uninstalling?



CAMERA ISSUES

Just hold the camera button long enough for the phone to focus.

I did try holding the camera key. Sometimes it doesn't work. I'll persevere.

If timing in photography is a priority for you, forget about taking photos with a phone and use a DSLR. Autofocus is slow on phones.

The camera seems potentially fast enough in exchange for the functionality of having a camera around at all times.

I've disabled the auto flash, that should speed it up a bit. I want to disable as much of the automation as possible. It gets in the way and slows things down. I can't find any other settings apart from that though (there's nothing else in the viewfinder menu). Are there any other settings anywhere for it??

It also keeps prompting me to "enable location in settings". I don't want to; can't find anything about the camera in the settings; and would like to get rid of the prompt. Any ideas? Its just more unnecessary processing and more delay.

How can I extend the delay period before the camera turns itself off?? I keep find myself framing a shot and then it switches off!!

AND lastly, how can I get rid of those useless shutter noises???? Oh and what does the "pong pong" noise mean??

Never enough!

LoL we'll see about that

 

[talvi]

deleted

 

[Szadzik]

So basically it's the GUI.

The GUI of the Milestone/Android seems ok to me.

You can stay with it if it works for you.

I thought that maybe I could "expand" the "Calls" icon to become one of those "Window" thingies, in the hope that might possibly show missed call information etc, but no joy. What are those "windows"? Can you "make" one (easily!)? Where do they go when they're binned? How do you get them back?

The windows are called widgets. You can search for issed calls widget in the MArket, I bet you will find something useful. To get one ont your screen press the Menu button>Add>Widget. Choose the one you want to add and it will appear on the homescreen you are currently on. To take it off, long-press it and drag to the bin that appears at the bottom of the screen.[/QUOTE]

I wanted quick access from that circle-button-list of apps (what is that button called?!) to apps I want/use. At the moment it's full of stuff I don't want so if I add anything I'll always have to hunt for it. If I could file stuff away, I could get directly to stuff I use all the time.

The list of all apps is called app drawer. To get a shortcut on you holmescreen go to app drawer, press and hold an icon and drag it to hte homescreen.

Presumably it will let me turn it off and on in some simple manner - touch of a button. I don't want not to use data, but I want to use it when I want to use it not when someone wants me to use it. (Pull not Push)

Exactly.

Great ... err ... how? I couldn't get the device to pair with my PC nor vice-versa. Tried various PINs to no avail.

I never used BT with my phone to connect to computer because USB is much faster.

I should be able use the USB to do that if I can find the path to that setting.

Connect your phone to the computer and open notification bar from the top of the screen. You should have a USB connection icon there, click on it and it should give you options on what the phone is connected as. One of these options should me card access or something like that.

The motoblur software I installed on my PC started driving the system nuts (it kept demanding to connect to the net/cloud) so I cut the process. I am thinking of uninstalling it. What is it for? What is the downside to uninstalling?

Never install software like that. Motoblur is for social networking mainly and I am not interested in that on my phone at all.

CAMERA ISSUES

I did try holding the camera key. Sometimes it doesn't work. I'll persevere.

The camera seems potentially fast enough in exchange for the functionality of having a camera around at all times.

I've disabled the auto flash, that should speed it up a bit. I want to disable as much of the automation as possible. It gets in the way and slows things down. I can't find any other settings apart from that though (there's nothing else in the viewfinder menu). Are there any other settings anywhere for it??

It also keeps prompting me to "enable location in settings". I don't want to; can't find anything about the camera in the settings; and would like to get rid of the prompt. Any ideas? Its just more unnecessary processing and more delay.

Camera, Menu button, Settings or options or whatever is there like that and there is an option for geotagging there for sure.


Also go to the MArket and search for alternative camera apps, lot of them out there and probably better than the default one.

How can I extend the delay period before the camera turns itself off?? I keep find myself framing a shot and then it switches off!!

Probably not possible

AND lastly, how can I get rid of those useless shutter noises???? Oh and what does the "pong pong" noise mean??

Just put phone into quiet mode by pressing the Vol down button a few times until it only vibrates.

LoL we'll see about that

Not bad, but you definitely need to start reading the manual

 

[kumar3234]

@Karnka,

Hello,
I was reading the phone guide of the MS2 and suddenly what surprised me was that the MS2 has a FM Radio.I found it in the section called "Music".
Is it a FM Radio or internet radio??
Can't believe Moto have included FM radio.There is a thread in this forum where a fellow android user is urging Moto to include this feature......
Pls clarify..

Regards,
Kumar.

 

[Szadzik]

@Karnka,

Hello,
I was reading the phone guide of the MS2 and suddenly what surprised me was that the MS2 has a FM Radio.I found it in the section called "Music".
Is it a FM Radio or internet radio??
Can't believe Moto have included FM radio.There is a thread in this forum where a fellow android user is urging Moto to include this feature......
Pls clarify..

Regards,
Kumar.

I just checked the manual and on page 48 and 52 it mentions an FM radio.

 

[karnka]

Can't find an fm radio on the phone. There's internet radio in the music app but that's it.

 

[talvi]

I just checked the manual and on page 48 and 52 it mentions an FM radio.

Correct, but the reference is to internet radio (Shoutcast) not to genuine FM radio.

 

[Szadzik]

Correct, but the reference is to internet radio (Shoutcast) not to genuine FM radio.

Manual states otherwise, but it may me wrong

 

[talvi]

Manual states otherwise, but it may me wrong

You just stopped reading too soon:

"Surf the airwaves for fresh music. There

 

[Szadzik]

You just stopped reading too soon:

"Surf the airwaves for fresh music. There’s
something for everyone. You need a headset for FM
radio. Check out SHOUTcast™ Radio for music from all
generations and types."

Shoutcast is "internet-radio", i.e. not radio.

Have you tried it or are you just reading the FM?

FM: frequency modulation: modulation of the frequency of the (radio) carrier wave

NO Internet radio can be called FM. No Internet radio requires hadphones to be plugged in to work because it can play through speakers. FM radio requires an antenna and hence the headphone requirement.

Maybe the manual is wrong, but I doubt it is.