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My Review Of Motorola Defy

By now, I am sure everyone knows about Motorola Defy already, the latest Android-powered smart phone from Motorola. And you would have seen photos of Motorola Defy on various technology blogs already. So let me just grab a stock photo of it. LOL

Motorola Defy
Motorola Defy

Out of box, I was rather surprised that it is actually smaller than it looks online. It’s even shorter than my iPhone 2G (original) considering that iPhone has a display size of 3.5in while Motorola Defy has 3.7in, though Defy is slightly thicker. While it is light, it doesn’t feel like plastic like the Samsung Galaxy S. It’s very sleek and easy to handle, compared to my Nokia E61i. OK, now I feel more like a lady.

Motorola Defy is touted as a “lifeproof” device as it is said to be water-resistant and dust-proof. I didn’t attempt to dunk it in a glass of water yet but if you are brave enough, you should make sure that all caps are well-secured. After all, it is water-resistant and NOT water-proof. Do note, though, that the touchscreen does not work underwater.

My box of Motorola Defy came with the device, but of course, an adapter, USB cable, earphones, battery (1540 mAh) and 2GB microSD card. Motorola Defy can support microSD card up to 32GB.

You know, this is my only new phone that I didn’t feel like I had to rush to the nearest phone accessory shop to get a screen protector and sleeve for it. And I like it. There is one less thing to take care of and one less item to buy on top of the expense of a new mobile device. Thanks to its Corning Gorilla Glass Display, I could chuck it in my pocket without fearing that it will be scratched by my pen, keys, hair clip or even the buttons or zip of my pocket. I don’t usually carry a bag, you see. And now I can wear dangly earrings too.

The Motorola Defy is my first Android phone, coming off Symbian (Nokia E61i) and iOS (iPhone). Although I thought that I would have a hard time with touchscreen, since I didn’t like typing long text on my iPhone, I actually took to Swype text-input like a duck to water. I just need to teach it more Manglish words.

I’ve used my Motorola Defy for three days now, and so far, I have had no issues with the device itself. Battery life is quite good. It could last me a day and a half of moderate use before needing a recharge. Well, it’s a new battery so it really should last that long even though I am connected to Wi-Fi or 3G 24 hours a day.

Over these few days, much of my frustrations in using the phone stem from the software and applications that are not working as well as I would like them to. Motorola Defy runs on Android 2.1 so I really miss the ease of grabbing a screenshot that I could easily do with the iPhone and even with my older Nokia E61i, without rooting it.

Hardware-wise, the only thing that’s lacking, to me, is the secondary camera, so no video call.

Anyway, I trust that things will only get better once Froyo hits Defy (still no video call). Meanwhile, check out the Motorola Defy photo and video samples (3 videos in a playlist) that I have enclosed.

Video (below): Video playlist of Motorola Defy sample videos

Motorola Defy Video Sample (Indoor)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99AvXcxwYJk

Motorola Defy Video Sample (Day)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzjtBk6JJLs

Motorola Defy Video Sample (Night)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhaH-Cv3s6M

Motorola Defy Phone Specifications:

Network:
2G Network – GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network – HSDPA 900 / 2100

Size: Dimensions 107 x 59 x 13.4 mm
Weight: 118 g
Display Type : TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size : 480 x 854 pixels, 3.7 inches (Gorilla Glass display)
– Touch sensitive controls
– MOTOBLUR UI with Live Widgets
– Multi-touch input method
– Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate
– Proximity sensor for auto turn-off

Sound:
Alert types: Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Speakerphone: Yes – 3.5 mm audio jack

Memory:
Internal: 2 GB storage, 512 MB RAM
Card slot: microSD, up to 32GB

Data:
GPRS: Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 – 48 kbps
EDGE: Class 12
3G: HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 2 Mbps
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA
Bluetooth: v2.1 with A2DP
Infrared port: No
USB: microUSB v2.0

Camera: 5 MP, 2592х1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, check quality
Features: Geo-tagging, image stabilization
Video: VGA@30fps

OS: Android OS, v2.1 (Eclair), upgradable to v2.2

CPU: TI OMAP3610 800MHz processor
Messaging: SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, IM, Push Email
Browser: HTML
Radio: Stereo FM radio with RDS
Games: Downloadable
Colors: Black, White
GPS: with A-GPS support
Java: MIDP 2.0

Other features:
– Dustproof and water-resistant
– Digital compass
– MP3/WAV/WMA/AAC+ player
– MP4/WMV/H.263/H.264 player
– Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Talk
– Facebook, Twitter, MySpace integration
– Document viewer
– Flash Lite
– Photo viewer/editor
– Organizer
– Voice memo/dial/commands
– Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
– T9

Battery: Standard battery, Li-Po 1540 mAh
Stand-by: Up to 238 h
Talk time: Up to 6 h 48 min

Recommended Retail Price (RRP): RM1599

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With love

6 thoughts on “My Review Of Motorola Defy

  1. Hi Emily, where did u get the Motorola Defy? I cannot get any to see… no one sell in the store… when to a few maxis center also didn’t carry it…. sad… and really crazy …

    how it perform as of now? some u can contact me asap…

    thanks…:)

  2. Hi Mingo,

    Are you in KL? You can try Brightstar Distribution, the distributor of Motorola devices. http://www.brightstarcorp.com.my/

    Or you can ask this Lowyat Forum member gtrowa2003
    http://forum.lowyat.net/user/gtrowa2003 who runs a webstore here http://www.imcc.com.my/store/index.php and has two physical stores in KL.

    I don’t vouch for him, because I don’t know him personally but I follow the Defy thread on Lowyat and have seen some satisfied buyers.

    As for the performance of Defy, I’ve used it for 2+ weeks now and I find that if I run too many programmes, especially maps/GPS, it lags or even hangs.

    A lot of problems I face are actually Android and apps problems. The phone itself is great and I trust that once Froyo is rolled out for Defy, it will improve.

    The hardware that I am not satisfied with is the camera. It needs a lot of light to take reasonably well still photos, considering it’s 5.0MP.

    You should be made aware of this Motorola earpiece problem https://supportforums.motorola.com/thread/41152?tstart=0. I think it’s already settled with newer productions so make sure you buy newer stocks, or hold on your purchase a little longer to make sure that the problematic devices have been flushed from the market.

  3. Hi, I have the defy for 3 months now. The screen scratched straight away by my keys. And now the touch screen doesnt work in a area , (an invisible line d area across the screen)
    And there not so tough either I dropped in on the footpath and the screen shattered. $180 to fix that. This is my first smart/touchscreen phone and will be my last.

  4. It’s been a few months now. What’s your take on the phone. I am seriously considering but still need some real Life Experience on this baby.

    Cheers!

  5. I’m still using the phone “as is” without any upgrade to software.

    I have encountered quirkiness, which I cannot determine if it’s a phone problem or Android problem.

    There were a few instances when my contacts told me that I called them when I didn’t make those calls.

    And more than a few times, the phone will suddenly shut off and cannot be turned on until I remove my back cover, then remove battery and fix every thing back again.

    Off hand, I can only recall these two problems.

    As for battery, it cannot last me one day without a charge. I keep the phone logged on to 3G at all times.

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