The handset was well-liked for its snazzy design and excellent 3.7 in screen which was sharp and high-resolution. But the flattish keyboard was less successful. So the new model ditches the solid keyboard, for a highly usable virtual keyboard, making the new Milestone even sleeker. There’s a gleaming metal-edged front and pleasantly tactile rubbery back and it’s noticeably slimmer than the first Milestone.
The new design isn’t entirely successful, mind, thanks to a wonky bump at the bottom corner. This seems to be largely to accommodate three little lights to show what mode the camera is in (stills, video or playback) but it is a little odd. Apparently it’s meant to make the phone feel more like a camera. Hmm. The 3.7-inch high-resolution touchscreen is unchanged and prettty good - bright, sharp and inviting – though not up to the iPhone’s standard. Though the glass screen is certainly pretty reflective, which doesn’t help when taking pictures on a sunny day on the built-in camera.
The Android operating system varies between handsets, even within versions. This phone uses 2.1 (Eclair) though it lacks MotoBlur, the social networking flavour found in some Motorola phones. This is more or less vanilla Android though there are some neater-looking icons and Moto’s trademark blood-red highlighter colour.
Although it’s not exactly sluggish (apart when you're doing lots of things at the same time), the Milestone X720 is never super-speedy, so it’s no surprise when you discover the processor powering the XT720 isn’t as fast as rivals toting the Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz chip like the HTC Desire. This one can only manage 550MHz, which is disappointing.
Surpassing its sibling, it’s certainly a good-looking phone that’s enjoyable to use, and has all the benefits of Android’s slick system and huge apps market. That corner bulge takes getting used to and if you don't mind the processor being less powered than rivals, this is a slim, efficient smartphone with excellent camera credentials.
