Telecom have just announced that they’ll be carrying the Motorola Milestone for $999 from 1 July. Reviews of the Milestone have been fairly positive. I also understand it has been rooted, which would be of interest for people that swing that way.

Am I correct in stating that this the first official, carrier supported Android device running 2.1?

It’s great to see more Android phones hitting the market. Let’s hope this phone is better than the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.

Full press release follows:

MEDIA RELEASE
16 June 2010

A Milestone for New Zealand mobile users

Telecom is set to deliver a Milestone to New Zealanders, with the launch of its latest Android phone on 1 July.

The Motorola Milestone™ is the first smartphone to be powered by the Android™ 2.1 operating system available in New Zealand and is exclusive to Telecom XT customers.

Android is the fastest growing mobile operating system in the US market* and gives users a mobile internet experience about as close to a computer as they can get.
Telecom Retail CEO Alan Gourdie says, “Since its inception, the Android platform has shaken up the mobile world, and we have been watching it closely, looking for a device that makes these features come to life for our customers – we believe the Milestone is it.”
The Milestone allows users to surf the web on a high-resolution screen and look up favourite sites, videos and music quickly with the high-speed processor and the fast XT network connection.

But search capabilities on the Milestone go beyond the web. Users can find their way around town with MOTONAV turn-by-turn navigation and Google Maps™ with Latitude™.
The Milestone benefits from closely integrated Google™ apps. Google services such as Google Search™ and Gmail™ are tightly integrated with the platform.
And there are endless personalisation capabilities, allowing users to configure their mobile to look and behave exactly how they want. They can customise their homescreen with Facebook™ or download applications for music, sports, news, games and business.

“With internet search and personalisation features similar to what you’d get on a desktop, plus the ability to toggle back and forth between applications, it’s a very slick experience,” says Mr Gourdie.

Being open source, Android gives developers access to powerful and flexible platforms that will encourage increased innovation and competition in the mobile applications space.
Managing Director, ANZPI, Motorola Mobile Devices, Timo Brouwer says, “We are delighted to be working with Telecom to bring an easy and fun mobile internet experience to their XT customers.”

The Milestone is a thin, touch screen phone with a QWERTY keypad and slider design.

It features a DVD quality video recorder, a 5 megapixel camera and 8 gigabytes (GB) of storage – with the option to upgrade to 32GB.

Its introduction marks the re-launch of Motorola into New Zealand – a mobile manufacturer who has been lauded in overseas markets as a leading innovator in Android.

The Milestone will be available exclusively to Telecom XT customers for RRP $999 from 1 July.

Telecom is currently offering a Risk Free Trial when signing up to the Telecom XT Mobile Network. Find more information on this here.

*According to market tracker, NPD Group.

Motorola Milestone Comes to Telecom XT

$999, 1st July: http://www.ben.geek.nz/2010/06/motorola-milestone-comes-to-telecom-xt/

Running Android 2.1. And sadly it looks like the hacked 2.2 will only work on the Droid, not the Milestone :(

I agree with Parsley – if these deals were non-exclusive, then we’d be closer to true neutrality. As it stands, I can see a future where power users have to run multiple ISP accounts to take advantage of all the offers.

Kinda like kids having both Telecom and Vodafone mobiles to take advantage of free on-net SMS.

So what do we think?
http://www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/pricing

Great if you're a prepay user, not so great if you use best mates or free on-network SMS.

I'm hoping (in vain) that the 9c SMS price will trickle up to the main telcos, because 20c SMS is just extortion.

The question antenna has received a transmission:

Morning I have a 597e Air card, which I use as my only means of connection as I am not on a landline, here. I see it has a socket for a extension aerial, Orb has no knowledge of any device can you advise me please? Looking at the data on thedropdown its running at 115.2 Kbps Just wondering if I can get better reception somehow? Thanks a lot..

This question has so many components to it, I barely no where to start, but let’s take a crack at it.

A Question Regarding Reception and Data Speeds

Alright, no luck about the PAL region thing. Guess no one feels strongly about video games then. Am gonna try asking something else.

Does anyone feel that telcos should be regulated so consumers would get better rates and subsidies for their phones? Is everyone ok with the current charges for calls/texts/data on their respective networks? How about charges for cross-network calls/texts?

BUT, they've still got an offer for iPhone owners: $600 account credit plus 240MB free data for 24 months:

http://store.telecom.co.nz/mobile/special-offers/iphone-sim-only-offer