Motorola MOTOSMART comes to UK in July: we go hands-on
Motorola isn't letting the Atrix HD hog all the spotlight today. If you'd like your smartphone a little more to-the-point, the MOTOSMART distills just about everything cellular to its fundamentals. It's as frugal as can be -- the tiny full-touch phone packs a 3.5-inch 480 x 320 display, a 3-megapixel rear camera and the same MotoSwitch-layered Android 2.3 we saw half a year ago with the MOTOLUXE. Then again, that essentialism is really the focus, isn't it? The MOTOSMART will cost just £100 ($155) SIM-free when it hits T-Mobile UK and other parts of Europe by the end of the month, so the barrier to entry is more like a speed bump. Click past the break for the video, some brief impressions, and the source for the hard details in the Italian-only listing that Motorola has so far.
Its lifting its design cues from the MOTOLUXE spotted earlier this year, albeit with some lesser specs crammed inside. For that £100 price tag, you'll get a petite black slab with a tactile rough plastic finish and a 3-megapixel camera. The Gingerbread OS has a handful of Motorola UI licks that we've seen on its other devices, but the low-resolution (480 x 320) 3.5-inch display soon started to grate during our time with the phone. Navigation was generally smooth, although apps and the web browser launched a little slowly -- given the 800MHz we're not all that shocked here. Unfortunately, the phone may have trouble catching the eye of Brit customers alongside more colorful entry-level rivals like the Desire C and Xperia Miro.
Mat Smith contributed to this report.
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Motorola Mobility Simplifies Life with MOTOSMART™ in UK
BASINGSTOKE, UK – July 10, 2012 – Ditch the complications. MOTOSMART™ is the latest Android™-powered smartphone for the UK from Motorola Mobility. It, is slick, thin, and gives you one-touch access to your top contacts, favorite apps, music and more. MOTOSMART will be available in the UK from T-Mobile.
Organisation is the key to a stress-free life. And with MOTOSMART, you can streamline and simplify your day. For instance, the phone comes with the latest version of MotoSwitch – software that learns which songs you love, who you talk to most and which apps you use throughout your day. All of this information is then saved right on your home screen. So you won't waste time searching through long lists of contacts, music and apps ever again.
For those who are always on the go, connect to your email and the Internet with built-in Wi-Fi. Or access maps and step-by-step navigation as you scoot around town using the phone's GPS.
Worried about getting stuck in a rainstorm? With Motorola MOTOSMART, you can stay ahead of the weather by checking out vivid forecasts directly on the phone's 3.5-inch display. You'll almost feel thunder tremble from your phone.
Leave your camera at home and take photos of your friends, family or gorgeous sunsets with the Motorola MOTOSMART's 3-megapixel camera. Then, in just a few easy steps, you can post photos of your adventures to your favorite social media sites. In addition, the music app allows you to discover, share, and sync music to your PC seamlessly1.
And because MOTOSMART is an Android-powered smartphone, you can access over 500,000 apps on Google Play™ to help streamline your day (like calendars or budgeting tools) or apps that entertain (like books, games and even the latest movies).
"Simply put, MOTOSMART makes life easier," said Victoria McManus, marketing director, UK & Nordics, Motorola Mobility. "You don't have to worry about complicated settings and hard-to-follow instructions. Just turn this smartphone on and get instant access to the people and things in your life that matter most."
Availability and pricing
MOTOSMART will be available on T-Mobile from the end of July, free on a £7 per month, 24 month plan, and for £99.99 on pay as you go.
