Motorola teams up with Nextel to bring an affordable touch screen smart phone to the masses in the form of the Nextel i1. Consumers looking to utilize the flexible features of a smart phone with the form factor and intuitiveness of a touch screen won’t need to look any further, as one of the oldest mobile phone manufacturers, Motorola, has the industry experience to put out great and reliable smart phones to keep up with the times.
You would not have gotten a phone if you can’t call or text with it, so Motorola’s partnership with Nextel with the i1 smart phone will have you and your communication needs covered. The ultra flexible touch screen also lets a user access other features which are practically a requirement in smart phones today, such as the Opera Mobile web browser to surf the net with Motorola’s proprietary iDEN online networking capabilities.
Features
The Nextel i1 is one of the first smart phones that utilizes Motorola’s iDEN network, which offers similar functionality to PTT and two way radio systems. In fact, the Nextel i1 also features a PTT function, so that it may in fact function as a two way radio, making this particular smart phone a great pick for bored security guards or outdoorsmen in case of emergencies.
Opera’s Mini 5 Web Browser is also one feature that the Nextel i1 boasts, and is one of the first smart phones to utilize it. As an alternative to the security lax Microsoft Internet Explorer and the resource-heavy Mozilla Firefox, Opera has been one of the leading alternative internet browsers in the desktop PC market for some time now thus making the move to a mobile platform was a logical one.
As a fast yet efficient mobile web browser, the user interface featured in Opera Mini 5 has been streamlined for the Nextel i1′s touch screen, making switching between open tabs, web pages, bookmarks and the intuitive new Speed Dial feature that much easier. The rendering engine has also been optimized for the smart phone. Opera Mini 5 also features a data usage reducing engine, netting only a tenth of the bandwidth usually accumulated by other mobile web browsers. This feature can even help you reduce the cost of your monthly telecommunications bill, especially when you use the Nextel i1 often.
The ruggedized construction of the Nextel i1 is also something to boast about; clad in a military approved rugged casing, the Nextel i1 is built to withstand everything from drops during regular use to the elements, such as hard rains, exposure to dust particles, as well as shocks and vibrations. Extreme temperatures, humidity and some forms of radiation are no match for the rugged casing as well, making this a wonderful companion when out in the wild.
The Nextel i1 also features standard telephony capabilities such as text messaging and e-mail in addition to the often useful PTT radio functionality. Other features now standard on smart phones such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi functionality are also included in the Nextel i1, making it a flexible wireless device which can keep up with the rest of the touch screen pack.
Smart phones would not be able to run without a stable operating system, and for that reason, Motorola chose to include Google Android 1.5 to run on this rugged smart phone. While it may not be the latest and most feature packed version of Android to run on a smart phone, it is the most stable so far, so the added system stability should be more than enough when only utilizing this phone for basic telephony and wireless internet usage.
Tech Specs
Powering the Nextel i1 is a 600MHz ARM11 freescale processor, which is fast enough to run the old Android 1.5 operating system included stock with the device. An accelerometer and a proximity sensor are also included under the rugged casing, in addition to basic multitasking and quick speeds offered thanks to the processor.
A high quality speaker ensures that calls are crystal clear, whether receiving or making them. A speakerphone, much like on every other phone available today, is part of the calling package, along with other basic phone functions such as SMS messaging, Bluetooth functionality, and Wi-Fi connectivity.
The Nextel i1 features a rugged casing which meets US Military Specification 810F. The overbuilt frame houses a 3.1 inch TFT LCD touch screen, with a native resolution of 320 x 480 pixels. This screen is large enough to make even the most text heavy web pages or e-mail messages visible, and can support multi touch gestures in order to zoom in, zoom out and scroll around with. A 5 megapixel camera is featured on the rear of the device, along with an LED flash so that you are able to take pictures without the need for lighting.
This rugged device is powered by a 1,400 mAH battery, with the battery life rated at about 4 days on standby mode, and a generous 3.5 hours of talk time. The battery life may vary when using processor and resource intensive applications and tasks such as web browsing, e-mailing, or utilizing the built in PTT function.
Businessmen and outdoorsmen alike may end up appreciating the Nextel i1 thanks to its ruggedized exterior housing a myriad of useful features, both for telephony and internet connectivity. The added PTT feature and iDEN features added by Motorola also make the Nextel i1 that much more flexible in everyday situations.
