Motorola i1 iDEN Android phone coming to Sprint/Nextel
iDEN cell phone users rejoice! The first Android smartphone on the iDEN network will be out sometime this summer. Motorola recently announced that the i1 will released through Sprint/Nextel and that Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs” host, Mike Rowe will be the spokesperson for the new phone. Besides the sleek touchscreen design and the Android powered apps, the phone meets 810F military specifications for ruggedness, hence the choice of Mr. Dirty Jobs Rowe. So, apparently, the marketing campaign will be geared toward construction workers, builders, and such. And I guess that makes sense since the push-to-talk feature is a favorite among that particular demographic. Other phone features include: 5-megapixel camera, Opera mini 5 browser, WIFI, microSD and a 3.1 inch touchscreen.
So essentially, the i1 is a super tough phone that runs on Android OS 1.5. I’m not sure why Motorola chose the older version of the OS but hopefully users will have the capability to upgrade to 2.1. The big limitation for iDEN users is that the network was never designed for high speed data. So, mobile web connections will be very slow on the iDEN i1. But still, I’m glad to see a sleek smartphone available for the aging network. No longer will iDEN subscribers have to be embarrassed by their old-school Motorola clamshells, heh. (yes, I still use an old Motorola i880 on my Boost mobile account). Now, if only Boost Mobile members can have their own version of the i1. Either that or simply be able to purchase the Nextel phone outright and use it on Boost (..but I can’t imagine the cost of the new phone WITHOUT a contract. OUCH!).
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[...] The initial announcement was for the phone to be released through Sprint/Nextel which disappointed a whole lot of Boost Mobile iDEN users. Well, Boost iDEN folks, you’re in luck. It appears that Sprint/Nextel won’t have exclusive dibs on the Motorola i1 after all. There’s word that Boost will be releasing its own version of the i1 this summer… [...]