Motorola i1 Review Discussion

[Michael Morisy]

The Android OS comes to iDEN push-to-talk with the rugged Motorola i1, tested on the Sprint Nextel Direct Connect network but also available via Boost Mobile.

The i1's main selling point, besides the push-to-talk services, is a ruggedized exterior that features a seamless touchscreen, sturdy buttons and a scratch/shock-resistant body that feels comfortable and sleek yet also durable enough to take into woollier situations. It has the standard Android on-screen keyboard, a 5 megapixel camera/camcorder with flash, full-featured web browsers, expandable storage and access to the Android App Store.

While the i1 sports a nice, takes-a-licking form factor and some new tricks with Push-to-Talk, its crippled by a reliance on iDEN, a network so slow that normal activities like web browsing and voice commands, are painful or impossible to use when not in range of a Wi-Fi hotspot.

The Motorola i1 is available from Sprint for $150 after signing a two-year contract and with the current $50 rebate, with plants starting at $60 a month including voice and data. Without a contract, this device sells for $350. The phone is also available from Boost Mobile and SouthernLINC.

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[LandSurveyor]

But hasn't the i1 been on the market for some time now?

A personal favorite save for the mentioned slow IDEN data. Still, if one primarily wants a PDA/phone, it's not bad. My impression of it is that it is heavier than I expected but I wish this rounded form factor and the rugged bit were more common.

IDEN on Sprint is going, going, gone in 2013 but who will keep a device that long anyway? I expect we won't see an i2 until Sprint migrates everybody to their CDMA PTT. SouthernLINC has no such plans and has service anywhere the Southern Company provides electricity. For many rural folks in Georgia and Alabama, it can be about the only choice, with the other, of course, being VZW.

In my experience, first responders and contractors (and often, their family members as well) are quite fond of PTT.

People attracted to tougher phones but not wanting PTT might look at the Moto Defy as well.

[Ed Hardy]

But hasn't the i1 been on the market for some time now?

Yes, but we haven't reviewed it before, and we're using this slow time of the year to fill in this small gap.
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