Motorola Milestone is GSM Droid
Motorola Milestone
(Credit: Crave UK)On Monday Motorola announced the first GSM Google Android 2.0 handset. Dubbed the Milestone, it's quite similar to Verizon's Motorola Droid save for a few changes.
The biggest difference is that the Milestone goes far beyond the Droid with its multitouch support. While the Droid allows you to zoom in and out on the home screen by double tapping, the Milestone also includes iPhone-like pinch capability. Squeeze your fingers together to zoom in on Web pages, maps and photos and spread them apart to zoom out. Android users have long hungered after this feature, which is why we got excited when we first heard that Android 2.0 would offer it. Hopefully, the Droid will get it since there's really no reason that it doesn't.
Another big chnage lies in the navigational software. Whereas the Droid comes loaded with the new Google Maps Navigator, Milestone offers MOTONAV, which is the company's own spoken turn-by-turn guidance and mapping system. Milestone also offers trial versions of their Easy Search, Lane Guidance, and Maps.
Meanwhile, the hardware remains nearly identical to Droid. Both have 3.7-inch 480x854-pixel resolution screens, 5-megapixel cameras with dual-LED flash, and 3.5mm headset jacks. But in a small change, the Droid comes with a 16GB microSD card and Milestone comes with an 8GB card. Internally, the only hardware difference is found in the radios; Droid is CDMA-based while Milestone is a quad-band GSM handset.
Italy and Germany will be among the first markets to carry Milestone with more countries coming later.

I hope this phone comes to T-Mobile USA!
But by then, I am hoping both AT&T and Verizon would be on LTE network (4G) and the iPhone will work with both carriers.
GSM and multitouch?...iPhone killer for sure. More apps on the iPhone? The most an average consumers may only use is 20. Free turn-by-turn GPS navigation, real keyboard, true multitasking, better camera, microSD card support, GSM (SIM card support), Flash support is far more important than excessive apps to choose from.
Assuming this is true, I'm sure since Jon used to work for Apple and Jon owns the patent rights...there are some agreements between iPhone and Palm Pre regarding multi-touch screens which explain why only the Palm Pre and iPhone have exclusive multitouch technology in the U.S.
http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/chris-dannen/techwatch/does-apple-really-own-multi-touch
I tried to look up that patent number, and no results. I assume what happened is that Apple played hard ball with Rubenstein after he "retired" as far as their complex relationships etc etc. I would think that apples influence through their huge corporation and endless legal funds, they one the intellectual rights of the multi touch concept, and the patent took a while to go through clearly (apparently only came through earlier this year) probably because of all this discussion over who owns the idea, who created it, who implemented it etc. I would say as the leaving executive, and the fact that the whole ipod engineer team was working on the product and development, that Rubenstein lost the battle. But as those articles say, its very hard to prosecute on that patent, and eventually I'm sure the field will be open to most technologies.
count me as an android fan not impressed at all with multi-touch.
Im not hopeful for now, as you guys should know, america is the wasteland of technology (at least with cellphones that are not an iphone) so we might not get this for a while unless we go to the black market.
Indeed a great phone. We are witnessing the dawn of a new monopoly with the android software that will soon and undoubtedly dominate the smart phone area with the likes of droid xperia and click.
There are no reasons why android couldn't pull it off, development is free and programing is easy.
Maybe android will never really beat apple and iphone, but then, they wouldn't need to it will be just like macs are to pc's.
I think though android will be a good thing as it offers the open source that will enhance competition and maximun rewards thereof for us consumers.
I just hope that they all, having the same operating system, could at least all run the apps that will be sold through the android market place, because if not ......FAIL.
I believe that the U.I could be different to give carriers "a different phone, or experience" to ink contracts, but they all should run the apps that are sold in the android place.
Gooooooooo Gooogle,
By the way I've heard rumors that there's a GSM version for the US in the works, we'll see since that's what I really want.
And if i visit some friends in another EU country instead of using rip off roaming over their network i can just buy a pay as you go sim card and swap it out for the time i'm there, doing the same with the iphone is a nightmare and a pay as you go iphone will cost you $885.00 here the Milestone costs $660.00 that's a whopping $225,00 more for a techlogically inferior devise. The Milestone will also be available on a 2 year contract for free whilst the same contract for the iphone will still put you back $292,00
Guess what phone i'll be buying in the new year ? it wont be an Apple
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by davidwinston
December 8, 2009 3:05 AM PST
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