Motorola Defy Pro Hands On Review [video]

It’s a phone!

[meant as like one of those ‘baby announcements’]

Okay, I jest, but you can really see how the Motorola Defy Pro looks very much as though some Motorola product met up with a RIM product in some dark alley…

Joking aside this is actually a very nice phone.  And we should celebrate it for what it really is.  A great ‘conversion’ device.

It shows off the true power of Android, that it can really be ‘all things, to all people’.  It’s a great bridging phone to have someone move from BB to Android, plus it’s priced to move at $0 on a contract.  A free phone goes a LOOOONG way with the customer.

Let’s dive in:

Specifications

What I liked

What I didn’t enjoy

Overall

Before you go ahead and say “wow, only 1GHz processor and a tiny screen”, you can just go and wait for the Galaxy Nexus Premier.  This isn’t for you.  This is for your office coworkers who are still on BlackBerry and want a better smartphone.  To them, this is on par.

1GHz still runs the OS smoothly and handles browsing and even plays Angry Birds.  It just won’t be your 3rd person shooter game phone.  AnTuTu scored it a 3431, which actually puts it above a Nexus S & Quadrant puts it at 1356 (below the Nexus S).

And about the screen… for me, yeah, it feels like I’m missing something, but again, compared to the ‘on par’ devices out there, it’s similar.  In some cases even a better resolution.  I’m reminded of when I first bought my car (the Aztek) and the way the back window is it looks like it might restrict your vision, and everybody says that about it.  But after using it for a few minutes you forget that that was something you thought of.

The bigger issue comes in poor app designers who don’t account for this screen.  I.e. the ones that don’t rotate and you’re stuck with an app being sideways.  That’s frustrating.

It’s a great device for the office, and it’s a powerhouse communication tool.  It’s small enough to fit in any pocket so it’s ultra portable.  There’s not many $0 phones that will be as well.

Plus, it’s its own niche device with the keyboard that isn’t one of those slide out models that always breaks at the hinge.  There will always be those people who have to use a keyboard.  Watching my boss fumble with his new iPhone is a classic example.

In the end, this is a great device to introduce someone to the realm of Android, a true smartphone, but provide them the security of a physical ‘phone’.

Video

Sample Photos

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