The Defy is marketed as being "Lifeproof": the small form-factor, extremely lightweight yet fully-featured Android Smartphone is water and scratch-resistant as well as dust proof, rendering it capable of withstanding the everyday abuse that most phones are subjected to during the course of their lives.
Combined with access to a massive range of both free and charged applications in the Google Android Market as well as always-on access to your mails, messages and social networks the device is also boredom proof.
Using Motorola's online MotoBLUR service, enabling you to remotely track your device using its built-in GPS capability as well as the ability to remotely wipe all data from your device in the event that it is lost or stolen, your device and personal information are also lostproof.
The Defy combines a wealth of functionality in a small, light yet strong package.
For a full list of technical specifications visit this article - http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/motorola-defy-technical-specifications [1]
At this stage in Android's development and popularity it's hopefully safe to assume that most of the blog's readers are familiar with the platform's capabilities in terms of enabling its users to fully customise the look and feel of their devices, adding shortcuts and bookmarks to commonly-accessed programs, web pages, contacts as well as device hardware controls, so I won't spend long covering these features: rest assured that as the Defy runs Android 2.1 (Eclair) all of the functionality you have come to expect from a device running Android is all here.
What Motorola does include on the Defy is their enhanced MotoBLUR interface and synchronisation service, similar in nature to HTC's Sense overlay, which I shall look at in more detail.
The Defy features the now traditional 7 homescreens, accessed by swiping to the left or right and an indicator at the bottom of the screen shows your position:
Motorola's range of home screen widgets provide at a glance access to social network updates, RSS feeds, emails and messages as well as one-click immediate access to bookmarks, contacts, music player and hardware controls, the look and feel, position and colour of which can be altered to suit your taste as can the homescreen wallpaper background.
The Defy comes pre-loaded with a wide range of applications that will satisfy most needs for on-the-go access to push email, social networking, satellite navigation, music and video playback, multimedia sharing as well as web browsing and document viewing. The full list of applications is as follows:
The Defy features Motorola's own email client rather than the standard Android software, as well as a native Google Mail client application - although GMail can be accessed using the Exchange AciveSync protocol if you prefer.
The Email client supports both POP and IMAP consumer email protocols as well Exchange ActiveSync for corporate access to email, contacts and calendar. Multiple email accounts of all types can be configured.
Setting up a consumer email account is a very simple process - the MotoBLUR software having the settings for most popular email providers built-in, requiring that you enter only your name, email address, username and password without needing to know incoming or outgoing mail server settings. NOTE this will require an active data connection to set up the account automatically.
Should you need to or prefer to enter the settings manually, this is also possible:
You can also specify how far back into the past messages should be stored on the device.
Setting up an Exchange ActiveSync email account requires that you know your mail server address and domain information, but your IT department can provide these details if you are unsure:
Again you can specify how far back into the past you want to sync your mail and can optionally choose to also select Contacts and Calendar information.
Both trusted and self-signed SSL certificates are supported.
Mailbox subfolders can also be accessed:
New email messages can be composed in full HTML with quick access to fonts, common text images and emoticons:
The Defy also features the Swype keyboard software which allows for rapid, fault-tolerant text entry by swiping your finger across all letters you wish to type in quick succession without the need to remove your finger from the keyboard between button presses.
The Defy supports USB, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity for PC synchronisation, multimedia and data sharing.
The 3G Mobile Hotspot application also allows you to share your device's 3G connection to the Internet with other WiFi clients, effectively turning your device into a portable mobile wireless access point. Connections can be optionally secured by both WEP and WPA to prevent unauthorised access to your data connection:
MediaLink is Motorola's free desktop synchronisation application for Windows, available for download from the Motorola web site (http://www.motorola.com/medialink [2]). This software does not ship in the sales package and must be downloaded separately.
Once installed, the software enables synchronisation of music and playlists with both Windows Media Player and iTunes as well as synchronisation of pictures and videos:
And also enables you to backup and restore the contents of your SD memory card to your PC:
The Phone Portal application allows you to access the contents of the Defy's memory directly from the PC as well as view at-a-glance status information about the phone:
The feature works both via USB and WiFi, provided that both the Defy and the Windows PC are connected to the same local network:
The Defy's DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) certification means that it is further possible to share multimedia data (pictures, videos and music) wirelessly with other DLNA-capable equipment, be it another Motorola Defy, a PC running Windows Media Player 11 or a DLNA-certified television:
When enabled, the Media Share application can monitor for available DLNA-capable devices and notify you when a device is in range:
MotoBLUR is Motorola's online device location, contact synchronisation and remote device security wipe platform. An account is required to use the feature, something you will be prompted to create if you don't have one already when the phone is first powered on, but registration is free and requires only that you specify a unique username and password.
The web site is available at http://motorola.com/motoblur [3]
Running Android 2.1, the Defy is naturally able to enjoy all of the free "goodies" that Google releases first for its own mobile platform, the most impressive and powerful of which is unquestionably it Maps application, providing satellite imagery and travel directions updated live via the device's built-in GPS capability.
The bundled Amazon MP3 Player enables you to browse for, purchase and download music tracks directly to your device, where you can play them using the Defy's Connected Music Player. The Music player on the Defy is a portal to locally-stored tracks, Internet radio, podcasts, videos as well as the also bundled Soundhorn music identification software (similar to Shazam):
One very nice utility on the Defy which is, to the best of my knowledge, unique to Motorola, is it's Data Saver feature. This provides more granular control over how applications access your device's data connection than is available on the standard Android platform.
You can view at-a-glance how much data you have sent and received, useful for tracking your usage if you are approaching your limit or for troubleshooting purposes.
Data connection can be turned off for all applications, or can be enabled and disabled for applications separately.
When used in conjunction with the Battery Manager you can disable data during specific off-peak hours or when the device is idle for a certain amount of time:
You can also view what has been using most of your device's battery resources:
The SIM Manager enables you to quickly and easily copy contacts between your device memory and your SIM card:
The Defy's Social Networks client feature support for all common services including Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Updates can be displayed in a stream both in the application itself or optionally also on the homescreen for at-a-glance live access
A fully-featured YouTube application is also included offering the ability to search for and view videos as well as upload your own movies captured using the device's built-in 5MP camcorder:
The Defy features the same WebKit-based web browser common to the Android platform, offering a rich desktop browsing experience including support for Flash-based web sites and a wide range of options including a pop-up blocker, support for multiple browsing windows, the ability to add bookmarks directly to the home screen as well as share web content via email, Bluetooth, or social network feeds:
The News application on the Defy provides access to personal and recommended RSS news feeds:
Voice Search is also included, enabling you to quickly locate contacts, emails, calendar entries or applications simply by saying what it is you wish to search for:
The Defy's Smart Sensor allows you to quickly silence the phone when it is ringing - either by double tapping the screen or simply by turning the device face down:
This has only been a quick overview of the Defy's features and abilities, for more detailed information visit the Motorola web site here - http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/GB-EN/Consumer-Products-and-Services/M... [4]
Or contact Ingram Micro UK Mobility today on +44 (0) 870 849 0225 for more information.
Links:
[1] http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/motorola-defy-technical-specifications
[2] http://www.motorola.com/medialink
[3] http://motorola.com/motoblur
[4] http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/GB-EN/Consumer-Products-and-Services/Mobile-Phones/ci.MOTOROLA-DEFY-GB-EN.alt
[5] http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/category/blog/defy
[6] http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/category/blog/motoblur
[7] http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/category/blog/motorola