Motorola i1 Review: Android Adds Push to Talk

Push-to-talk technology, which lets you use your cell phone almost like a walkie talkie, is not a common feature on today's smartphones. But if you're interested in a smartphone with push-to-talk features, you're not entirely out of luck. Motorola is offering the i1, the first Android smartphone that runs on Nextel's iDEN network. It's an attractive, easy-to-use phone, but, judged solely on its merits as an Android smartphone, the Motorola i1 falls a bit short.

Price and Availability

Sprint is offering the Motorola i1 for $149.99 when you sign a new two-year service contract. Boost Mobile, meanwhile, is offering the i1 with pre-paid service, contract free, for $349.99.

At first glance, the Motorola i1 looks like your average Android smartphone. It's a slate-style phone, with a 3.1-inch touch screen. Underneath the screen, you get a large circular knob for navigating through the phone, as well as the typical Android buttons, for accessing the home screen, moving back, and accessing the menu.

It's when you pick up the phone that you realize the i1 is not your average Android smartphone. It's ruggedized, designed to withstand rain, dust, shock, vibration, extreme temperatures, and more, according to Motorola. All of the ports and buttons on the edge of the phone are protected by rubber and the back is covered with a soft-touch coating that's comfortable to hold. Overall, the Motorola i1 feels sturdy in your hand, but not awkward or bulky.

Making Calls

The Motorola i1 features a typical Android dialer screen, which allows you to place calls as you normally would. Voice quality in test calls made on my Sprint review unit was very good, with calls coming through loud and clear on both ends of the line.

You also can use the i1 to make Direct Connect, or push-to-talk, calls over Nextel's iDEN network. To do this, you use the dialpad to enter a Direct Connect number, and then push the Direct Connect button on the left side of the phone. You use the phone like a walkie talkie, pressing the Direct Connect button whenever you'd like to speak and releasing it when you want to listen to the other party. Call quality in my Direct Connect calls was decent, but not great. As expected, there was a fair amount of static. Still, voices were plenty loud enough, and easy to hear.

The i1 runs Google's Android operating system, which is a definite plus for a push-to-talk phone. Android is slightly geeky at times, but it's a powerful OS that gives you plenty of options and is fun to use. You get access to the Android Market, where you'll find plenty of apps available to download right to the phone.

But Android can be confusing at times, in large part because different phones ship with different versions of Android. And the Motorola i1 is no exception: this phone still ships with version 1.5 of the Android OS , which is now available in version 2.2 on other phones. For more information, read my full review of the Android OS.

Messaging

Like all Android phones, the Motorola i1 features tight integration with Gmail, but will work with any IMAP or POP3 e-mail account, as well as corporate email accounts. Adding an email account is easy, as is accessing your inbox. Typing with the on-screen keyboard can be a bit of a challenge though, as the i1's 3.1-inch screen isn't the roomiest.

Browsing the Web on the Motorola i1 is not ideal. The phone's small screen and the slow speeds of the iDEN network make for a frustrating experience, though the speeds will improve if you are in range of a Wi-Fi wireless network.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said of the Webkit browser, which requires that you access too many basic functions (like the URL address bar) through a menu. Luckily, though, the i1 also includes the Opera Mini Web browser, which provides a much better browsing experience.

Camera

The i1features a 5-megapixel camera with a flash that took some decent snapshots. The phone also captures video clips, but the videos I recorded were less impressive. They often looked pixelated and blurry.

Music and More

The Motorola i1 features pretty basic, but serviceable music player. In addition, you also get access to Amazon's MP3 store for DRM-free music downloads, as well as a the standard YouTube app.

My Sprint review unit also offered access to a variety of Sprint's multimedia services, including the NASCAR app and Sprint Football Live.

Bottom Line

If you absolutely must have a push-to-talk features on your Android phone, the Motorola i1 is your best -- and only -- option. If you can live without the walkie talkie capability, though, you'll be able to find a more capable Android phone elsewhere.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.