Motorola has announced details of its i1, the world’s first Android-powered smartphone with push-to-talk. Headed for Sprint Nextel’s iDEN network in the U.S. the i1 features a 3.1-inch 320 x 480 HVGA touch screen, 5-megapixel camera and Wi-Fi. It includes the mobile phone equivalent of cursive writing – the Swype on-screen QWERTY keyboard entry system – and boasts a solid body construction that meets military specs for protection against dust, shock, vibration and blowing rain.
The device will run Android 1.5 and the push-to-talk feature allows users to connect to each other almost instantly. The phone also includes the ability to view who is calling regardless of what application is being used and push-to-talk calls can be toggled to the background to make multitasking easier.
In addition to the Swype keyboard entry system the i1 also includes XT9 for those who like texting old school. Office and personal info such as emails, calendar appointments and contacts are automatically synced and integrated throughout the device and Word and Powerpoint documents can also be reviewed on the go with the built-in Microsoft Document Viewer.
The Opera Mini 5 browser is included for browsing over the Nextel National Network and Wi-Fi, while the Android browser for use over Wi-Fi includes Flash 8 support. Additional applications and widgets can of course be downloaded from Android Market. Although the provided screenshots suggest a MOTOBLUR interface, it hasn’t been confirmed whether the i1 will actually run it.
The i1 is the first truly rugged Android phone we’ve seen, meeting the 810F military specification. Its 5-megapixel auto-focus camera comes with an LED flash, 4X digital zoom, video capture, geo-tagging and panoramic capabilities.
Connectivity capabilities include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, micro USB, Over the Air Sync and a 2.5mm headphone jack. It supports Adobe Flash, MP3, WAV, WMA, WMV, MIDI and MP4 audio formats and H.263, H.264 and WMV video.
Its 1400mAh battery is good for up to four days of standby power and up to 210 minutes of talk time. It comes with a removable 2GB microSD card that can be replaced by cards up to 32GB.
The Motorola i1 measures 58 x 118 x 12.8mm and weighs 131.26 grams (4.63 oz). It will be available through Sprint in North America in the summer of 2010 and in multiple regions worldwide beginning in Q2 2010.
