First Android 2.0 smartphone arrives in UK

Motorola's first smartphone running Android 2.0 is now available in the UK. Motoro Milestone Motorola's Milestone: an Expansys exclusive, for now Online retailer Expansys has secured the exclusive rights to sell Moto's highly anticipated Milestone handset - it's called Droid in the States - before the likes of O2 or Orange …

[JetSetJim]

Trade-in....

naturally the £100 trade in price is only available for handsets that are pretty much equivalent to the Milestone to start with (e.g. iPhone 3GS, HTC Hero/Touch HD) and they won't touch my crappy old PEBL. I think you get better rates on the other phone recycling sites :)

Still, can't wait for the prices to (inevitably) come down - might even get one of these just for the Google Streetview SatNav feature (when the rest of the UK gets Streetview up and running, anyway)

[Anonymous Coward]

Google SatNav

You can get the 3D navigation software running in the UK already - there's a process over at Xda-developers. The only reason Google aren't pushing it out to everyone is relating to licencing issues with the map data.

[Thomas 4]

I've been waiting for this announcement..

...please, El Reg, can you do us a review of this thing before the offer expires, so that we know whether to take advantage of it?

[Greg J Preece]

Was excited about this

Until I read some of the reviews coming out of the US. :-( Apparently the software is going to be quite different over here, so hopefully that will improve things. I've been really hankering for an Android phone, but at the minute the sheer beef of the N900 is calling to me.

[Anonymous Coward]

Different software?

What makes you think that? It's just going to be running Android 2.0.... the same as in the US.

[Chris Pearson]

2.0 is obselete

2.0.1 is already being sent out over the air, the version update was significant to warrant an SDK version number update.

[Greg J Preece]

Well, multitouch for one

I know there are certain features being enabled over here that aren't present in the American software, despite the device being essentially the same. If that's the case, then the installed ROM must be different.

[Stef 2]

Google Maps Navigate

It is an excellent phone with superb software, but instead of Nav (effectively turning the phone into a TomTom killer as well as an iPhone killer) it comes with Motorola's effort, MotoNav - for reasons unknown.

Not that it's impossible to hack it - like I have done with my G1.

Or you could wait until April and get the HTC uberphone with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor...

[mcv]

Reasons not unknown

There is a really good reason why it doesn't come with Google Nav in Europe. Check the copyright on Google Maps in Europe. They get their maps from TomTom, and as you might imagine, TomTom wouldn't be terribly happy if their big customer drives them out of business by giving their stuff away for free where TomTom tries to sell it for big money.

We'll get Google Navigation as soon as Google has their own maps for Europe ready.

[Ian Yates]

Re: GMN

Isn't Google Maps Navigation US only?

While the Milestone/Droid looks great, I'm more interested in a 2.0/2.1 update to my Hero :(

[Paul Boocock (UK)]

Order Mine

Had mine on order for a couple of days now, just waiting for it to be shipped (Tomorrow according to Expansys' website).

There are two main software differences between this and the DROID (The US version). That is, the UK doesn't get Google Maps Navigation (yet) as that is US only and the MILESTONE has Multitouch capabilities in the browser (Great news for UK buyers!)

I'm pretty excited about getting this, the only thing I don't like is the Physical keyboard. It looks rather flat but I should get used to it.

[Anonymous Coward]

still waiting

the phones didn't arrive yesterday and now expansys are saying they will be delivered friday, expansys have now started closing threads which discuss delivery dates.

[Anonymous Coward]

I wanted one

But to keep my to mobile number I was told by expansys.

"Buy a pay as go sim from somenoe else, PAC your number across and then once you get the phone, PAC your number from the pay as you go to the motorola again."

Such a waste of time to go from T-mobile to T-mobile.

[Ian Yates]

Re: T-Mobile

As far as I'm aware, this is standard fare when changing your T-mobile contract... barmy!

My girlfriend chose not to bother in the end, just because how backwards the process is.

[JetSetJim]

Re: Re: T-Mobile → #

I've had similar from both Orange and Vodafone in the past - it seems odd, but you just can't migrate to the same operator and keep your old number, you just have to go the convoluted route

[Dominik Stansby]

Well..

I'm on T-Mobile and my current sim/number started off pay as you go, went to pay monthly, went to sim only, and is now back on pay monthly with no problems at all! But then I guess that wasn't involving a third party ie Expansys.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not available yet

Expansys don't know if they are coming or going with regard to the Milestone. The delivery date fluctuates from 1 day to 6 days depending upon the wind speed, air temp and number of times the average iPhone user says "awesome".

[Mike007]

legally

I think the hassle with porting to the same provider is more to do with the fact that they offer different deals to "new customers" and "existing customers", so if you already have a phone number with them how can you be a new customer? so you have to port to another provider so that all they see is you moving from another provider to them, as a new customer...

[Anonymous Coward]

Extra Fail

Still not shipping... press release said 7th Dec.

Double fail with an extra order of fail on the side.

[Anonymous Coward]

Triple fail...

Motorola are late shipping into Expansys.

Expansys aren't updating customers with ETAs (not like they hold our e-mail addresses with the orders or anything).

Google have the Market set up so that sim-free/unlocked Milestones cannot see protected apps, and don't appear to be doing much about it: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3852&q=motorola%20milestone&colspec=ID%20Type%20Status%20Owner%20Summary%20Stars