Smarter and Quicker

Android phones are generally fast — especially if you don’t fill them with unnecessary apps — and with 3G,you actually let the genie out of the lamp. The interface can get a bit boring,because it almost always looks the same,unless the phone company has gone out of the way to tweak the OS.

The DEFY works on the Android 2.1 Éclair and has an interface similar to many others in the market. Motorola has tweaked the Android OS a bit with its patented Motoblur software that streams live Facebook updates and emails to your home screen using a dedicated server.

Sadly,India is not one of the countries to support this service.

So,the DEFY has to manage with native Android apps to stream Facebook and Twitter updates to its 3.7 inch high-resolution touchscreen. Even the latest YouTube videos pop up on the screen if your GPRS is on. The real power of Android on a 3G network is on show when you try and play a YouTube video. The revolving hourglass icon,which appears when the system buffers,has vanished all of a sudden. Play an HD video and even then there is no buffering — the crystal clear picture fills the screen and swishes past with a sound throw that can put many high-end wannabe iPhones to shame.

Sound is one of the strong points of this phone. So while it can fill your room with Shakira,it can also cut out the noise in the background with its CrystalTalk Plus technology,if you are trying to have a conversation with someone on the phone.

The Adobe Flash Lite enabled browser tells you that this phone finds its element when hooked to the Net. While the size of the screen and touch options let you browse with ease,the pinch-to-zoom feature allows you to navigate through larger pages. DEFY also features Swype,made popular by the Samsung Galaxy Tab,which recognises word intuitively,simplifying text input.

And,yes,you will never get lost with a DEFY in your pocket,for it comes loaded with Google Latitude,Google Maps and Motorola Navigation to see you safely back home. You can use it as a GPS device in your car — there is even a dock for the purpose,with an app that makes it easier for drivers to navigate,listen to music and even answer important calls.

The other standout feature of the DEFY is the 5MP camera with flash,digital zoom and auto focus. The GPS ensures that your photos are geo-tagged and you can share it with anyone,anywhere with a single touch. The latest Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) enables the phone to stream,store and share content with compatible devices at home like HDTVs,game consoles and PCs,using the Wi-Fi network,if you have one.

There is a unified contact list that shows everyone what you “like” on Facebook as well as a host of other networking sites. This phone,which has a rugged feel,is dust-proof and water-resistant,handy if you have children at home.

The one thing I didn’t like about the phone is that you have to press the power button every time the screen goes on standby. This is a problem I have noticed in other Android phones as well.

Similarly,make sure that the Open Advanced Task Killer (which allows you to stop running background processes or apps in memory) is one of the first apps you install,for Android apps don’t actually shut down even if you move on to other functions and keep sapping your battery life. The rubber flaps of the micro-USB and headphone jut out slightly from the body,though they gel well with the overall shape of the phone. The phone also showed a tendency to heat up while streaming videos.

But the DEFY is still one of the best Android phones available in the market,a good mix of smartness and fun. It is available at a “Best Buy” price of Rs 18,990 with a 2GB microSD card inbox. The memory is,however,expandable up to 32GB.