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Well isn’t this a treat! We’re used to delays and rarely early arrivals, but TELUS has just surprised us by making the Motorola Milestone available ahead of schedule. The Milestone is better known in the United States as the Motorola Droid and sales figures have been impressive to say the least – I’m sure the pattern in Canada will continue.
So how much will it cost you?
- 3-year contract: $199.99
- 2-year contract: $499.99
- 1-year contract: $549.99
- Contract free: $599.99
Seems pretty outrageous that you only get a $50 discount for signing a 1-year discount, but when you add an extra year from 2 to 3 year contract you save an extra $300. How does that make any sense?
Check out the full press release:
The highly anticipated MOTOROLA MILESTONE™ now available at TELUS
MOTOROLA MILESTONE™ sets a new standard for what a smartphone should beTORONTO, ON — February 16, 2010 — TELUS and Motorola today announced the availability of the much-anticipated Motorola Milestone in Canada. Motorola Milestone, powered by Android, delivers a rich mobile web experience, superior messaging and top-of-the-line multi-media features in an innovative design that could only come from Motorola.
Milestone features the best of both worlds with a full QWERTY keyboard and touchscreen navigation, as well as the opportunity for users to customize their mobile with widgets and the freedom to run multiple applications at once.
“We are excited to bring the Motorola Milestone to Canada,” said Rick Gadd, vice-president, Motorola Canada Mobile Devices. “Canadians will now have the chance to experience a smartphone with no limits; harnessing the power of the mobile web with the latest version of Android, plus Google (NSDQ: GOOG)™ Search, simple messaging and extreme multi-media features.”
“The Motorola Milestone is quite a powerful Smartphone for Canadians looking for the smart fit to stay connected with their social network,” said David Fuller, senior vice-president of Products and Services at TELUS. “Our focus on Smartphone leadership over the last few years means that we offer our customers a state-of-the-art smartphone line-up that helps them stay connected and entertained on-the-go. The Motorola Milestone is a great addition to our 3G+ smartphone selection.”
Milestone Features:
* The mobile web like never before: Milestone is always ready for lightning-fast browsing with its superior processing speeds, Flash 10-ready HTML browsing, and premium 3G+ connection speeds. Navigation has never been easier with double-tap and pinch and zoom on the 3.7” WVGA display, that offers a clearer, more brilliant screen with twice the resolution of its competitors.
* The power of Google SearchTM right in the phone: Search and retrieve applications, contacts, songs, and more right from the home screen. With local search, Google makes location-based recommendations according to where the user is.
* Messaging made easy: With the world’s thinnest full QWERTY slider, a widescreen display, and copy-and-paste capability, Milestone can text, IM and email at blazing speeds. And, with Milestone’s Quick Connect option simply tap a contact and instantly access him/her via phone, IM, email or text.
* Integrated personal and business lives: Work and personal email all on Milestone through Exchange-server support, POP3, IMAP and GmailTM. Seamless contact integration keeps personal and professional lives in sync and provides access to friends through Exchange and Gmail contacts.
* Customized home screens: Discover thousands of applications and hundreds of widgets available on Android Market™. Think of the home screen like a personalized desktop; download applications for music, news, sports, games or tools and arrange them to create a custom home screen.
* A multi-media powerhouse: Milestone’s 5 megapixel digital camera comes with Auto-Focus, dual LED flash and image stabilization. Want to capture moving memories? Milestone records DVD (D1) quality footage with one-touch broadcast-quality (30 fps) playback and easy 3G or Wi-Fi YouTube™ uploads.
* Store and manage media in a snap: Store favourite movies, photos and music on Milestone’s 16 GB memory card included inbox. Manage it all using Motorola Media Link, which connects Milestone to a PC and the Web, providing the ability to manage, secure, share and extend media files.
* Unique docking station: when placed in its multi-media station1, Milestone automatically transforms into a multi-media hub for movies, music, pictures and can even act as your bedside alarm clock.Other Milestone Highlights:
* Powered by Android 2.0
* Superior call quality with CrystalTalk™ Plus that filters out background noise and enhances voice quality
* 3.7” widescreen display with 854 pixel width and more than 400,000 total pixels (more than twice the leading competitor) so you can see more of the web, e-mail, and more
* Full suite of Google applications including: Google Maps™, Gmail, Google Talk™, YouTube™
* Use stereo Bluetooth® to take calls and listen to music hands-free
* Plug your favourite headphones into the 3.5mm headset jack and kick back to your favourite music or moviesAvailability
The Motorola Milestone is available only at TELUS for as little as $199.99 with a three-year commitment. For more information please visit www.telusmobility.com or www.motorola.ca.
With all the announcements of new Android Phones made in the past 48 hours, how many Canadians are still wanting the DROID and how many have their eyes set on recent “just announced” newness?
It isn’t fair. They want to rob you blind. So with that in mind the rates aren’t that bad. However if you don’t sign a contract, are the rates lower?
Just ordered it through the employee webstore
Got the phone and the media dock for 590 tx in (Canadian)
Plus as a bonus we get a free car mount.
Now is the hard part, waiting for the delivery man
No store in Richmond Hill, ON has them in stock =( Im a sad android owner
As amazing as some of the newly announced Android phones are the sad reality is that while the UK, Asia and the US may see these phones trickle onto the market within a couple of months, Canada will be lucky to see any of them before 2011.
BOOYAH happy happy, i’ll proably buy this, unlock it move it over to the cell-network I use!
I wonder if they will get 2.1?…
btw: i’ll never buy another contract phone again.
Contract free: $599.99 is what I’ll pay for a 6-month old phone…
Welcome to fre***** CANADA, that is how our wireless industry works, except WIND-MOBILE that just started every other provider uses the same tactic to rip us off.
ALREADY BOUGHT.
Can’t wait for it to show up at my doorstep.
For those wanting to use custom ROMs or those who expect to fall back on usermade updates after Motorola halts their support of the Milestone, be wary: Milestones released up until now have a locked bootloader preventing custom ROMs and Motorola advises people who expect anything else to buy either a G1 or a Nexus One (http://bit.ly/bHXgap).
not to be missed :
https://supportforums.motorola.com/thread/20694
https://supportforums.motorola.com/thread/23729
and some other severe crash if you google a little bit
so be ready to pay the geek tax, a lot of money to try some unready soft/hardware
Just ordered 2 of them for my wife and I.
@Mike_S
I hope WIND-MOBILE takes Canada by storm but why did they use sutch a non-standard Data frequncys? I cant run the Moto Milestone on there Data frequncy. :( However if they get the N1 it should work on there data network…
“Seems pretty outrageous that you only get a $50 discount for signing a 1-year discount”
…
hahaha you have clearly never bought a phone in Canada.
Contract free is way too expensive especially compared to Nexus One which has superior hardware
The Nexus One doesn’t have QWERTY keypad though, and many people want this.
Personally, I cannot envision paying $600 for a smartphone again. Until these manufacturers/carriers become realistic with their prices, I am not buying a new smartphone. In this economy, $600 is insane for a phone.
No free Bootloader, please don’t buy that Phone. Motorola has to learn its lesson. http://bit.ly/bHXgap
Why would people go waste there money on this phone instead of being patient and wait for the nexus one, desire, or legend…. the droid is crap and old news compared it all these new phones coming out…. come on its Motorola which means CRAP!
@Nick
The motorola milestone is the only decent android phone available in canada and has a keyboard. Canada usually gets things late. Just because the us will get another great phone in 6 months most likely we will be waiting a year
@Nick
Don’t you use your phone for more than 6 months? A phone being “Old news” doesn’t mean much when you had it for 2-3 years. Now I know the locked bootloader sucks because it will probably be left unsupported after a while, but with your mindset you might never be getting a new smartphone again, always looking for the next best thing.
Just went to Telus in Ajax, Ont. They have about 10 of them. None sold yet. I have THREE points to make 1 good, 2 BAD
First the good. Their is no TELUS brand on the phone anywhere! Not on the “chin” (like Verizon’s Droid) or on the back. Suprising really.
Now the BAD.
1) The bootloader is most likely digitally signed, since it is running 2.0.1 OS. No custom ROMS.
2) VERY IMPORTANT for travellers! The phone tech specs show it only has 850/1900 GSM and HSPA. That means travelling to Europe, not only will you NOT HAVE 3G, but not even 2g (900mhz) or even a phone. Just a big paperweight looking for wifi!!
With even the cheapest GSM based phones having 850/900/1800/1900, Telus just SCREWED anyone who wants to get on to ANY OTHER NETWORK. Their should be legislation that these the North American GSM carriers MUST enable 850/1900/2100 HSPA and 850/900/1800/1900 GSM.
The droid is a waste of money! There are so many better phones coming out. Including the Nexus One. People need to start getting used to all touch phones because that is the future…. eventually there gonna stop making phones with keypads. Time for all you people in the past to move on to the present. Ps: who wants an ugly phone? I know i dont
@jeff
I have the phone right now but its not on any network im debating wheter to pay the money and get it on contract on telus or use it on rogers. The phone and its got ENABLE 2g networks in the settings. I cannot confirm anything as i dont have an unlock code. They may be advertsing it as just hspa because telus has only hspa but we wont know untill someone trys it. Also we don’t know if it is a different rom or not we have to wait and see
@Mike J:
All-screen phones are not the future. You think that just because you like one form factor it makes it the only form factor that will survive? There are people like me who refuse to buy devices without keyboards, and any smart manufacturer will have at least 1 device that caters to our needs.
I’m pretty disappointed that Motorola decided to screw with our ability to load custom ROMs. Hopefully someone can figure out a way around this. This will be my first android phone and I was really hoping to be able to treat the device as if it was my own; there’s nothing I hate more than some stupid manufacturer trying to act like the device is still theirs after I pay them for it.
Now a question for anyone who has touched both a working and dummy Telus Milestone, is the keyboard on the dummy model harder to press than on the real model? After trying the milestone keyboard today, I must say it’s pretty bad. The keys are easy for me to distinguish between, but they are really hard to press. I really hope that the pressing difficulty was because it was a dummy model.
@Brendan Murphy
I plan on moveing networks with this phone if you do get it working please post here so we all have a good idea of what we could be geting in to. :)
@ G
Ill let you know for sure but im having a hell of a time right now. I dont feel like explaining it. Once i get everything sorted and i get about 400 $ back ( I had to buy it outright because i wanted to play with it =p ). But i kinda hope i can get this thing sorted with telus so i don’t have to use rogers
@Anthony, I don’t have any trouble with the keyboard on my Droid. I can’t compare having never tried the dummy (bought mine online) but the keys work as well as a typical phone keypad. You won’t touch-type on it, but you can two-thumb it pretty quickly if you’ve a mind to.
As for the ROMS, it’s not all the manufacturer. Carriers like to control which features they allow in their networks, too. Do you think AT&T with all their bandwidth problems is willing to let just any phone free-wheel on their network and make things worse? Phones like the G1 and Nexus One are going to be the exception, not the rule.
@Anthony
I have been to the US and checked out the Droid a few times, including this past weekend. I noticed the phones I played with in Verizon stores also have the very hard keyboard. I was surprised because the last trip it wasn’t that way. I went to Telus yesterday and played with a brand new model and the keys were how they should be. Much easier to press, and they had some “travel” to them. The US Droid’s display ones were rock hard, and seemed like NO travel. It really got me concerned as to whether the device “will stand the test of time”, if people in the store playing with the device causes the keyboard to go hard. If they were “dummy” models, then I would have expected the SCREEN not to work, OR the keyboard press NOT to REGISTER, but they both did. I would search around for anyone posting any “changes” to the keyboard from the time they purchased it. Wonder also if Telus or Motorola will warranty it if the keyboard goes hard (and if it depends if you buy it outright or on contract). I’m with you, it is almost impossible to type on. But as I say, yesterday’s brand new model in the store was fine.
Thanks for the response guys! Now i’m excited about the keyboard again! Has anyone had any success unlocking this device yet? If so which service did you use?
My wife and myself have the Moto Droids. I really like it but beware of sound issues. I had to get a new one because the speaker was loose and vibrating in the phone. Made in China ha..ha.
@Brendan Murphy
cool thanks :)
I think the milestone is ok but patient is what Canadian android owners like myself need. I have an HTC.magic that will be updated to 2.1 past the milestone 2.0. I have adjusted to the touch screen only having owned the HTC dream. Bottom line is we need more android phones in Canada period and for our carriers to stop this half a$$ attempt and commit to offering a better android experience. Kudos to TELUS for trying. Rogers needs to step up yo!
having read some of the above comments
I change my mind about getting this phone.
for starter I find telus cannot do bussines fairly with there
current custommers, they give the best deals to new customer
when my contract end next jan.2011 I will be a new custommer
then I will get better deals else ware.
co-incidence my birthday is feb.16 !
just renewed my contract with telus, have been a customer since 1998. gave me a milestone for half price, I was eligible for early renewal (contract was not up till Sept. 27). Absolutely an incredible phone, love it. only problem I have had was lack of signal exactly where my desk is located, if I move a little to the right, get my signal back. didn’t have this problem with my old phone (palm Treo700WX) so not sure why this phone has problem. So far happy with telus.
I say half price, was regular 199.99 with 3 year contract, they gave it to me for 99.99 with three year contract.