Motorola MILESTONE 2 review: Landmark droid

Design and construction

We are rather pleased with the design of the Motorola MILESTONE 2. The handset feels rock solid and the rubbery rear provides a nice grip, in addition to looking quite attractive.

There are four touch-sensitive controls below the display, as typical for the Android platform. The four keys are Back, Menu, Home and Search. They're haptic enabled and very sensitive, so the transition to and from the touchscreen is seamless.

The four touch-sensitive keys below the display

Above the display, there’s the earpiece flanked by the proximity and ambient light sensors plus the notification light.

The proximity and ambient light sensors, along with the notification light are above the display

The left side of the Motorola MILESTONE 2 is pretty bare, the microUSB port being the only element there. There is no protective cap over it to keep away dust and moist. There’s a tiny white LED that indicates charging.

The unprotected microUSB port is on the left

On the right are the camera key. The camera key is on the small side but easy enough to hit. It’s a little hard though to tell the difference between a half and a full press.

The volume rocker is on the same side and it’s smallish too and a bit stiff.

The camera key and the volume rocker are on the right side

Jumping to the top, we find the power/screen-lock key and the 3.5 mm audio jack.

The power key is right next to the 3.5mm audio jack • mic pinhole at the bottom

The back of the Motorola MILESTONE 2 features the 5 megapixel camera lens and the dual-LED flash. The lens is unprotected, not even recessed, so you’ll have to take good care to prevent scratches.

The loudspeaker grill is also on the back too and gets muffled when you place the phone on a flat surface.

The 5 megapixel camera, the dual-LED flash and the loudspeaker grill are on the back

Opening the cover reveals the 1400 mAh Li-Ion BP6X battery. Quoted at 350 hours of standby time or 6 hours and a half of talk time it certainly sounds like a decent performer.

It managed to get us through three and a half days of medium use, during which we had Wi-Fi on all the time and tried out basically every feature of the phone.

A pretty decent battery sits under the cover • the poorly positioned microSD and SIM cards

The microSD card slot is also here but unfortunately it isn't hot-swappable. That means that you will have to power off your MILESTONE 2 each time you change cards. On a positive note, it can handle cards of up to 32GB.

The slider run is smooth but it’s not spring assisted so you have to push all the way up. When you do, there’s a click locking the slider into place.

The MILESTONE 2 is no dwarf but still fits nicely in the hand

The general build quality of the Motorola MILESTONE 2 is excellent and the handset's body looks quite durable. The rubbery rear gives a good grip (with weight of 169g, it’s important) and also hides fingerprints. The beveled bottom at the front also plays a role in handling the phone – it’s the place to put your thumb that both lets you hold the phone steadily and not press any of the touch sensitive keys.

Size comparison: Motorola MILESTONE 2 and Samsung Galaxy 551