Manage updates with the Download AppMotorola Ming A1200 (Unlocked)
Manufacturer: Motorola Part number: A1200BLK
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- Though it lacks some key data features, the Motorola Ming A1200 is a unique and user-friendly smartphone that delivers on call quality.
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CNET editors' review
Motorola Ming A1200 (Unlocked) price range: $163.03
- Reviewed by: Kent German
- Reviewed on: 10/15/2007
The good: The Motorola Ming A1200 is a functional smartphone with a stylish, compact design and satisfying call quality. The feature set offers a decent range of options, including stereo Bluetooth, world phone support, a business card reader, and a media player.
The bad: The Motorola Ming A1200's interface was occasionally sluggish and the call volume tended to be low. Its virtual keyboard is tiny and the microSD card slot is in an inconvenient location. Also, it lacks 3G and Wi-Fi, and the internal memory is quite low.
The bottom line: Though it lacks some key data features, the Motorola Ming A1200 is a unique and user-friendly smartphone that delivers on call quality.
User reviews
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A great leap in Portable PDA style Cell Phones
by mmettner on May 24, 2006
Pros: Great Design, PDA/Cell Phone hybrid, excellent interface, and just a plain fun phone.
Cons: Not supported in United States, yet???
Summary: I started on a simple journey, a journey to find what I would consider the next evolution of Cellular Phone. If you can believe it, one had already exsisted. During ...
Summary: I started on a simple journey, a journey to find what I would consider the next evolution of Cellular Phone. If you can believe it, one had already exsisted. During my searches I wanted a few simple things...... 1. A great phone. 2. A PDA 3. Mobile email. So why didn't I just look at Blackberry you ask? My response simple, every PDA / Cell phone hybrid I have seen made me feel like I would be carrying a boat anchor with me. I started to become frustrated as I searched and found more and more cellular phones that made my old palm pilot from 1998 look like a sleak device.
Then by chance I came across a new phone released in Hong Kong. I don't know what made me review this phone but all I can say is, there is a God. A English text, Quad Band GSM phone began to perk my interest. I thought, hmmm even though this is a Hong Kong phone this would work with my local (Cellular One of Michigan) service. Then I started digging into the features, size and style.
I will start with the features and let me tell you being able to use a stylus to write, or keypad out text messages will make it hard for me to ever go back to a standard key pad phone. The pop3 mail availability, and full HTML web-surfing are nothing short of genius. A 2 megapixel camera, which can be used while the lid is closed makes for a new definition of "quick shot"
Oh by the way did I mention this phone is about as thin as a razor and slightly smaller than a Motorola V555, and without the external antenna??
I wish I could allow you to see this phone, it's styling is without a doubt far beyond any cell phone currently on the market, even the new pebl if your into that sort of phone.
With a simple swap of SIM card I was able to start using the phone for sending and receiving phone calls. With a small amount of time digging into the settings I was also able to set the phone for full English Capability. Actually if you picked up my phone right now you would be hard pressed to tell it was designed and released in Hong Kong. I'm hoping this was Motorola's Intent, and perhaps eventual plan to release this phone in the states??
Cellular One of Michigan was able to send me the MMS internet connection settings, (note we used my cell companies Motorola Razr MMS settings and it worked)
All in all if you are a techy person who wants a phone that will turn heads, this is the must have phone of the year. Thus far I've had this phone for a week and not short of 50 people have begged for me to find them one. (hi-mobile, Cell-Hut for starters)
I'm not sure if, or when, Motorola will support this phone in the states, and I will admit the phone doesn't sink well with my PC yet (software update coming soon)
To sum it up, this phone is small enough to fit in your front pocket, and has enough features and digital accessability to keep you busy for hours of fun.19 out of 19 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Excellent all round smart phone offering
by izzyinchicago on October 13, 2006
Pros: Styling, applications, cell phone coverage
Cons: US carrier's lack of support
Summary: I previously had a V600, 388 and 388c. (388 and 388C are the earlier versions of the A1200 w/ B&W and color touch screens respectively) and lately a ...
Summary: I previously had a V600, 388 and 388c. (388 and 388C are the earlier versions of the A1200 w/ B&W and color touch screens respectively) and lately a Razr.
I have had the A1200 for a month.
This phone has much better cell site coverage than any of my previous phones. Cingular/Razr combo did not work well at either of my offices, and dropped calls on the way to and from home. This one never does.
The MP3 player capacity is easily expanded with the purchase and install of a larger memory card (comes with 128 Meg, upgraded to 1 G from Best Buy for ~ $70). It easily holds 240 songs now.
The FM radio works well, but requires the headset to be plugged in. I am guessing that the FM radio antenna is built into the headset cabling, else why wouldn’t they let it operate through the speakerphone like the M3 player can.
Love the sound quality through the headset when listening to music or the radio. MP3 player will run the battery down in ~ 3-4 hours of LOUD music
GPRS works well, except the Cingular site is clumsy and not user intuitive like the TMO site (previously I was on TMO, but switched to Cingular to try and improve coverage through Cingular…. (Big Mistake, despite their ads that they never drop calls!).
Touch screen is responsive, the stylus is smaller than my 388 and 388C, so takes some getting used to, but no antenna on this unit, and very small and sleek.
I can’t get 2 of the CMCC specific banner applications moved off the main screen, but that is likely because I got a China Mobile (CMCC) specific version that has their applications hard coded onto the banner at the bottom of the main screen.
The PC tool for syncing is pretty easy to use HOWEVER I find that recurring meetings in MS Outlook do not seem to get captured in my phone, only 1 time meetings.
You can use the phone as a thumb drive as well as an MP3 player. I have not synced using blue tooth, instead, opting for the USB cable.
I use the Razr’s bluetooth ear piece with my A1200, but I am not that impressed with the “Discovering capability”, nor the sound quality. It could be the Bluetooth headset since the phone works wonderfully without it.
I am page 100 of the 168 page user’s manual and some stuff is a little vague (like using iTUNES with it). I had to forage for the manual (a DEc/2005 draft) since the shipped version was in Chinese!
I have not figured out the voice command part of it yet, and the voice command button often get pushed when I am putting it back into the holder, so I end up with it saying to me “PLEASE SAY A COMMAND” , but it stops if I ignore it (repeats the question once more than stops).
The Business Card Reader with OCR is also wonderful. I have already used it a couple of times and in general it works quite well. The handwriting recognition is also quite good. It allows you to write letters side by side (2 boxes) to speed up the entry.
Love the phone, love the applications, would cry like a baby if I lost it!9 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.
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The Ultimate Phone
by nick101in on October 9, 2006
Pros: All the possible features in one phone, good looking, smart,, Fast and intelligent, good battery life
Cons: Nothing Much but the flip sometimes gets irritating
Summary: Just got my phone a week ago, i'm very happy and satisfied with the phone, atlast motorola has comeup with something that has the potential to Conquer the Market....
Summary: Just got my phone a week ago, i'm very happy and satisfied with the phone, atlast motorola has comeup with something that has the potential to Conquer the Market.
The Phone has all the features I require. The camera is one of the Best I've seen and so is the Screen.. 262K Colour Screen is just awsome.
The One Feature that Surprised me was The Business Card Reader.. The Phone actually scans all the details from a business card and fills it up in ur contact details.. love that feature.
The only irritating part is the Flip(sometimes).... it is slightly irritating to open it but you get used to it in sometime. Some of the features can be accessed without opening the Flip,,like the camera and some others.
In Short if u are thinking of buying a high-end phone, u won't get any thing better than this, for the same Price. The Only thing the phone lacks is a WI-FI connection feature.
I bought mine after reading the reviews at CNET itself ... and i don't regret it.Updated
The Flip actually protects the screen and Motorola has acted very smart by adding a speaker on the flip in such a way that it gives the phone a totally different look.. I hate Flip Phones BUT i don't mind it on this one.8 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.
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truly awesome phone
by leslie22 on August 29, 2006
Pros: Sleek, sexy, functional, compact
Cons: difficult to open, rubber plugs annoying.
Summary: I just recently aquired my A1200 from Hong Kong as well...about $360USD. Phenominally sexy, great functionality, comfortable to wear/carry/hold/use (ok, so it's still new!). I ...
Summary: I just recently aquired my A1200 from Hong Kong as well...about $360USD. Phenominally sexy, great functionality, comfortable to wear/carry/hold/use (ok, so it's still new!). I had a 388c previously (also an asian Moto xDA phone), and for the most part, Motorola makes a terrific/durable small xDA format phone. I had even dropped the old phone in the river before, so I was sold on considering it's apparent next-of-kin, the A1200. I was at one point considering the Q, as well as a new blackberry power-house, but I really do not do enough email to have a dedicated KB or Data package and surely did not want the size (also why I like the A1200).
After purchasing it and using it for a week, the only negatives I find so far are the Flap...the finger notches are indeed very small, so be sure you have at least one good fingernail ! (alas, I've finally found a cure for biting my fingernails!).
Lack of a dock...no base connection that would allow for docking...only an offset (lower-right)USB connector that is annoying to connect into that rubber-thingy-plugged connection port (same for the headphone plug port). The 'nib' for grabbing the rubber plug is very small, and difficult to pull out. I almost expect it to break off at some point !
More +'s...The GUI is very sleek and user friendly, and I love the clear cover. I have the black phone, and they solved the "slippery phone" syndrome by using a 'grip' coating. Not quite rubber, not quite paint. Provides a finish I know I will not be easily dropping and and without that trendy body-glove Uber-sport look !
Screen resolution, FM Radio, Headphones, Camera...all work great.
I have yet to reliably test battery up-time and the blu-tooth. The 'Ming' (it's chinese name) shipped with a spare stylus and battery as well as several cool apps, including a very friendly Sync program.
I dropped in my Cingular SIM, and viola....cell phone, so no troubles yet.
I highly suggest this phone if your a little hung-up on the looks of your gadgets as well as the function, and you don't want another "laptop" for your belt.
Worth it?....definately.4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Amazing hardware, very poor software and user interface
by yanivaloemail on April 25, 2007
Pros: Beautiful, touchscreen, small
Cons: Lots of software bugs, really bad user interface, user interface is not flexible, screen is very sensitive to scratches, may pop-up 2 windows every time you make a call, no 3G
Summary: This is an amazing piece of hardware: beautiful, small, nice buttons, and most important - it includes touch screen. However, the software of this phone is the worst I've ...
Summary: This is an amazing piece of hardware: beautiful, small, nice buttons, and most important - it includes touch screen. However, the software of this phone is the worst I've ever encountered in the last 10 years in any electronic device. The user interface is terrible, full of bugs, and not flexible at all. Take a look in Motorolafans.com forums to get an idea of the number of flaws in the a1200 software. If you are a Linux fan, and expect to be able to rewrite some applications for the phone, then think again, because Motorola made it impossible to change most of the phone functions. Motorola could make this phone get a score of 9 out of 10 by improving the user interface.
Hardware:
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The phone is beautiful, small, light, and feels good in the hands. The screen shows nice pictures, and the touch-screen functionality is accurate. The buttons and joystick feels good. However, there are 4 main flaws:
1) The flip is hard to open with one hand - not like in other Motorola phones. Sometimes when trying to answer a call I open the flip and then my finger slip and it closes and hangs the call.
2) The touch screen is very sensitive to scratches. DO NOT drag the pen on it, otherwise you are seriously risking in a new scratch on the screen. This is a very strange characteristic for a touch screen phone - why couldn't they pick the same materials as other companies (Sony-Ericson for instance) did many years ago ?
3) Some users reported that the color pilled of the silver button on the side of the phone. However, mine is in good condition after 2 months of use.
4) This phone does not support 3rd generation - strange for a phone in this range of prices.
Overall, taking all the cons into consideration, this is still one of the best hardware used for cellular phones at the present time.
Software:
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Don't be lead by the beautiful appearance of this phone and by the fact that it is using Linux-based operating system. The phone software and interface may make you sorry that you bought it (well, I'm not sorry about buying it because this is the only option for small touch-screen phone with flip). Well, were to start ? Take a look at the forums of Motorolafans.com, and see how many issues are involved with this phone, what kind of strange (and sometimes dangerous) hacks you need to do in order to fix some problems, and how many issues are unsolved. This is not how a cellphone should be !!! Here is a short list of some problems:
- There is no tool to update the software of the phone, so if Motorola fixes a bug, there is no official way to get the fix.... So you're stuck with what you bought.
- Every time that I make a phone call, two (!!) pop-up windows appear on the screen, and freezes everything for several seconds. One of the windows is saying that I have a voice mailbox (who doesn't ? we are in 2007, aren't we?), and the second widow says something that no one understands (I asked in some forums, and nobody have a clue about the meaning of this message). Just imagine, two pop-up windows every time that I make a call !!! Some guys in motorolafans.com have found a solution to the first window - if you disable your voice mail, then the window may disappear (given that your provider let you disable call diverts). Well, so if you don't need a voice mail, this might be the phone for you...
- The volume is not sufficient for many users.
- The phone internal Opera web browser makes unexpected internal errors in random occasions (on the same web page it might work flawlessly one time, and fail on another).
- The interface between the phone dialer and address book is not good. For instance, you can not write a number in the dialer and then store it as a contact without dialing the number first. I can not point on the exact other problems with this issue, but it is definitely less comfortable then other phones that I used.
- Scrolling down the list of contacts in address book if very slow - unless you drag the scroll bar with your pen which will scratch the screen.
- You can set the email reader not to download large emails. But then it does not even let you know that you received such emails.
- The phone (at least mine) reboots itself with no particular reason from time to time. This is not a big deal, but it is definitely strange behavior.
- Motorola programmers (not all of them are good according to the results with this phone) set the shortcuts to important applications on the main screen. Their choice of "important" applications is strange however: the video camera got one of the 5 icons. The ring style settings got the second shortcut, etc. You have the choice of changing the shortcuts, but only 2 of the 5. Which means that you will always see the video camera, web browser, and ring style shortcuts on your main screen, but will have to spend much more efforts to access your real favorite applications.
- On the main screen there is no indication whether you set up your alarm clock (and, as you may find out in the hard way, in order to complete setting the alarm clock you have to click the appropriate "save" button).
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You got the idea. There are so much more of those annoying "features", or bugs, or whatever you want to call it. I will just save you the time and stop right here.
Well, some of you might say "but it is base on Linux, so the community might be able to solve all those issues". Wrong ! Motorola have made it impossible for the community to fix most of those bugs. There is no source code for the important stuff, and no official tools to compile, debug, etc.
Good luck with your phone....5 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
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I LOVE my Ming!
by ChoyAlai on July 13, 2007
Pros: Customizable, fun for the nerd but easy to use for the everyday user, packed with features
Cons: Poor VR, hard to dial while driving
Summary: As with any of these all-in-one phones, the features cannot compare to a separa camera and mp3 player. That being said it is still the best phone I've ever ...
Summary: As with any of these all-in-one phones, the features cannot compare to a separa camera and mp3 player. That being said it is still the best phone I've ever had. I received this as a gift one-year ago and I still do not tire of it. A forum of users on motorolafans.com continue to build and update firmware allowing me to customize and improve upon the functionality. It still has the "it" factor, people still ask me about the phone. Touch-screen, full keyboard usage, web-browsing, mp3 playing, picture/video taking, play games, customize themes/skins, etc. Plus, it's an unlocked phone so no need to chain myself to a loooong contract. Surf onto the forum and you'll see a slew of dedicated owners of this phone. LOVE IT!
Voice dialer is not as good as it should be, but this is due largely in part to a very detailed phone book (first and last names, mulitple names). I've recently updated the firmware so that now the VR is based on American English (vs. British English).
You can be a superuser and hyper customize this phone. Or you can be a basic user and still get a lot out of this phone.2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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A phenominal phone that is 5 years ahead of its time! Maybe the closest thing to the iphone.
by jbrownny00 on June 18, 2007
Pros: Small, Sleek, Thin (Like the razr), Lots of features, and a strong operational phone.
Cons: Screen is too delicate and the phone itself is very fragile. Must take special care.
Summary: Well first off, I have a moto razr for my t-mobile service which I was pleased since it was both stylish and a functional phone when it comes to controlling ...
Summary: Well first off, I have a moto razr for my t-mobile service which I was pleased since it was both stylish and a functional phone when it comes to controlling incoming outgoing and 3 way phone calls. But when I saw the Motorola a 1200 my draw dropped to the pavement. When you first gaze at the phone, it is truly a futuristic style to the phone which I hope more phones will look like this one. It is a touch screen pad with only buttons on the side for other functions such as camera and voice recording etc. It contains a stylus pen which you can pull out from the upper right corner and use to dial or even sign on the phone. It has a business card reader which I did not use yet and it can video record as well as listen to radio and play music files if you have a sd memory stick inserted into your phone (Get a 1 GB). With all this said you can understand how much features one sleek phone may have. The phone comes with a cd that you must install in order to experience everything from transferring files from your cpu to the phone such as video clips to photos and even music. This small piece of device has almost everything a person may need and alot more. You also have the option to record yourself or music and configure it as your personal ringtone. Can you believe all the stuff you can actually do with this phone? The cons are very small. Screen is too delicate meaning it is susceptible to scratches (not good) and the body work itself is pretty fragile. But if you had a razr, hopefully it taught you how to take care of fragile products. Overall, it is one of the most advanced phones in the market today. This phone actually arrived in the U.S. last year and its already ahead of all the phones in the market. I will put my hand on a Bible if I had one, and tell you that if you buy this phone you will not be disappointed at all. Everything is almost perfect and it is unfortunately still between 300 to 500 bucks for the device. This may be the closest phone to the iphone that is coming in june really soon. I cannot say it will be just as good or better than the iphone but it will definitely give its run for the money. Trust me, with all these features, you have to purchase a great phone like the Motorola A1200. You wont be disappointed.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Coolest phone Motorola's ever made
by Wolfie2k5 on January 5, 2007
Pros: Style, features galore, business card reader
Cons: Limited onboard storage memory. No HID Bluetooth profile
Summary: The Motorola A1200 has to be one of THE coolest phones they've ever made - if not THE coolest.
Where to begin...? There are tons of features packed into ...Summary: The Motorola A1200 has to be one of THE coolest phones they've ever made - if not THE coolest.
Where to begin...? There are tons of features packed into this phone. There's a 2 Megapixel camera, MP3 player, FM Radio, Bluetooth 1.2, the usual plethora of PIM features, voice recognition, speakerphone and if that weren't enough - it's got a business card scanner. It also supports microSD Transflash memory up to 2 GB.
The phone is fairly small - just a hair thicker than your average RAZR. The clear cover sports an embedded speaker and allows you to see the very nice TFT screen when it's closed.
The controls on the left of the phone raise and lower the volume and serve as menu navigation buttons when the phone's closed. In addition, there's a 2.5mm covered port for plugging in a wired headset - either stereo or mono.
On the right, you have a camera button that both launches and captures images as well as the voice recognition launcher. The covered mini USB port is located on this side as well.
The three controls under the front cover, from left to right, Send call, the joystick, and End call buttons. These buttons almost get lost in the shuffle given the excellent TFT touch screen. They also tend to be fairly flush to the profile of the phone. If I had my way, I would have made these buttons and the joystick stand out a little bit taller.
The back of the phone sports the camera lens, the battery cover and the stylus used to navigate the screen.
The 2 megapixel camera takes fairly good pictures. As with any multi-function device, some features can be less than perfect in order to make room for something else.
The MP3/AAC player is a Linux version of REAL Player. It can play non-DRM'ed MP3 files as well as AAC files ripped from your CDs by iTunes, but NOT those purchased from ITMS. Music can be routed through the speakerphone, a wired stereo headset or via a stereo bluetooth headset.
The FM radio requires the wired stereo headset. It will not play through the speakerphone nor can it be rebroadcast to a stereo bluetooth headset. I'm assuming this is to keep you out of trouble with the FCC (or other similar agencies) with regards to rebroadcasting licensed and copyrighted programs.
Now then, yes, I said the L word. Linux. The phone runs on a modified version of Trolltech's Qtopia Core. While Linux may not be ready for prime time on a PC's desktop, it's quite ready for the embedded phone market.
Is it perfect? No. The primary limitations of the phone are in the hardware, not software. The phone only sports 8 MB of onboard memory. This can be frustrating at times. For instance, attempting to open a 22 page PDF file with the Picsel file viewer that's 1.5 MB in size results in an out of memory error on the first page of the PDF. Then again, given the size of the screen, reading the PDF would have been quite difficult. Let's face it, it's a 320x240 screen that measures about 2 1/2 inches on the diagonal. While you can zoom in on documents, it's still a fairly small image.
Navigating around the phone is fairly straightforward - though some things do require a bit of getting used to. Some menu items are accessed by holding the stylus down on something and waiting a moment for the menu to load - sort of a right-click where you don't have a right-mouse button to click with.
Data entry on the A1200 is done by one of two ways - handwriting recognition or by way of one of many keyboard/keypads that can be gotten to pop up. For those used to the Palm OS's Graffitti, the A1200's data entry is similar. The onboard keyboards can be used instead and they work rather well given the size of each button is rather small.
Which brings us to the other limitation - the lack of the HID Bluetooth profile. The HID - or Human Interface Device - profile allows Bluetooth enabled devices work with BT enabled keyboards, mice and other devices. This may, someday be addressed in a future firmware update. Given the lack of a tactile keyboard, Crackberry addicts will probably not like this phone. This phone is not a natural for texting.
Ok.. Ok.. I'm getting to it. The most unique feature of the A1200 is the business card reader. Yes. A business card reader. The aforementioned 2 Megapixel camera takes a picture of a business card. The built in OCR tool then reads the card, finds names, phone numbers, address' and such and automatically imports them into the A1200's phonebook. As with any OCR application, there are limitations. If you've got a card that's too busy with lots of graphics, funky fonts and the like, it's not going to work as well as if you're scanning a plain white card with black text in some dull, boring font. For the most part, it works rather well - provided you're working with plenty of light.
As for call quality... This is one of the areas the A1200 shines. It has better radio gear built in than some phones I've had. Spots where other phones disconnected, the A1200 kept going, never dropping a call.
Call clarity is excellent - either using it in the more traditional phone mode or in speakerphone mode.
Bonding the phone with various Bluetooth devices is a snap. The phone can be set to be discoverable for 2 minutes or can search out other devices in the immediate area. Just tap the device on the list of found devices, click the Bond button and enter the password. Call quality can vary - as with most BT headsets. Some are better at talking to some phones than others.
Now then, one very important point that needs to be made. This phone was originally meant to be for the Asian market alone. However, as with any really, REALLY good thing, it's hard to keep it a secret for very long. The A1200 was recently #2 behind the black Moto RAZR on PriceGrabber.com's list of top searches in the US.
Until recently, this phone was only available through "gray market" importers. As such, the phone isn't supposed to be supported by Motorola USA. However, as of Dec 30th 2006, it would seem CompUSA is going to be bringing the phone into the US. I saw a display on their counter - next to the RAZR, KRZR and the rest of the Moto line. What this means as far as getting Moto USA to support the phone remains to be seen but I would imagine they will have to change their policy and offer support.
As it stands now, neither of the major GSM carriers - T-Mobile and Cingular - are offering the A1200, however, you can simply drop your SIM chip into the phone and make calls. With a little programming, the A1200 can be gotten online, and the Opera browser and GPRS connections can be made to work.
The bottom line on this phone - it's a stupendous first effort from Motorola in creating a phone based on the Linux OS. And it won't be unique. Motorola's already released the SCPL (Scalpel) in India - which is another Linux based slim phone and has plans to release other Linux based phones in the near future. It's not perfect, but for what it is and what it does, it's quite excellent.2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Best Phone I have had in years
by Zoback on December 6, 2006
Pros: Moto Design, Features, Look, Just about everything
Cons: No high speed, Cover a little hard to open
Summary: I go through many mobiles throughout the course of a year, I would guess I go through 4-6 a year. When I saw the A1200, I was amazed. I have ...
Summary: I go through many mobiles throughout the course of a year, I would guess I go through 4-6 a year. When I saw the A1200, I was amazed. I have always liked Motorola design, but I was a little hesistant about the internals. I have had a razr which I hated, but loved the design and form factor. After reading numerous reviews and opinions both in the States and in Hong Kong, I went for it and couldn't be happier.
I am in the Bay Area, CA and instantly once the sim card was in, my contacts popped up and texting was working. Ok first hurdle done, then I configured the internet, which I had heard was a little tough. It took me about 5 minutes and I was up and running. I highly recommend motorolafans.com for insight and questions. So now that the phone was operational and functioning, I started playing with the features.
Feature wise I would say this phone compares with almost any pda, maybe not windows mobile, but def. Palm. You can't edit word or excel, which I don't care too much about and the linux based OS doesn't have a ton of apps. Another feature which wasn't too important to me. Other wise calender and other pda functions are easy to use.
Now what separates this phone is obviously the touch screen. You basically can do everything from the touch screen. There is a stylus or you can use your fingernails (get a screen protector) and navigate fairly easily. The onboard realplayer is simple and easy to use and I loaded several video and audio files from my mac to the phone within minutes. It has amazed everyone I have shown .
The camera is nice but I have a digital camera so I don't care too much about it. The business card reader works ok, not great, not bad.
The operating system runs quickly and without pause like some other motorolas I have had (razr).
Everything about this phone is great EXCEPT there is no high speed connection. If there was I truly believe this would be the best phone on the market. Of course there are little things that I need to adjust to, but overall the design, features and pure coolness make this the phone to have.2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Outstanding Phone with few quirks
by rmaha65 on November 4, 2007
Pros: Very stylish, modern, great phone reception and comfort
Cons: Interface not intuitive. A few quirks
Summary: I've had this phone for over 3 months and I love it. The interface is very appealing and the shaded flip top that shows the display screen turns heads. ...
Summary: I've had this phone for over 3 months and I love it. The interface is very appealing and the shaded flip top that shows the display screen turns heads. Reception has been outstanding. I've talked through known "dead areas" in my neighborhood on this phone when my RAZR used to go dead.
A few of the quirks that I havn't ironed out yet. Whenever you finish checking your email, the phone sends you a blank text message. Don't know why and I haven't figured out what submenu turns this off but it's counting against my monthly message allotment and I wish it would stop.
I suggest downloading Google apps as they work great with this phone especially Google Maps. The traffic feature alone I would pay for.
All in all a great, modern looking phone and, yes, it is the same size and feel as a Star Trek communicator for the geek in all of us.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Motorola
- Part number: A1200BLK
- Description: Motorola A1200, a clamshell phone with Linux software, bears an innovative clear flip-cover and an antenna-free profile, combines svelte design, business features, and a high-resolution two mega pixel camera into a package designed to appeal to users who don't mind looking good while getting things done. Motorola A1200 also deepens Motorola's handset portfolio based on the Linux OS - further demonstrating Motorola's commitment to driving Linux innovation across the company's mobile device spectrum.
General
- Packaged Quantity 1
- Product Type Smartphone
- Form Factor Bar
- Integrated Components Voice recorder,
Digital camera,
Digital player - Width 2 in
- Depth 0.9 in
- Height 3.8 in
- Weight 4.3 oz
Cellular
- Technology GSM
- Band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband)
- Service Provider Unlocked
- Operating System Linux
- Application Software Word Viewer,
PowerPoint viewer,
PDF Viewer,
Excel Viewer - Input Device(s) Touch sensitive screen
- Phone Navigation Buttons Navigation button
Messaging & Internet
- Supported Email Protocols SMTP,
POP3,
IMAP4 Communications
- Data Transmission GPRS
- Wireless Interface Bluetooth
Phone Features
- Phone Functions Vibrating alert
Media Player
- Supported Digital Audio Standards MP3,
WMA,
MIDI,
AAC,
AMR,
WAV
Memory
- Supported Flash Memory Cards microSD
Digital Camera
- Digital Zoom 8
Display
- Type LCD display
- Technology TFT
- Diagonal Size 2.4 in
- Display Resolution 240 x 320 pixels
- Display Indicators GPRS indicator,
Digital clock,
Battery meter,
Signal strength Connections
- Connector Type Headset jack,
USB Battery
- Technology Lithium ion
- Capacity 850 mAh
- Run Time Details Talk - up to 450 min,
Standby - up to 170 hour(s) Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories Power adapter , Power adapter,
Stylus
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Motorola products on Shopper.com
-
- Manufacturer:Motorola
- Address:
600 N. Highway 45, Libertyville, IL 60048 - Phone: 847/576-5000
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