Previously in an AMU MatchUp between Samsung Galaxy S and iPhone 3GS, we have determined that the Samsung Galaxy S comes out on top. But, the introduction of iPhone 4 has unfortunately blown the competitions from Android away with its release.
However, if you are still thinking of getting an Android handset for your next phone upgrade, Motorola has launched the Milestone XT, which offers a possible alternative to the Samsung and HTC devices in the market at the moment.
So what is the Motorola Milestone XT? The Milestone XT is basically an “improved”, no-keyboard version of the highly-successful Motorola Milestone. Silver-rimmed and without a slide-out keyboard, the XT is aimed at the more casual user who doesn’t need to text or e-mail as much or a user that dislikes having to type on a physical keyboard. Besides that, the main difference is in the XT’s video and camera capabilities. It has a small HDMI jack that hooks up directly to a TV for 720p playback. The XT also comes with a Chinese handwriting recognition software that Motorola developed out of its China labs which lets you write Chinese characters – instead of just using pinyin – by scribbling on the screen.
For comparison, let's take a closer look at both the Samsung Galaxy S and the Motorola Milestone XT. Both phones will be running on Android 2.1 on launch.
For the purpose of this article, I will not be going into too technical details but instead be focusing on what everyday users are more concerned about, ie, the dimensions of the phone, the image display, battery life and discernible features such as the internal memory and the camera.
Dimensions
The dimensions of Galaxy S are 122.4 by 64.2 by 9.9 millimeters while the Milestone XT are 115.95 by 60.9 by 10.9 millimeters. Although the Milestone XT is slightly smaller than the Galaxy S, the Galaxy S is considerably lighter than Motorola Milestone XT with weights of 118 grams and 139 grams respectively and slightly thinner.
Memory and Camera
Both the Motorola Milestone XT and the Galaxy S have the option of using a microSD card that can go as large as 32 GB.
Both models have built in cameras that featured autofocus. Galaxy S comes with a 5 megapixel camera with face and smile detection features. The XT, on the other hand, comes with an 8 megapixel camera. Some nice features include a stitching function, which lets you take panoramic shots separately and join them together for one 180-degree picture.
There’s also a manual focus function, which lets you tab on the camera preview screen and focus on wherever you want the lens to – nifty for travellers.
Display
For display, here is what the phones are using. The Milestone XT uses a 3.7 inch thin-film transistor touch screen (or TFT for short). For the Galaxy S, it comes with a 4.0 inch Super AMOLED (Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode) touch screen.
The Super AMOLED differs from many other display technologies in that the layer which detects touch is integrated into the screen rather than being overlaid on top. The AMOLED technology allows the Galaxy S to be much slimmer than most of the phones in the market today, have greater touch sensitivity and better image display.
Battery Life
The official specs for Samsung Galaxy S indicates that the talk time for the phone using the 3G network is about 391 mins whereas the Motorola Milestone XT talk time on 3G is about 270 mins. Just basing on the official specs, the battery life for Galaxy S seems to be better than that of the Milestone XT. The superior battery life of the Galaxy S though was confirmed and featured in many reviews.
Do take a look at the Youtube Videos below:
Pricing (Singapore only)
SingTel Price Plan for Samsung Galaxy S
Starhub Price Plan for Motorola Milestone XT
Conclusion
The Milestone XT does not match up to the Samsung Galaxy S in terms of its weight, display technology and most importantly, its battery life. There are some nice camera features and support for Chinese handwriting from the Milestone XT but unfortunately, they pale in comparison to the other tangible benefits provided by the Galaxy S.
For Singapore consumers, is it worth paying an extra $50 for the Samsung Galaxy S at the mid-range mobile plan? Judging from the comparison of the specs above, it will provide a strong case for a $50 well spent.
