Overpriced smart phone with hell of a battery. Review on Motorola Milestone

I purchased Moto Milestone in June 2010 and had been using it since with BSNL 3G connection.  I think these 7 months of use warrants a review of the product: Style & Design: A slider phone with QWERTY keypad slider.

Initially had been using the slider keypad - but later on the on board keypad became more convenient that I had never used the slider keypad for the last 5 months.  It is absolutely a waste and Motorola could have made the phone lighter by avoiding this slider.  The looks are dumb due to the rectangular design.  Had they avoided the slider, Motorola could have designed it better.

Sound: The speakers are not up to the mark having experienced speakers of Sony phones - even though it is good.  Sound reception in calls are okay. Usage: As it works on the Android platform of Google, the OS is fast.  It has never crashed so far.  Hanging up was minimal.  Touch screen works superbly when compared to iphone.  You have to have a gmail account for the phone to get working.  Otherwise you can sign up freely for the same.

Uninterrupted Internet usage is mandatory for many of the apps to work.  Hence a data plan is a must from the service provider.  BSNL 3G offers good support.  But 3G services are not available through out the country.  Hence the services slow down a bit where only 2G services are there.  The real problem with the phone is the useless battery Motorola has provided with this phone.  With uninterrupted internet connectivity where apps work in the back ground, 1 to 2 hours of net browsing, 20 minutes of phone calls, 1 to 2 hours of music, 30 minutes of video - the battery charge will last only for 6 to 8 hours.  The worst part is The battery overheats ( I measured it to 55 degree celsius using a thermometer) when ever I play video or do browsing.  Actually my fingers were nearly burnt the first time I observed it.  When I went to the Service centre fellows at Mangalore, they said that it was due to over usage and to shut down the phone for 1 hour.  Is this the way Motorola makes phones? That we have to shut down the phone for 1 hour after using it for 20 or 30 minutes.  Any how, I am going to take up this matter with Motorola.

Let us make these fellows understand that they cannot have different policies for different countries.  Had it been US or European countries, Motorola would have to pay compensation to the customers for giving such batteries - that too in a high end smart phone over 25K.

Motorola has installed the MOTONAV - GPS application with this phone.  But sadly, once u run the application, within 30 minutes the battery power fully drains off. Features:  You can download thousands of applications from the Android market (Both free and paid.)  Camera is good both in still and video mode.  It boasts of a 5MP camera, but the pictures are not having that quality.  Emails work fine with Gmail and other Email clients.  Social networking sites like orkut, twitter, facebook, etc., have android based apps and they work fine.Price: I bought this model for 29K.  I think the price has come down now.  But value for money is not there.