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Motorola i886 Possibly First Non-Touch Android Phone

Jan 14, 2011, 9:52 PM by Eric M. Zeman
updated Jan 14, 2011, 10:02 PM

Phone Scoop spent some hands-on time with a Motorola i886 iDEN handset, which seems to run a new flavor of Android, making it the first Android handset without a touch screen. Read on for our first thoughts on this new breed of phone.

source: Sprint / Motorola

Motorola announced the i886 iDEN handset for Sprint Nextel on January 10. It is one of Motorola's first rugged handsets with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. After spending several minutes using it, it is clear that the operating system is based on Android. The i886's inner menu systems show that it is running Android.

Motorola i886

From what we can tell, the i886 appears to be using a J2ME virtual machine to enable Java applications to run on on top of the core Android platform The i886 doesn't have the Android Market on board, nor many of the native Android applications (which are designed for use with touch screens).

Neither Motorola nor Sprint has previously mentioned anything about the i886's software, other than to call it "proprietary." It does have access to a GetJar application catalog, but without a formal explanation from Motorola/Sprint, we're left with many, many questions unanswered.

About the author, Eric M. Zeman:

Eric has been covering the mobile telecommunications industry for 17 years at various print and online publications. He studied at Rutgers Newark and University of Kentucky, and has a degree in writing. He likes playing guitar, attending concerts, listening to music, and driving sports cars.

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Comments

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This forum is closed.

6667779311

Jan 15, 2011, 8:36 AM

You could not pay me to use any Iden phone

I have had several Iden phones, and now I have a android phone. Unless you need the walkie talkie, and want your text messages to take hours or days to reach the person you text, do not buy any Iden phones. They suck on web, text, and call quality. That little screen is so 1995. Former owner of i880 and i875 phones.

6667779311

How long before this phone shows up on Boost Mobile claiming to be a android phone. The sad part is people will buy it thinking they are getting a android phone.

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bobc74

But some of Sprint's customers still swear by IDEN. Why? Because in some areas, it works where no one elses service does! Also even though other carriers have launched PTT service, Direct Connect is still the best PTT technology out there.

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cakvalasc

This phone actually usees a new technology to reduce delayed text messaging as IDEN has been suffering in the past.

I think its a nice looking phone and a good price point for the Nextel customers.

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