14 DAY TRIAL // Motorola announced the smaller successor of the DEFY Android-based smartphone earlier this month. Dubbed Motorola DEFY MINI, the handset is expected to hit shelves in the UK sometime in February for around $225 (170 EUR) outright.
Motorola Mobility is trying to take on the budget-friendly smartphone market with the DEFY MINI and MOTOLUXE Android devices. The handset maker plans to release both smartphones in the following regions: Europe, South America, and China.
Although the DEFY MINI is the less-featured version of the original Motorola DEFY, the smartphone comes with the same rugged features. The phone is dust and water resistant. In addition, the phone’s display features Corning Gorilla Glass coating.
Motorola DEFY MINI is powered by Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread operating system and MotoSwitch user interface, which allows users to change between different profiles with a single tap.
In fact, MotoSwitch is a smart user interface that learns which apps the phone’s owner uses the most, or which persons he/she calls most often. With this information the UI populates the phone’s home screen to make it easier to access.
Hardware-wise, the DEFY MINI is equipped with a low-performance 600 MHz single-core processor and packs 512MB of ROM, 512MB of RAM and microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 32GB).
The phone comes with a decent 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen with 320 x 480 pixels resolution, as well as dual cameras (3-megapixel rear photo snapper and VGA front-facing camera).
Even though Motorola did not say anything about a possible release of the DEFY MINI in the United States, the phone has just been spotted at FCC (Federal Communications Commission) by the folks over at WirelessGoodness.
Apparently, the smartphone has just received approval for GSM bands 850/1900 and WCDMA bands II and V, along with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support. This matches with AT&T’s network in the United States, though we should wait for an official word on it.
