New details have surfaced regarding the Motorola iDEN Android-based smart device formerly known as the Opus One and now known as the i1. The camera has seemingly been upgraded in resolution from its previous 3.2 megapixel configuration to a 5.0 megapixel assembly and it will include a version of Opera Mini instead of the standard WebKit-based Android web browser.
The Android build for the device has also seen a major change, as it now features the MotoBLUR social network oriented user interface instead of being a branded “with Google” build, suggesting that the manufacturer is moving away from such builds in favor of its own Android implementation with a recent example found in AT&T’s Backflip, which features Yahoo services instead of Google along with the aforementioned user interface.
Clarification: The Motorola i1 will ship with the Android 1.5 web browser, based on WebKit. Opera Mini however will be the phone’s default web browser, similar to how Opera Mobile is implemented on many Windows phones.
hmm…no Sprint 3G or 4G access? will be a slow go on the data side…
I think that’s why Moto included Opera, it is very light on data usage. Regardless with that and BLUR running it will be pretty taxed, unless Nextel brings back wiDEN to help, for what it is worth.
The i1 is designed to primarily rely on Wi-Fi for data, similar to the BlackBerry Curve 8350i.
Opera Mini does use proxy servers to dramatically reduce data usage, but it is expected that the setup process will push users to setup a Wi-Fi connection during setup.