Motorola DEXT

Its a great phone. Something that has the social networking stuff all built into it. You never have to browse the internet to get facebook or myspace; it is simply built into your phone!

Pros
- Very good looking, the covers as well
- Keyboard is great,
- Headphone jack is standard 3.5

Cons
- Does not support Wi-Fi Proxy; this makes it almost impossible to use the wifi at work, campus and the like. Probably not a good idea if you don't have or want to use the 3G.

BTW The proxy thing is a problem of all Android phones.

I got it on March 15th... It's a great phone!

Pros:
-Qwerty keyboard
-Responsive touchscreen
-Motoblur
-Fast internet
5 MP camera
-The patterned backside

Cons: (Not much here)
-Android 1.5 (Come on... 2.2 is coming out already, why are brand new phones shipping with an obsolete OS?)
-Battery life isn't all that great
-Long startup time

This is my first phone, and for me, the pros far outweigh the cons! I recommend this 100%!

I just got the Dext yesterday, after my LG from Koodo packed it in. I wasn't about to spend $150 on another piece of junk from Koodo when this phone was only $400 to buy out.

I was thinking of getting a Blackberry Bold, and I'd been checking out the differences between the smart phones over the last while, and I am very pleased with my decision to go with the Dext.

- MotoBlur automatically imported all of my Facebook, Twitter, and gmail contacts when I first turned on the phone... it's awesome having all of your contacts available right there.

- With the touch of a button, I can see all of my contacts Facebook/Twitter statuses, as well as the ability to scroll through and pick out any contact info I need. The phone also has a search feature which searches everything on the phone all at once, for example I can start typing "Colin" and it will search through any contacts on the phone, or even bookmarks of websites that may have "Colin" in the title.

- The phone is so very customisable, with 6 screens to edit and scroll through with whatever apps/widgets/info you may want to display. It comes configured with Facebook "happenings" right on the main screen, as well as your Facebook status, the weather, and messaging info.

- Speaking of messaging, it has streamlined text, email and Facebook messages all into one "universal inbox", as well as the choice of browsing through messages (and convos) separately. The functionality and set up of this on the phone is wicked... totally useful and perfectly executed. My gmail pushes through perfectly, loading up in split seconds and giving me the same functionality as if I was at my laptop! Texts are also displayed in conversation windows, much like the iPhone... super cool in case you have a bad memory.

- The browser works nicely as well, with the ability to copy/paste/bookmark/zoom in and out/etc. Nothing special, but it loads pages quickly and without trouble. There is also a custom google quick search widget to type in your queries from one of the main display pages and then shoot off onto a google search.

- The pull out qwerty keyboard is also decent. Nothing special, but it gets the job done without any frustration. Definitely a must-have if you're into texting. On screen keyboards are a pain in the butt! (The on screen keyboard with Android of course is customisable, but still nothing like having a real one available for any typing)

- As far as the design and look of the phone, as well as placement of the buttons, everything is well thought out. The power button can be used to lock the phone, as well as set GPS/Wifi/etc on or off, which is totally useful as a shortcut feature. The camera is also in a decent spot, as the phone doesn't feel awkward to hold while taking a picture, or recording a video.

- Android apps are awesome. Really, really awesome. I just go onto my wifi network, and download a bunch, checking out whatever looks cool. So far I have one to search for and download full mp3s (which works perfect, I can even transfer the music back onto my computer!), an app to get free ringtones, free backgrounds, plenty of games, any kind of instant messaging you might be into (MSN, AIM, Yahoo, etc), and there are literally hundreds of other really well programmed apps available, all free.

If you're a teenager looking to stay connected with your friends and you want a smartphone, go for the Dext.

If you're a 20 something year old who goes on facebook once or twice a week, but feels like they wouldn't mind checking things out some more, go for the Dext.

If you're a business professional who loves Google, the Dext is a great Android phone.

Bell has a promotion on right now, as the phone was just released, and the promotion is pretty economical. I'm paying about $65/month for basically the same service that I had at Koodo, with a much better phone that doesn't freeze, reboot by itself, or fail to display multimedia.

Two things of caution about the Dext:

- I'd purchase a case for it for sure. Since it's a slide-out phone, it's bound to get messed up if it gets too dirty.

- The battery will barely last a day with constant use. Have a charger handy, or splurge for an extra battery. Not a big concern to me as I usually plug my phone in at night to charge it up anyway.

I'll re-review the Dext in a couple more months and fill anyone in on how the phone is working as well, but my initial reaction is the phone is great.