Motorola has announced new mid-range budget handset — Motorola XT531, which comes with slim and sleek form factor. Like the mid-range devices such as Motorola Defy, the new XT531 comes with an extra-bright 3.5-inch touchscreen with Android 2.3 Gingerbread update.
The handset will be released later this month in China and will be made available to other regions including India in coming two months. Motorola has not revealed the price of the handset.
Motorola XT531 is mere 11.95 mm thick and weighs 114 grams. It features an extra-bright 3.5 inch HVGA display with capacitive multi-touch screen and 480×320 pixel resolution. The pixel Resolution could be bit of an issue as the mid-range Defy has FWVGA 480×854 pixel resolution and hence we suppose that even VGA (480×640) resolution support would have been great for the extra-bright 3.5-inch display.
Under the hood, Motorola XT531 houses an 800MHz Processor with 512MB RAM and 512MB ROM on board. This XT531 handset will come with Android 2.3 Gingerbread pre-loaded. This handset will feature what is assumed to be a new user interface, dubbed as Moto Switch, which allows changing between modes that have been setup for different purposes.
While supporting the tri-band 3G Networks, the XT531 offers wireless connectivity via Bluetooth and WiFi (802.11 b/g/n). For imaging, the XT531 features a 5 megapixel back camera with flash and a front facing VGA camera to support video chats. The Qik video chat software App comes pre-loaded so all users have to do is register for the same.
Other features of the mid-range Motorola XT531 includes a 3.5mm audio port, FM Radio player with RDS, e-Compass, A-GPS, and of course, support for host of Google services. The XT531 comes with a 1540 mAh battery pack that offers up to eight hours of talk time and 28 days of Standby time in 3G mode.
Motorola XT531 will compete with other handsets like Samsung Galaxy Ace/Galaxy 3, HTC Wildfire and other devices available in the mid-range segment. Motorola already had announced a dust and water resistant smartphone Wilder back in early June. We suppose the company is expanding its mid-range Android handset portfolio.
Needless to say, it is good news that an Android 2.3 Gingerbread loaded handsets will be made available soon in the mid-range segment. The same handset will be branded differently in some regions. For instance, it will be available as Motorola Fire in Europe, while it will be branded as Motorola SPICE XT in Latin America. Also, it will come in single SIM and dual SIM versions in select regions of Asia.