The Motorola Admiral was Sprint’s first Android-powered Direct Connect smartphone, priced at $99 on a two-year contract. This is a business-focused device and should be evaluated through that lens.
Outer Shell
The Admiral has a sleek portrait QWERTY bar form factor with a curve that gives it a professional look, similar to the Motorola DROID Pro. It’s compact and lightweight for a business device. The sides are smooth, which can feel slippery. Left side houses the volume rocker, Sprint Direct Connect button, and micro USB port; the right has only a small camera button. The top carries the speakerphone button, 3.5mm headset jack, and power/lock button. The 4-row physical QWERTY keyboard sits below the 3.1-inch Gorilla Glass display. The battery cover on the back felt flimsy, which doesn’t align with the military-grade marketing. The rear also carries a 5-megapixel camera with flash.
Under the Hood
The Admiral runs a single-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 processor, 512MB RAM, a 1860mAh battery, and 4GB of onboard storage (roughly 1.4GB available to the user). No microSD card was included, but the slot supports up to 32GB.
Display
The 3.1-inch VGA (640×480) Gorilla Glass display is small by 2011 standards, but suits the form factor well. Everyday tasks like calls, email, and text look crisp and vivid for the size. Web browsing, video, and gaming are where the smaller screen shows its limits.
Keyboard
The QWERTY keyboard is compact enough to cause errors at higher typing speeds. Fine for moderate use, but users with larger hands will need to adjust their expectations.
Camera
The 5-megapixel camera with 720p HD video, LED flash, and 4x zoom was adequate outdoors but poor in low light. Shutter lag of 4 to 5 seconds made candid shooting difficult.
Direct Connect
Sprint Direct Connect is Sprint’s new push-to-talk system running over CDMA EVDO Rev. A, allowing simultaneous PTT and data. It supports one-to-one and group calls up to 200 devices via TeamDC, availability notifications, and NextMail voice messages. This is the primary reason to buy the Admiral, and it could not be tested during the review period due to the absence of other DC contacts.
Software
The Admiral runs Android 2.3.5 with Motorola’s updated UI, which is fast and responsive. Business features include Quick Office for editing Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF documents; full Microsoft Exchange and Exchange ActiveSync support; Google’s full app suite; 3G Mobile Hotspot for up to five devices; device encryption and remote wipe; and Profiles for separating work and personal configurations.
Final Thoughts
The Admiral is fast, reliable, and business-ready. The combination of a physical QWERTY, Direct Connect, Exchange support, and solid Android performance at $99 on contract is genuinely good value. The battery, keyboard, and camera all land where you’d expect at this price point. The build quality feels less rugged than the Military Standard 810G certification implies, so a protective case would be wise for field use. For workers who need push-to-talk alongside a capable Android device, the Admiral is easy to recommend over a BlackBerry.
