Interesting. 1 day after the launch of Motorola Dext (which is exclusive to Singtel), the Motorola Milestone shows up at a Starhub media event. The event is about Starhub’s new mobile TV service. The Motorola Milestone (the GSM version of Droid) is one of the phones that will support the new mobile TV service by Starhub. It wasn’t an event specially for the Milestone although I guess that the media were crowding round the Milestone as it is an unannounced phone.

I wasn’t invited to the event. So I didn’t get to try it out myself.

So what does this means? Is the Motorola Milestone coming to Singapore soon? When we asked the Motorola executives about the Milestone during the Dext event, they all said that they have no plans for it. Even rumors says that Motorola has no plans for launching Milestone in Singapore yet. Which is why I was kinda surprised when I saw blog entries about the Milestone spotted in Singapore.

So is the Milestone coming to Singapore soon? Will it be exclusive to Starhub? Did Motorola screwed Singtel by giving them exclusive to the mid range Dext and show off the higher end Milestone the very next day?

I asked Singtel for their comment and this is the official answer from Singtel/Motorola.

The MOTOBLUR service platform is exclusive to SingTel. Both companies are committed to market the MOTOBLUR service platform and the launch of its first device, the Motorola DEXT, a success in Singapore.

At this point in time, Motorola has no firm plans to launch the Milestone in Singapore. As strategic partners, SingTel has the opportunity to bring the Milestone to customers when Motorola is ready to bring in the device.

Interesting. We all thought that the exclusivity deal between Singtel and Motorola is just on the Motorola Dext. But it seems like the exclusivity is more than we thought. I understand that 70% to 80% of Motorola’s portfolio of devices in 2010 will be on the MOTOBLUR platform. Besides Motorola Dext, Motorola Backflip is also on the MOTOBLUR platform.

MOTOBLUR is a widget based system which combines various social networking portals such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter all in one place without the need of logging into each service separately. Feeds and data are regularly pushed to the phone from these web portals which are integrated within the home screen. MOTOBLUR also includes services like locating your phone and remote wipe.

So when will the Motorola’s MOTOBLUR and Singtel exclusivity end? I didn’t bother asking them because such information will definitely be confidential. But from past experience, such exclusivity usually last quite some time. And judging from the amount of money and effort that Singtel pump in to promote the Motorola Dext, I guess they will demand for a long exclusivity deal.

But here is the trick. Motorola Milestone is not part of the MOTOBLUR platform. Which means it will not be exclusive to Singtel if it comes to Singapore. But if the Milestone come to Singapore, it will most likely not be exclusive to any telco.

So how come Motorola Milestone appeared in Singapore? My guess is that it is a developer set for Starhub to test out their new mobile TV service. Will Milestone be launched in March? Well, your guess is as good as mine.

Update 3 Apr 2010: The Motorola Milestone is now exclusive to Starhub.

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