Motorola Backflip Phone Review

06/04/2012 12:34

 

 

After a slow start, Motorola have taken off running with Android smartphone development. The Backflip is a smartphone for people who probably wouldn't otherwise buy a smartphone. The handset is a flip phone with a full QWERTY keyboard, an innovative Backtrack touch navigation feature, and a 5 megapixel camera with 4X zoom.

 

The Backflip has a very interesting design, and in some ways it succeeds. The BACKFLIP hits the right spot and the novel form factor puts together standard navigation tools to offer unique handling. The phone uses the same 3.1 screen as the Cliq as well as the same outdated Android 1.5, Motorola states that 2.1 for all their devices is on the way.  It largely resembles the Motorola Cliq with a rectangular shape and rounded edges, but with a slightly smaller footprint at 4.25 inches tall by 2.08 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick. That easily makes it more compact and comfortable when holding in the hand thanks to the rounded soft edges. 

 

The Backflip has a 3.1-inch touchscreen display running at 480 x 320 resolution. It displays 256,000 colors but lacks the vibrancy and sharpness of some of the other Android devices. Colors are brilliantly reproduced in variable tones while text on-screen are more than detailed enough to make out.

 Motorola Backflip Phone Review

The keyboard is good. It's spacious and the square buttons are a good size, The keys are backlit for use in low light situations, and the letters and symbols on the keys are very large and easy to read. The keys provide a nice springy feedback. There are a handful of shortcuts along the bottom row and left side for quick access to the Web, search, messages, as well as to the home and menu screens. 

The Motorola Backflip runs Android OS 1.5, However, an upgrade to Android OS 2.1 is coming. The Android 2.1 adds to the fun with 3D graphics and live wallpapers, which are animated backgrounds that react to your touch and your music.Quickoffice works well if you need to view Microsoft Office files on the go.  The email experience is good, again due to Android.  There’s triband 7.2Mbps WCDMA (850/1900/2100) and quadband GSM/EDGE, along with WiFi b/g and Bluetooth, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The 5 megapixel camera takes fairly good photos, and would be an acceptable substitute for a standalone camera in most everyday situations.

From Phone Review

Pros:

Fairly good camera

Nice Keyboard

 

Cons:

Short battery life