Beneath the screen sit the usual three Android menu, home and back buttons while the edge of the keyboard houses a dedicated camera button, volume rocker, on/off/lock switch, MicroUSB port and 3.5mm audio jack. Another subtle advantage of the Backflip's form is that – unlike some conventional sliders – using the camera button doesn't cause the handset to slide open.
Its gymnastic twists can be tucked away to function as a touchscreen phone
Talking of cameras, the auto-focus camera is the same 5Mp affair fitted to the Dext, but it now comes coupled with an LED lamp which gives it some low light capability. As the test shots show, pictures taken in good natural light are acceptable, but in more challenging conidtions, the white balance is a bit suspect. Video can be shot at 352 x 288 and 30fps which is bargain basement quality.
Sample Shots
Low light
Click for a full-resolution image
Click for a full-resolution image
Click for a full-resolution image
Technically, the Backflip is rather more mundane. The handset is driven by a 528MHz processor with 256MB of RAM, which is a combination that makes it just a little on the slow side when compared to the latest Snapdragon handsets.
COMMENTS
Oh, Motorola
At this point, providing Android 1.5 is similar to selling a modern PC with Windows 98. It's Android without the ability to run the latest Maps, Gmail, Voice Actions, or any non-Google app with requirements beyond the very least sophisticated.
Separately from this, providing the upgrade to 2.1 for US customers but not anyone else is just disgusting. Don't get treated as a second class customer, don't put up with mutton being sold as lamb, don't buy it.
Nice phone, shame about the OS sums it up nicely
Yet another really nice phone from Motorola. There was a time when saying that would have raised a hollow laugh, but it's true, their hardware designers really are on form these days. That was why I bought a DEXT. But really, no software upgrades mean I've bought my last Motorola. I'm not going to get stung like that again. I'd rather have a nasty phone with an up-to-date OS than a well-designed and robust phone that won't run the apps I want to have.
Advice from someone who already owns a Motorola Android phone: don't buy this one. Sorry, I'd love to recommend what is almost certainly a good phone, but can't recommend a company that leaves its customers out in the cold like that.
Motorola made an update commitment
I bought a Backflip some 6 months ago. At that time and even now (!!) Motorola promised an update to Android 2.x for Q3 on its Western European web page for the Backflip. That was the reason I bought a phone with a very outdated Android 1.5 . In my view that update promise is a firm commitment.
The reception and transmission quality is not very good. With my old RAZR I could have a telephone conversation on places where the Backflip looses the connection.
Funny, this just killed the Moto Defy for me...
Was really thinking about NOT buying an iPhone upgrade, but buying the Defy when it comes out in a few weeks, as I sail and a waterproof phone would be a good thing...
But this treating non-US customers differentially is just shite, really. Totally unacceptable, regardless of reasoning (probably due to reseller/channel/carrier issues, I would guess). But in the end - I DON'T CARE - I will NOT be treated as a second-class citizen just due to the side of the Atlantic I live on. HP does it with their laptops, others do it - but Samsung seems to do it less, and Apple also seems to be pretty good at treating it's customers as global customers.
I'll get a waterproof case for my iPhone, thanks for playing Moto...
Nice design, poor performance/quality
I bought this phone right after it came out because it was the first Android phone available for AT&T (I really didn't want to get an iPhone). Initially I thought it was great (my previous phone was a Blackberry Pearl from work). However, since this was my first Android experience, I didn't have much to compare it to.
I like the keyboard flip out design. I have always been a much bigger fan of physical keyboards than virtual keyboards, and it seems like more and more Android phones are moving to virtual-only handsets. However, that's about the only thing that really stands out. It has poor video quality, a lackluster processor, and measly storage included. Oh, and it's still stuck on Android 1.5 (and based upon the Motorola timeline, no one knows when 2.1 will *actually* be released in the USA). I personally think they are still releasing it in the USA to avoid a class action lawsuit for falsely advertising that it was upgradeable to Android 2.0. This makes me question how the performance will be. The phone has been rooted recently, and the people that have done it have said good things, but I don't think I want to take the risk (I have to use the phone for work).
Personally, I'm looking at something in the Samsung Galaxy S series, such as the Captivate. My wife recently bought one and it's pretty nice. It has a lot nicer screen, it's much faster, and it already has Android 2.1.
