Motorola BACKFLIP / Reviews

It's about time Motorola did something crazy. The Cliq was predictably sleek. The Droid was pragmatically chunky. But AT&T's new Backflip is just ... odd.

At first glance the touchscreen channels the Cliq, but flipping it over reveals an exposed QWERTY keyboard. The phone opens like a reverse clamshell, and once you swing the keyboard around through 180 degrees, it's facing you, resting beneath the screen. And, get this — hidden away on the back of the touchscreen is a small navigational touchpad (called the "Backtrack") used for scrolling and selecting menu items.

Read original review at Wired.

Less

Unlike Verizon’s plunge into Android, AT&T has decided to go with a less than magnificent entourage with their dive. It’s not to say that the Motorola BACKFLIP might not be garnered as the flagship Android device we would’ve envisioned, but it’s uniqueness in various aspects meticulously elevates it to a higher platform for AT&T customers that have been Android-less. Although the Motorola BACKFLIP provides customers a glimpse into the power of Android, the experience is somewhat less tasteful as there are still some decisions that hinder it from truly becoming triumphant in making Android’s presence known on AT&T. In the end, it kind of plays to the same level we’ve seen with the T-Mobile G1 – it brings Android to the game, but leaves users wondering if this is all that’s out there.

Read original review at PhoneArena.

Less

For me, the Motorola BACKFLIP is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The good doctor, which represents the top half of the device, offers a good touchscreen experience and a nice user interface that is heavily focused on social networking and messaging. I love it. Mr. Hyde's temperamental keyboard design and oddball BACKTRACK directional controller, however, leave me totally underwhelmed.

If you are set on being an AT&T customer and want to get yourself some Android love, the BACKFLIP is certainly a solid choice. You'll get used to the keyboard with time, and will probably adapt to or disable the BACKTRACK. The rest of the device is mostly good, with the exception of some AT&T bloatware and draconian software restrictions. But if you are not tied to a particular network, there are 3 other carriers that all offer better Android smartphone choices. The BACKFLIP still gets a "Recommended" rating. Given freedom to choose, though, there are an easy half-dozen better Android phones available elsewhere - many of which are still made by Motorola.

You'll find a gallery of sample photos shot with the Motorola BACKFLIP's 5 megapixel camera on the following page.

Read original review at MobileBurn.

Less

The form factor is odd for no good reason at all, though the larger keyboard and solid design help a little bit. Only time will tell whether or not people take to the backwards clamshell design.

The keyboard is strong, large, and the keys have good travel and feedback. The lack of any shape to the keys, however, means typing is a mixed bag.

It's neat to have a rear touch pad on a phone, but this one takes getting used to. For the careless, it can spell trouble.

Neither Motoblur nor the media experience of the Backflip have been updated in any way compared to the Cliq. This is not good news. Motoblur needs better power management and better control over Twitter. The music player and imaging experience offered on the Backflip don't match the competition.

Read original review at Phone Scoop.

Less

I'm a huge lover of the Android platform and when I saw the opportunity to buy a new and unlocked version of this phone, which caught my eye because of it's awesome design, I jumped on it. Customs slapped eighty dollars on top of it (I bought it from the States) but I thought, whatever, two hundred dollars isn't "too" bad for a relatively good phone, or so I thought. I instantly had major regrets for purchasing the model I did just shortly after using the phone.

MotoBlur, Motorola's Android skin, is an incredible power hog. It uses up almost all of my RAM, the majority of my CPU, and causes the phone to freeze and reboot on a regular basis. I updated my phone manually to Android 2.1, which stopped a lot of the rebooting, but caused the phone to freeze more often. I just couldn't win. I found myself having to close applications almost immediately after opening them, and God forbid I ran two applications simultaneously. This phone did NOT offer the multi-tasking abilities Android promises.

Aside from software, the camera is sub-par to my last phone (the LG Prada II KF900), regardless of also being 5MP. The video quality was quite poor.
The messaging system and the keyboard really made the phone worthwhile, for me anyway. The keys are large and firm, but are still very responsive. The 3" screen also offers enough space for quick on-screen typing. The speakers are alright, but distort when turned up to full volume. A phone's a phone, not a boombox, so it does a great job when I need it too.

Being the "hacker" that I am, I recently rooted and flashed to phone to an operating system called "Speedy ROM" I found on a website called modmymobile. The phone is considerably faster than before (the processor is overclocked to 748MHz;similarly, MotoBlur has been removed), and I can actually run games like Angry Birds or emulators without extreme lagg. This came at the cost of the awesome messaging system the phone had before and the ability to use the regular Contacts app. Note, rooting and flashing is a somewhat difficult task and in doing so, there's always a good chance that you can permanently brick your phone.

In summary, the phone's a great messaging phone with an amazing keyboard and touch screen, but that's basically it unfortunately. MotoBlur really limits what Android can really do. For a "txter", I recommend the phone, though there are a number of more powerful/practical messaging phones out there.

Less

I've had my backflip for just over a week and a half. I couldn't be more happy and I have a great plan with TELUS!

PROS:
* 5 customizable backgrounds
* easily to access the internet but it won't happen accidently!
* easy to text on keyboard and on the screen itself
* tons of apps to be downloaded for free
* sound quality during calls is very good
* doesn't freeze
* texts, e-mails, updates from social networking sites are very convenient to access with notifications (a bar @ the top of the phone you slide down with your finger)
* when on the internet the phone compress' everything so you use less data than an iphone (still looks similar what you'd see on a computer)
* sealed keyboard so no dirt, dust or food can get inside the phone

CONS:
* takes about 30- 45s to turn on the phone
* somewhat short battery life if you're using the internet a lot/ texting a lot (but mine always lasts through the day even w/ a lot of texting)
* the phone itself is quite $$$$ unless you get a deal

NEUTRAL:
* backtrack on the back of the phone. You can only use this is the phone is open (con) but it does take your finger out of the way when using the touchscreen (pro) I put this as neutral b/c it is depends on the user if its a pro or a con. I don't use it very much.
* touchscreen. for me this is a pro since I wanted one but again depends on the user

Less