The Motorola Backflip (it's
also known as Enzo) is a first for AT&T - it's an Android phone.
It's not official yet, but it's a very interesting phone in that it was
designed by someone completely lacking spatial awareness.
First things first. The Motorola Backflip is a rather appropriate
name as you're about to find out. Spec-wise it's almost identical to
the Motorola CLIQ (or Motorola DEXT MB220 as it is known outside the States).
Motorola Backflip (Enzo)
This means typical Android device and typical specs - 3.1" HVGA
display, 528MHz CPU, 256MB RAM/512MB ROM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. The
software is said to be Android 1.5 with Motoblur and lack all Google
apps except Google Maps. The Android Market is included though.
AT&T have taken their time to include their own customizations -
Yahoo! Search (say what?), AT&T Nav, AT&T Music and AT&T
Mobile App store. Anyhow, word is that the Motorola Backflip is
thinner, slightly smaller and lighter than the T-Mobile G1 (or HTC Dream).
AT&T left their mark on the Motorola Backflip
The Motorola Backflip sports a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and
LED flash but, uh, there's a problem - the placement. We mentioned the
weird form factor, right? Well, sit down because your head will start
spinning.
If you've looked at the photos you're probably feeling something is
off - how come you can see the keyboard in that one photo but not the
screen? Well, it's called "Motorola Backflip" for a reason. The
keyboard is on the back on the device, while the display is on the
front.
When you fold the Motorola Backflip open, things start to look
normal, good even - that's one roomy 4-row QWERTY - but putting the
keyboard on the back where it's always exposed is not exactly a good
idea. And where's the camera - on the keyboard, of course. Where else?
That's some bad camera placement • the touchpad • the Backflip still runs Android 1.5
Oh, and that's not all that's strange about the Motorola Backflip -
there's a touchpad on the back of the screen, accessible when the phone
is open. Apparently, it can be used for scrolling. It's not like the
phone has a 3.1" touchscreen or anything. Weird.
One last bit of weirdness before we go - the (admittedly rumored) specs list the device as quad-band GSM/EDGE and quint-band
3G. That is 5 bands in a row - 850/900/1700/1900/2100MHz. Of course, it
could just be a mistake. There's no guarantee that the Motorola
Backflip will have global 3G support (but if it does, we'd need a
better name for it).
