I could probably do without the blur, but I'm guessing this will be upgradable to Android 2. I like the look of the keyboard of the Cliq better than the Droid - much better for emulators/games with the d-pad on the left. #nowshipping
$120? Really? Just buy a $30 receiver off ebay if you REALLY need XM radio. Other wise just invest in Slacker (music and comedy) and Wunder Radio (sports and news). #nowshipping
We've been here before... face to face with the Cliq; I'm still on the fence though and wary that I may never see Android 2.0 on that thing. #nowshipping
@En0s1: The Cliq is going to be Motorola's flagship GSM phone for a while. Given that fact, they probably will do what they can to keep the flagship current. (I hope).
Why is it that mobile manufacturers don't recognize the #1 annoyance? Response time. If I have to wait 0.5s for the thing to respond, it feels like a laggy POS. This should be the #1 requirement in all smartphones - no lag, instant response. Forget about the cheesy animations, just make the thing quick. #motorolacliqreview
Ah Cliq. Perfect name...I no part of it. Alas, I wait for the perfect communication device...hope she is from New Zealand and cute! #motorolacliqreview
This looks interesting. I'll be looking for a new phone when my contract expires next summer and I really want something running android. I would get an iPhone but until Apple decides I can develop for it without buying a Mac I'd like something where I don't need to buy a load of proprietary hardware just to run the SDK.
‘dat is one ugly phone. How many logos, icons, buttons, and status lights does one need before it’s time to say "enough"? And that's just the faceplate.
Like it or not, industrial design and build quality counts these days. The RAZR had it, so what happened here? (Actually, the RAZR hardware had it. The software and UI blew chunks.)
This looks like it was designed by a committee equiped with an "everything but the kitchen sink" feature checklist.
Motorola has really been behind the curve with smartphones. That is an understatement. The company was in the dumps before the RAZR and I would not be surprised if this turned things around. They found a niche (social networking) for their phone to fulfill and executed it beautifully. Hopefully they will hire some *real* marketing people because their best left the company.
As far as the keyboard goes, they have been doing awful keyboards with terrible buttons because of Six Sigma and making the keyboard a solid strip. They desperately needed to ship this phone and much like the off centered design of the CDMA Q, they shoved it out the door knowing that it would take ages to re-design the hardware. I know they are
"used" to making their own phones, but the keyboard is such a stretch from their previous phones it goes without saying that they would struggle with a new design with better "feeling" keys versus their past "one solid piece" keyboards which were hard to type on.
This is very very positive for a company that has failed in the consumer sector for so long with handsets. It should strengthen the brand name in general. Given the phones offered on T-mo this should do quite well given that they will probably subsidize it more within a month. I know the MyTouch is a competitor, but for social networking and texting a physical keyboard is much much better.
I am not saying this phone is perfect, but this is the direction they are going with their handsets. Variants of this phone with different price-tags etc. should really get the phones selling rather then collecting dust. They already do so well with Boost from Sprint, I can only imagine how many more people would get those phones if it was based on the same platform as the Cliq.
@LindsayJoy's MBP is into S+M: They must be doing something right to tempt me to dump my little SE (admittedly it's not the best phone itself). But I'm glad to see T-Mo is getting more interesting offers in their stores. I'm hoping that the hardware complaints are more of a nitpick than an actual concern. [gizmodo.com]
Whether or not this phone succeeds in the marketplace relies solely on whether or not Motorola or T Mobile are really going to push this phone through advertising and marketing. Electronic markets in general have so much noise, you have to be the loudest voice to be heard. And because of the perpetual change and ubiquitous upgrades and remakes in the marketplace, you gotta get in their and grab a share of the market like it's the last piece of pizza you'll ever eat in your life. So, T Mobile and Motorola, there's 10 seconds on the clock, you've got one chance to make the touchdown, the balls in your court (or whatever sports metaphor works best here...)
P.s. Marketing a phone is one thing that Gizmodo doesn't really go over when talking about a phone and whether it'll succeed or fail. I know your a tech blog, but this is a major part of the industry, and your review on how slow a phone can be is only half of the story...just sayin'...
11/02/09
11/02/09
11/02/09
11/02/09
11/02/09
11/02/09
10/20/09
10/15/09
Pffffft I thought you dropped it in a toilet and couldn't photograph it any other way while it was drying. #motorolacliqreview
10/15/09
10/15/09
10/15/09
10/15/09
Like it or not, industrial design and build quality counts these days. The RAZR had it, so what happened here? (Actually, the RAZR hardware had it. The software and UI blew chunks.)
This looks like it was designed by a committee equiped with an "everything but the kitchen sink" feature checklist.
10/15/09
As far as the keyboard goes, they have been doing awful keyboards with terrible buttons because of Six Sigma and making the keyboard a solid strip. They desperately needed to ship this phone and much like the off centered design of the CDMA Q, they shoved it out the door knowing that it would take ages to re-design the hardware. I know they are
"used" to making their own phones, but the keyboard is such a stretch from their previous phones it goes without saying that they would struggle with a new design with better "feeling" keys versus their past "one solid piece" keyboards which were hard to type on.
This is very very positive for a company that has failed in the consumer sector for so long with handsets. It should strengthen the brand name in general. Given the phones offered on T-mo this should do quite well given that they will probably subsidize it more within a month. I know the MyTouch is a competitor, but for social networking and texting a physical keyboard is much much better.
I am not saying this phone is perfect, but this is the direction they are going with their handsets. Variants of this phone with different price-tags etc. should really get the phones selling rather then collecting dust. They already do so well with Boost from Sprint, I can only imagine how many more people would get those phones if it was based on the same platform as the Cliq.
10/15/09
10/14/09
P.s. Marketing a phone is one thing that Gizmodo doesn't really go over when talking about a phone and whether it'll succeed or fail. I know your a tech blog, but this is a major part of the industry, and your review on how slow a phone can be is only half of the story...just sayin'...
10/14/09
Here's to some more competition and the expanding of a good smartphone platform.
10/14/09
10/14/09
10/14/09