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11/20/09
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Makes much more sense. I'm really surprised its the first that we've seen.
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11/20/09
I read: just out-dated...
11/20/09
11/20/09
Its too bad really. I love the innovative design on this and really want to see a high end version.
The next moto droid from verizon is going to be equally lackluster sadly.
11/20/09
11/20/09
This is most like the CLIQ. It's last-gen hardware, comparable to the G1. Compared to the Droid, you've got lower specs in almost all measurable areas. Compared to the Eris/Hero, the specs are closer, it's a fairer comparison, but the Sense UI made by HTC is IMHO head and shoulders above Motorola's MOTOBLUR interface. Plus, it's incredibly likely that Sense devices will get Android 2.0. This one, there's no telling. It's possible, but no guarantee.
Oh, yeah, and AT&T. So, y'know.
11/20/09
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I like the fact that the 5-row keyboards negates the CN necessity when using the # keys.
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11/20/09
You don't need to see the back to know "when I push here or move my finger here the phone does ___". I've always thought that touchscreen phone's greatest strength is their greatest weakness. All the touching, flicking, pinching, etc is simple and all but my fingers get in the way of what I'm doing. Like I'll go to scroll a page and when I put my finger down on the page I click a link so I have to go back, try again. Or when I'm doing something where I need or want my finger on the screen for the scrolling, I can do it but then I lose that little bit of screen real estate where my finger is.
None of its a big deal but a system like this seems like it can take way that weakness.
11/20/09
Think of this too - do you really want to be butt-dialing with the buttons facing outwards like that?
11/20/09
The real problem is when you're actually using the phone. I wouldn't want to be on the phone and some how scroll over and hit the end button on a call. I imagine they thought of that when designing it though and there are some checks there as well.
And slide keyboards are great but they've got their own draw backs as well not least of which is that slider mechanisms seem more prone to problems than simple flips. It also gets back to the general over all problem of physical keyboard vs virtual. You don't always want to slide out the keyboard to do simple things. I think something like this is one more step in making it more useful and easy to use overall.
11/20/09
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The iphone is just a touchscreen rectangle with a speaker on top and button the bottom. I've had 5 PDAs that the iphone looks more or less like before apple was barely a household name.
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11/20/09
But on the really real, this thing does look like an iphone.
11/20/09
I don't remember anyone saying it when the cliq was leaked that it looked way too much like an iPhone. By the time it was released it really didn't either.
You start putting moto logos and at&t logos and the finished paint job and no one will once draw an iPhone parallel. Design wise the cleanness is the main thing that people pick up on on the iphone. The black front and the chrome. You take those away (which is inevitable) and you lose the similarities.
11/20/09
Took me forever when this broke on other sites to figure out whats going on with the keyboard. In fact if someone at BGR hadn't posted it I would have never figured it out.
The keyboard is the back of the phone. Thats why you've got the camera on the "front" in this view (see bottom left, 5.0 megapixels). Its so simple but makes so much sense. The Env and all those other flip QWERTYs always seemed stupid because you waste space by having to have 2 screens. Something like the Env touch made even less sense because you lose the big nice touchscreen when typing and get the little crappy interior screen. All gone now plus I imagine its going to allow for the phone to be thinner and sturdier.
What I really want to see is if the buttons on the back retain any of their functionality when closed. Again, its something that makes soooo much sense I'm amazed that Moto is the first one doing it. I mean obviously there would be things that you'd have to work around if the buttons on the back worked but if they could figure out a way to keep things like physical navigation buttons and still retain a sleek clean front I'd say its a win. Seems like it would be pretty easy to get used to.
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The rumor is that the unique aspect is that there is a touchpad on the back side of either the keyboard or the screen. This allows you to control the screen by moving your fingers on the opposite side.
I believe the idea is that this allows you to see better what you are doing. For example, when using an onscreen keyboard, I often find it difficult to know what keys I am hitting, and this should help? Maybe?
11/20/09
Its good to hear that there is going to be some control when the phone is closed too. I wonder if thats why there is that noticeable separation around the interior set of keys. The 'gap' is a touch pad.