The first Motorola Droid, which was also sold in a slightly altered version as the Motorola Milestone, was generally well received. It offered a powerful Android experience, came with a great slide-out keyboard, and had some decent hardware. Now that the Droid 3 has officially hit store shelves, you might want to buy it too… but should you wait?

JR Raphael of Computer World is a little hesitant and for good reason. Several good reasons, actually. While the hardware itself is pretty decent, there are a few things just over the horizon that you might want to wait for. For starters, 4G LTE is already out there for Verizon, but the Droid 3 doesn’t rock it. Strike one.

Quad core superphones are almost here and this phone is still doing the dual core thing. It also only has 512MB of RAM, compared to the full gig that a lot of smartphones are getting now too. That’s arguably strike two, depending on how much performance you want to get.

And then there’s MOTOBLUR. You may or may not be a fan of Motorola’s custom skin, but it has been demonstrated to delay the pushing out of Android version updates. If you must have the newest Android OS, getting a Moto might not be so good. This is especially true with Ice Cream Sandwich around the corner. Is that strike three? I don’t know. That’s up to you to decide.

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The Motorola Atrix 4G and Motorola XOOM tablet might be taking center stage, but you shouldn’t forget about the Motorola CLIQ 2 either.

As you may have heard, this is the official follow-up to the original CLIQ and it’ll be heading in the same magenta-hued direction of T-Mobile on January 19th. I went hands-on with the device and it’s pretty much what you would expect with a 3.7-inch display, Android 2.2 Froyo, and the MOTOBLUR custom UI.

No, it’s not the slimmest phone in the world, but I really thought they took an interesting approach with the slide-out keyboard. It’s almost in a honeycomb-like layout (though, since it’s not a tablet, it’s not running on Android Honeycomb), with soft bouncy keys. Each key is slightly domed, giving you a better feel for where you are. It was remarkably comfortable to use, but I almost wish the keys had a little more “clack” to them. That’s just a personal preference.

The hardware doesn’t feel particularly high-end, but you have to realize that the CLIQ 2 is supposed to be more of a mid-tier device. It has good weight and responsive touch controls, but I still think I’d opt for the T-Mobile G2 (Desire Z) if I was going for Android on T-Mo. Or, you know, just go 4G.

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For the most part, none of these three phones are really hitting up the higher end of the smartphone spectrum. This does mean that they’ll be a little more affordable, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they come up short on features. The trio all come equipped with Android 2.1, backed up with the MOTOBLUR user interface.

The most expensive of the bunch is the Bravo at $130 with contract. It gets a 3.7-inch screen, 800MHz processor, 3MP camera, and Wi-Fi. The Flipside comes in next with its slide-out keyboard and 3.1-inch HVGA touchscreen for $100 on contract and the Flipout brings up the rear at just $80 on contract. It has that weird rotating 2.8-inch QVGA rotating display hiding a full QWERTY keyboard.

The only phone of the bunch to get a release date is the Flipout and that’s coming October 17. If you’re looking for some Android and you like MOTOBLUR, it looks like AT&T is a good bet. Personally, I just want stock vanilla Android.

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Motorola CHARM QWETRY Android smartphone

You know, Motorola really ought to give up on this whole all-caps thing when it comes to their product names. I know it’s meant to be distinctive, but it’s almost like they’re trying too hard. Case in point is the new Motorola CHARM, the latest Android device to join the Telus Mobility family.

After being bombarded with names like RAZR, ROKR, and MILESTONE, we are now treated to the Motorola CHARM. The square messaging-friendly device is rocking Google Android 2.1 and it has a full QWERTY keyboard below its 2.8-inch touchscreen display.

Keeping up with the all-caps dance, this smartphone also features the MOTOBLUR user interface and the Motorola BACKTRACK controller. The latter is like the Motorola BACKFLIP with the trackpad on the rear, allowing you to navigate without obscuring the display.

Rounding out the specs are its 3G speeds, 3MP camera, Adobe Flash-friendly web browser, and 1170mAh battery good for up to 13.9 days of standby. Rock out with the CHARM through Telus for $29.99 on a three-year contract or $249.99 outright.

Motorola CHARM specifications

Motorola CHARM Android QWERTY smartphone announced for Telus Canada [Mobileburn]

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The Flipout features a 2.8-inch touch screen, 3-megapixel camera, GPS, MOTOBLUR, and comes with a Stereo Headset, Data Cable, 2 GB MicroSD Card with plenty of room for tunes. $30 on a 3-year term with Rogers or, $375 without one.

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Motorola Flipout phone runs Android 2.1

The square shape is 2.6-inches by 0.7 inches thick, giving you a 2.8-inch display at 320×240 QVGA. A QWERTY keyboard “flips out” from behind, rotating on a single axis that I suspect will eventually get extra rotation and just make you literally flip out. It’s running on Android 2.1, a good thing, with a 600MHz processor “enhanced for MOTORBLUR.” CrystalTalk PLUS enhances call voice quality and filters out background noise. A GPS and eCompass are included for navigation apps. A 3-megapixel camera with no focus adjustment and 4x digital zoom may disappoint; but Kodak has offered up their Perfect Touch technology to “give better, bright pictures.”

Colors are country specific, were unsure which countries will get what colors, but we do know right now the USA will get none of them. Licorice, Fairway Green, Raspberry Crush, Brilliant Blue, Poppy Red, Saffron and White will be splattered randomly across Latin America and Europe in Q2 of this year.

The post Motorola Flipout phone not available in the USA, shaped like a square, runs Android 2.1 with 7 flipping fantastic fancy colors appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Motorola Quench, budget-minded Android smartphone from Rogers

Just because you want to get one of the newest Google Android phones doesn’t mean that you need to take out a second mortgage on your home. Addressing the more affordable end of the market is the newly launched Motorola Quench from Rogers Wireless.  While not getting the same kind of attention as the Motorola Backflip or offering the same kind of high-end finish as the Motorola Milestone, the Motorola Quench can easily hold its own in the Android world. For starters, it gets that MOTOBLUR user interface for quick access to all your online social networks.  That’s why Rogers is calling this a “friend-centric smartphone.” There’s no physical keyboard, so you’ll be using the 3.1-inch touchscreen to take care of just about everything. It does use SWYPE typing technology, so that could help with your speed too. Other features include GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G, and a 5.0MP camera.

No, it’s not the fanciest phone on the block, but it looks like it gets the job done. It’s great to see the different ranges of Android phones being made available to Canadians. Find the Motorola Quench at your favorite Rogers outlet for $49.99 with select three-year plans.

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Well, sort of. Not really. There’s an announcement that came out this week about the three new plans, but Rogers isn’t exactly forthcoming with what these plans will entail. Instead, they’re just saying it’s part of the “Social View” feature.  My suspicions lead me to believe that these services are available somewhere already, and many people are using it, it’s just called Android.

In short, the Rogers “Social View” is a pre-installed feature on select smartphones that will bring together “your contacts’ updates from popular social networks. It also includes a display of recent traditional communications such as texts, calls and instant messages from your contacts.”  Does that sound familiar to you? It should. It’s the same philosophy that seems to be happening with phones like the Palm Pre and Microsoft Kin. On the Rogers front, it seems to be treading in the same territory as HTC Sense, Motorola MOTOBLUR, and Sony Ericsson TimeScape.

The three new plans are called Unlimited Social Addict Plan, Unlimited Socialite Plan, and Unlimited Social Master Plan. So, they’re all unlimited, but in different ways? That’s some strange naming scheme you have, Rogers, are you trying to pull a fast one on us?

The phones that this “new service” is built into are the LG Eve, HTC Magic, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, and up and coming Motorola Quench and Acer Liquid E.

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Motorola DEXT Android Smartphone coming to Bell

Motorola really is falling in love with this whole Google Android thing, eh? The folks at Telus already have the Motorola Milestone and they will be doing the MOTOBLUR thing with the Motorola BackFlip soon. Not to be outdone, Bell Mobility is hopping on the MOTOBLUR train too.

It has been officially revealed that Bell Mobility will be picking up the Motorola DEXT smartphone. In case you didn’t know, that phone comes with Google Android and the social network-focused MOTOBLUR user interface.

If you’re thinking that the Motorola DEXT looks awfully familiar, there’s a reason for that. It was previously revealed to the world as the Motorola CLIQ and it’s playing with the good people at T-Mobile USA.

As a quick refresher, the Motorola DEXT has a 3.1-inch touchscreen display, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard (and a five-way navigator to the left), a 5.0 megapixel autofocus camera, and lots of preloaded Google apps.

While the page still says that the phone is “coming soon,” you have an opportunity to win one of five Motorola DEXt smartphones by signing up for updates. The link is on the Bell DEXT page.

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Motorola Backflip heads to Telus Mobility

The Android evolution continues north of the border. You can already get your hands on such handsets as the HTC Hero, but you will soon have access to the winner of the 2010 CNET Best of Consumer Electronics Show award. The Motorola BackFlip is indeed enroute to Telus Mobility.

This isn’t the first Google Android phone to be sold through Telus, of course, nor is it the first Motorola-sourced Android phone. In addition to the Motorola Milestone, you will be able to flip out with the Motorola BackFlip.

Dubbed the ultimate smartphone, the BackFlip features the same MOTOBLUR user interface that we’ve seen on the Motorola Droid from Verizon. This gives you great access to social networking, personalization, and multitasking.

The unique backward flip design is pretty neat too. There’s a QWERTY keyboard, a large touchscreen, and an innovative touchpad on the back of the touchscreen. And yes, it takes advantage of the Telus 3G+ network, as well as the usual suite of Google Android-fueled goodness.

The press release makes no mention of a launch date or price, so we’ll just have to sit tight for now.

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