But here’s kicker #1: It’s only on T-Mobile. Kicker #2: It’s running on an older version of Android (unlike the Droid, which will be reviewed next week.).
On, and kicker #3? The phone is heavy...yet feels flimsy.
I remember when Motorola came out with quality phones. Hell, they introduced the V.60, one of the most popular phones on the market—and, one of its greatest features, it was made of aluminum! I even got mine unlocked so that I could use it with AT&T when I switched over to them for the iPhone.
So how about the Cliq?
For starters, it’s running Android 1.5. While it’s definitely an improvement over 1.0, Motorola should’ve put in a larger battery. With absolutely nothing turned on but the phone itself and the social networking aspect (i.e. Twitter and Facebook,) the battery lasted me a maximum of 12 hours, a far shorter amount than my iPhone. And when the screen locked, I expected it to stay locked until I took it out of my pocket, but instead, the buttons were so sensitive that I would pull it out of my pocket and see that, for example, the voice commands were turned on.
The camera is something to laugh at as well. Just like the iPhone 3GS, it’s got a 3.0mp camera, and yet, unfortunately, it doesn’t stand up to its counterpart or even the G1’s camera for that matter—and the G1 has a lower megapixel count. I would’ve expected at least maybe a flash on it or something, but it looks like they wanted to focus more on MotoBlur.
So then, back to Motoblur. It's actually a good idea, in theory. If you’re into social networking, it ties in all the major social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter) into widgets that are put on the homescreen. Whenever a friend updates any of the three, it shows up on the screen. This way, you can instantly respond. It’s a littler nicer than push notification in that regard, but it eats away at the battery...like REALLY eats at it. It’s also another way of syncing with it, in that once you set up an account, it can pull in all your contacts from Gmail or Yahoo!. The one thing I really liked about it (and this is something I just couldn’t find on the G1, but, to be fair, that was with very limited exposure to it) was that when you had Facebook as an account listed, it would pull down the photos automatically of those you had friended. What does this mean for you? Well, for starters, you don’t have to try syncing those photos with your address book anymore. It also means that while you have Facebook on your phone, if you do remove the account, the photos go with it, meaning that the photos are not stored on the phone's internal or external memory.
Speaking of external memory, the phone comes with a 2GB MicroSD card, which is kind of nice. Just months ago you would have had to buy a memory card to insert in your phone if you wanted extra memory. But what annoys me about it is the placement of the card on the Cliq. It’s like they took a page out of RIM’s book when they introduced the Blackberry 8100—the “Pearl.” With that phone, you had to remove the battery just to put in the card. Meanwhile, other companies like Samsung have already put in a slot for the memory card on the OUTSIDE of the phone, for easier access and upgradability.
A little bit ago, I mentioned the Cliq was flimsy, and it definitely feels that way. The plastic felt kind of cheap in my hands, and I was worried that the spring for the sliding screen (which revealed the physical keyboard) would break at a moment's notice. The keyboard felt stiff and, again, because of the feel of the plastic, I felt like I could snap the phone in two...something I definitely did not want to do.
I did show off the phone to several of my coworkers. One of them, on first impression, thought it was an HTC instead of Motorola. Now, I know that HTC has made some great phones, and I’m glad this wasn’t one of them. Considering the fact that they manufactured the G1, and a lot of people still love that phone, suggests to me that if they want to stay with Android, they need to stay away from the Cliq.
So what were my plusses in regards to it? It looks nice, for starters. The screen was clear, and I could easily see what I was doing on it. The widgets on the homescreen really allowed for customizing and personalization, and the speaker quality was excellent. On several test calls, I could clearly hear the person on the other line without any problems. I also loved that when I changed the page, the wallpaper would just subtly move with it. Sadly, the widget and the wallpaper aspects are parts of Android, and the speaker was made by Motorola...and directly against the screen assembly, which could explain why it was so loud.
Finally, the touch interface was really bad. Unlike the iPhone and the G1, the response time was horrible! I would touch and swipe on the screen, and it would take about a second for the screen to respond...the first time. After that, it was smooth sailing. Plus, the flicking withing the menus was clumsy—again, unlike the iPhone or the G1.
I know a lot of you didn’t want a negative review this time around, but frankly, this is a replacement for the Sidekick. If you want something like that, but smaller, get one of these.
Otherwise, get something else that’s more worth the money.
For more info about the tech specs, click here.
Writer's note: The tech specs on the site say that the phone gets 6 hours with regular use. I work 8 hours a day in a store, and I’m not pulling my phone out of my pocket all the time...so how do you explain 12 hours of NON-usage?
Andy Edelheit is a techno geek who works for a computer retailer in Long Island, NY.