Moto's Backflip bending over backward with Android
As promised, Schaumburg-based Motorola Inc. introduced another handset in its Google Android lineup this week.
This one is called Backflip with a reverse flip-up design and Backtrack, a touch pad on the backside for quick access to scroll-through content. The phone also has MotoBlur, the same system that was introduced with Moto's Cliq that syncs your messages, photos and other posts from Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Gmail.
Motorola unveiled Backflip at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and displayed it along with Cliq and Droid for the U.S. market and other new phones for overseas, especially China. It also unveiled a prototype Android tablet PC with a 7-inch screen.
"The Backflip will appeal to people who like to be able to do a lot of messaging and to people who want to stand out from the crowd," said Motorola marketing Vice President Melissa Gardner, who is based at the Mobile Devices business in Libertyville.
The Backflip has a reverse-flip keyboard and a high-resolution 3.1-inch screen. The Backtrack feature allows you to touch a panel on the other side of the device, allowing you to scroll through the Web, texts, e-mails and news feeds without obscuring the home screen. she said.
Gardner and other Motorola officials declined to say how much Backflip will cost when it's available to consumers in March. They also said the carrier would be announced at that time. AT&T Inc. said this week it's set to carry another Motorola Android phone, but didn't reveal which one yet. Analysts speculated that Backflip will be carried by AT&T, which has its Midwest headquarters in Hoffman Estates.
"I'm encouraged to see Motorola introduce the new phone and lineup with AT&T and Verizon," said Mark McKechnie, an analyst with Broadpoint AmTech Inc. in San Francisco, speaking from CES. "But part of the concern with Android is that Motorola can't control the system, so they're going to face a lot of competition."
He referred to other companies featuring Android as well as Google itself with its Nexus One, which also debuted this week.
Still, competition is healthy, said Jane Zweig, CEO of The Shosteck Group, a wireless technology research firm in Columbia, Md.
"The form factor and the functions (of Backflip) sounds very much like what consumers will find interesting," Zweig said.
Zweig praised the Motorola Android portfolio, saying it could help boost the company after years of duds.
"If anyone could pull a rabbit out of a hat, it's (Motorola CEO) Sanjay Jha," Zweig said. "He understands technology, and he understands consumers."
Besides phones, Motorola also demonstrated its wireless high-definition video streaming over a Verizon Wireless LTE network with its own 4G LTE mobile platform. LTE means long-term evolution, or fourth generation technology.
Verizon plans to roll out its LTE network this year. Motorola technology using this network will deliver video and mobility solutions that support their customers' new business models.
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