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"Fantastic device" on by Bill Fraley
Pros: Great feel to the device, nice bright display, excellent direct sun visibility, MOTOblur interface and overall form factor is great.
Cons: It's too early to tell but it seems that battery life could be better
Summary: I admit I was skeptical on the the Backflip. I bought one on Sunday anyway and planned to return it in the 30 day window.
After using it for the last few days, I love the phone. I thought the keyboard being on the outside would be a bad thing, actually I like it. It gives the device a secure feeling when holding it. Because you are not just holding a plastic backing it feels very secure in your hand. The keyboard is slightly recessed and almost feels like a grip. The metal body also gives the phone a great feel and it doesn?t show fingerprints. The display is incredibly responsive and is capacitive not resistive. The camera faces you when the keyboard is open and makes for great self-portrait shots. I have picked up typing on the keyboard very quickly and I have no issues with the keyboard at all.
All in all, this phone was a pleasant surprise for me. I do not play games and such on a portable device so the performance on this phone has been more than adequate for me. I like the narrow (candybarish) dimensions and the thickness is about right. This device is only ever so slightly thicker than the Pure I was using prior. I have owned three iPhones and two other Android phones (G1 and myTouch) and I am much happier with the Backflip than any other phone I have owned.
The whole Yahoo instead of Google is not of much concern for me. I already changed my browser to default to Google as the home page. I never really use the widget search bar anyway. I am also confident that some hacks will take care of changing the default back to Google soon enough. I also do most of my searches in wikipedia and there is an app for that.
I am pleasantly surprised by how much I am enjoying the blur interface as well. No real complaints there either. Sure, there are a few things that can improve but nothing is perfect. Time will take care of any minor issues.
Yes, it could have a faster processor but for my needs it doesn?t seem to be an issue. The phone feels solid and the keyboard should hold up as well as any other candybar phone with a keypad does. I am definitely happy with this purchase.
I?m not trying to convince anyone to buy the Backflip, just wanted to give my opinion after using it for a few days. -
"DO NOT BUY!!!!!!" on by scott1349
Pros: I like the screen & the camera is good.
Cons: Almost everything ... screen freezes, shuts off on its own, dials people in call history without touching anything.
Summary: I would suggest looking into other phones. I am on my 3rd backflip b/c ATT wont do sh*t about THEIR phone. I wouldnt recommend this phone to ANYONE.
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"Awesome device. Where's my microwave and my toaster?!" on by cloneciel
Pros: The sensitivity of the screen is amazing. It feels like my ipod touch. It's very precise. The screen looks so crisp, HD looks great. Android is a huge plus, apps are really neat. Sound is crisp clear and it takes NEAT pictures.
Cons: Phone is a bit heavy, but it's no big deal... it heats up a bit also if you try to use it while charging, but that's just like every phone... No other con for me, I really really like this phone, and god knows I'm picky :)
Summary: The lack of 2.0+ firmware is just a bit saddening but it is honestly no big deal considering all you can do with this phone. It might take a bit of time to adapt and find out where everything is, but once you do, it helps you so much. Heck, now I don't have to keep a million membership cards in my wallet anymore! It does everything android does : everything, except microwave and laundry cleaning. For those who complain about not knowing which apps run in the back, well, there's an app (oh irony), who lets you check that, and close the apps running in the back and draining your battery. The phone even becomes a night clock when you plug it in and flip it on your night stand!
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"Good phone, lobotomized by ATT and Motorola." on by fmiller
Pros: Sturdy phone, with a great keyboard and a more than adequate camera. Android 1.5 is better than no android, and the SD card memory functionality is great.
Cons: Cons are a bit too long for the 250 characters allowed here. Read the first paragraph in the bottom-line summary.
Summary: ATT lobotomized the android platform. Google search has been replaced with yahoo, which is disgusting. And they've prevented users from installing any apps that were downloaded anywhere but the android market. (There IS a way around this, so research it!) Motorola failed to include the newest versions (or even relatively new) of Android, giving us 1.5 instead of the newer 2.1 or higher. Hopefully they'll have software updates for us soon.
For die hard (or simply stuck with) ATT customers, the backflip is great. Specifically because it's the only android phone ATT has available. (unless you get an unlocked phone.) Regardless of it's three major crippling features (Yahoo Search, lack of ability to install non-app store apps, and non-updated android) it's still a far sight better than the highly restrictive platform that is the Iphone, and has greater functionality than the available blackberries. There is still hope that Motorola will roll out software updates to get us to the newer Android platforms, which will make the phone far better, but until ATT releases a patch to fix the yahoo search and app installs this will remain a substandard phone. Lots of available information on the backflip at the backflip forums. Any search engine should be able to find them. -
"A welcome replacement to a broken iPhone" on by mikeg281
Pros: Affordable (with contract), I like the flip design, physical keyboard, expandable micro sd memory and Android.
Cons: Not sure why AT&T forces you into using their preinstalled software or why yahoo is the default search with no way to change (reeks of Apple) camera slow to capture pics, Still can't store apps to SD without getting all hacky.
Summary: Calling this phone slow seems to be unfair as it is an entry level android phone. It obviously can't compare to the droid in the horsepower department. Performance has been no slower than my iphone 3g (except the camera). Though the android os may not be as slick as the iphone, being able to have widgets constantly running on your "desktop" and having some apps be able to run in the background more than makes up for any clunkyness in the user interface. State of the art it may not be, but the backflip is a solid and affordable smart phone. I just hope a future update will allow us to get rid of the at&t bloat-ware...don't hold your breath.
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