backflip

Best of CES 2010: Where are they now?

Let's face it: CES is often about hype. New products, new promises, and a lot of very thick carpeting greets us every year, and as we sort out what impressed us most about the show, we can only hope that some of these gadgets actually deliver.

With CES 2011 just around the corner, it's a perfect time to take a look back at the year that was, and see how the biggest stories of CES 2010 fared. Some of them did remarkably well, including our best-of-show winner, the Panasonic TC-PVT25 Others, not so much (remember the Motorola Backflip?). … Read more

Minor software update for Backflip now available

Motorola issued a software update to AT&T's Backflip this week to address the touch screen, messaging, Bluetooth, and more. Very similar to the Cliq update from a few months back, it's a minor release designed to improve the phone's overall performance.

Among the changes customers should notice are improvements to battery life, text messaging, device stability, and 3G connections. Other, less noticeable, tweaks address streaming audio and video interruptions and better audio through Bluetooth headsets. Motorola offers more information about the update on its support page.

On a related note, the Backflip is still scheduled … Read more

Leaked Samsung i897 shows AT&T getting serious about Android

AT&T looks like it is ready to be taken seriously when it comes to Android. A recent string of leaks indicate that a rather powerful Samsung handset is right around the corner, ready to battle the likes of the Droid Incredible.

The latest phone to surface, the Samsung i897 is rumored to be running Android 2.1 and powered by a Snapdragon 1GHz processor. In fact, almost every hardware detail from the i897 matches up to the Samsung Galaxy S.

Late last week, the AndroidGuys published the first "in the wild" shots of the phone, which … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1181: ACTA: it's bad for the brand (podcast)

The European Parliament is, somewhat unexpectedly, riding to the world's rescue by demanding that the super evil ACTA agreement be negotiated in the open and that the three-strike ISP provisions be taken out. Well, hot damn! That's big news! I mean, that Cisco router is big news, too, but it just doesn't have the same sexy factor.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1181

Cisco’s big announcement was a really fast router; AT&T has tested it http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-10466043-266.html http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0594332.htm… Read more

Trio of Motorola Android handsets headed to Canada

Canadian Google Android fans got more good news this week when Motorola announced a trio of handsets were headed north of the border. The three phones--the Quench (known as the Cliq XT south of the border), Backflip, and Dext (aka the Cliq in the U.S.)--each run Motorola's Motoblur user interface on top of Android. The smartphones are scheduled to arrive sometime within the first half of this year.

Though we don't know which carriers will get the handsets, three major Canadian service providers, Rogers, Bell, and Telus, are mentioned in the official press release.

Between this … Read more

AT&T's Motorola Backflip reviewed

On March 7, AT&T will release its first Google Android smartphone, the Motorola Backflip, for $99.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate.

The Backflip made its debut at CES 2010 where it earned our Best of CES award for the cell phones and smartphones category because of its unique design, which includes a rear-facing QWERTY keyboard and a trackpad behind the display. Unfortunately, after now spending some time with the final product, this seems to be the only real highlight of the phone.

The Backflip suffers from performance issues and runs Android 1.… Read more

Motorola Backflip to land at AT&T March 7

We can't say this was a complete surprise, but AT&T made it official and revealed that its first Google Android smartphone, the Motorola Backflip, will be available starting March 7 for a rather attractive price of $99.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate.

First making its debut at CES 2010 and also our Best of CES winner in the cell phones and smartphones category, the Backflip features Motoblur software and a rather unique design.

The flip phone opens up like a book. Behind the 3.1-inch touch screen you'll find something … Read more

AT&T to sell Moto Backflip March 7?

We know that AT&T will get its first Google Android handsets this year, and now we might have an idea when the first model will come. Android blog Phandroid is reporting this afternoon that the Motorola Backflip is slated for a March 7 launch.

According to a source, the smartphone will cost $324 before any carrier subsidy. That's considerably less than the unsubsidized price for any other Android phone and a fraction of the $530 being asked for Google's Nexus One.

It wouldn't surprise me to see this handset priced around $100 with a two-year … Read more