Motorola CLIQ XT Android Phone
- 3G-enabled, Google Android OS-powered smartphone with MOTOBLUR social networking; 3.1-inch touchscreen with pinch and zoom capabilities
- Compatible with T-Mobile’s 3G network; Visual Voicemail; GPS-enabled for use with Google Maps and pre-loaded Telenav GPS Navigation (trial version)
- Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g); 5-megapixel camera/camcorder with flash Bluetooth stereo music streaming; microSD expansion to 32 GB personal and corporate e-mail
- Up to 7 hours of talk time, up to 432 hours (18 days) of standby time
- What’s in the Box: handset, rechargeable battery, charger, 2 GB microSD card, wired stereo headset, USB cable, quick start guide
Amazon.com Product Description
Building on the popularity of Motorola′s original CLIQ Android-powered smartphone, the CLIQ XT eschews its predecessor’s slide-out QWERTY keyboard or a fully touch-enabled interface, including a Swype-powered onscreen keyboard. But it still features Motorola′s socially minded MOTOBLUR overlay to the Android OS, which manages and integrates e-mail and social networking activity including Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace.
With MOTOBLUR, social n… More >>
Motorola CLIQ XT Android Phone
I previously had the G1 Google phone which I loved, but had grown tired of the slider physical keyboard. It was still the best phone I had ever owned, with the Android Market apps making it endlessly customizable and ever improving.
So when I went to look for a non-slider Android, my only choices were the MyTouch which I didn’t like the look of, the Samsung Behold II which seemed universally disliked from what I read, and the Cliq XT.
As soon as I held this phone in the T-Mobile store, it was love at first sight.
While not being that much smaller in dimension than the G1, it feels sleeker, lighter and more high tech. The front has a grooved face which might be a dust magnet over time, but the back has a rubberized textured surface that gives the phone a really high quality feel.
Already very familiar with the Android OS from my G1, I was able to jump in immediately. Almost all my apps transferred from the G1. Five homescreens rather than three is a welcome improvement, although I don’t like clutter so I only use two.
The screen is as nicely responsive as the G1, and seems brighter on the lowest setting (necessary to keep on lowest setting, all these smartphones are huge battery hogs). I’m not running the Blur features because I’m not that into Facebook, Twitter, etc. so I can’t speak about what those do to the battery. I’m just relieved they’re optional and not mandatory on the screen.
Which is what’s so great about the Android phones: Just about everything about them is 100% customizable to your tastes/needs. I’ve never touched an iPhone and really have no desire to after seeing what Android can do.
Vast improvements:
*The touchpad replaces the G1′s trackball which was always a bit too sensitive. This makes navigating tiny website links a breeze.
*Web page loading seems much snappier on the XT, even on 2G. Plus uses the great multitouch and pinch feature for zooming.
*The 5 mp camera with flash takes fantastic pictures, unlike the G1 which lacked a flash.
*Separate headphone jack and charging jack: The G1 integrated them in one which seemed foolish in light of how much time was spent charging it.
*Proximity sensor: LOVE. On a call this turns the screen off (rather than locking it like the G1 did) to prevent mistaken key presses. When you pull it away from your face (to use a numeric call menu for instance) it turns the screen back on. This should be on every phone.
*Virtual keyboard: The whole reason I got this was to get away from the physical keyboard. While it comes loaded with Swype, I found that to be very inaccurate with an annoying pop-up screen constantly trying to guess what you typed. Instead there’s a Swype-style app on the market called SlideIT that works the same only far more accurate, with larger keys and fully customizable shortcut dictionary. It isn’t free (I paid about $8), but worth every penny in my opinion.
*Speaker on the front rather than the back. Now music sounds loud and clear. The G1′s speaker was on the back making audio muffled, making earphones required practically at all times.
Combined with Motorola’s superior call quality, this phone is a solid unit that fits well in your pocket and feels great in your hand. I really can’t think of anything bad about it except the battery life (1 to 1-1/2 days if you don’t use it constantly), but the G1 did a good job of lowering my expectations there. People complain about the firmware being out of date (still running 1.5, waiting for 2.1), but not knowing what I’m missing the XT’s performance is more than enough for my needs.
Rating: 5 / 5