How good is the backflip phone from at&t?

you get gifts for easter??

Don’t know

I just got the blackflip for my birthday a few days ago. Here’s what I think about it.

Motorola’s BACKFLIP smartphone is an odd duck. Not because it doesn’t perform its tasks in a proper manner – but because it’s somewhat backwards.

The BACKFLIP is another “innovative” Android phone from Motorola – and the first with Google’s operating system to make it to AT&T. It sports a 3.1-inch screen and a real QWERTY keyboard but both of those features are on the outside of the handset’s case.

This is One Odd Duck

The phone flips open so you can type and view the screen at the same time but when flipped closed, you can use the standard Android on-screen keyboard. Thanks to the phone’s odd design, while using the phone in this manner, the hardware keyboard is fully exposed on the back of the device.

After a decent amount of time banging around in a pocket or purse – or possibly falling off a nightstand – I wonder just how pretty your BACKFLIP will still look.

The Duck Gets Odder

Behind the screen – accessible when the phone is flipped open – is a touch pad controller/mouse of sorts. Movements on the back pad are a mirror image of finger movements on the front screen, though, which can be a bit tricky at times.

Swipes with one finger on either the display or the touch pad let you move from one screen to another. When you slide your finger to the right on the front the screen, the screens move to the right of course. When you slide your finger to the right on the rear touch pad however, the screens move to the left.

I know it’s called a BACKFLIP but any new phone design that requires a long explanation about layout and navigation features is odd to say the least.

The BACKFLIP features Motorola’s social networking home screen widgets and sync service, otherwise known as MOTOBLUR. That means the phone runs on a slightly older version of the Android OS (1.5/Cupcake). Because it’s a clamshell design, the 15.3-ounce handset feels somewhat bulky/heavy in your hand despite its manageable overall size (2.0 by 4.25 by 0.6 inches).

The last notable BACKFLIP oddity: even though this is a Google/Android phone, Web searches performed from the home screen are conducted by Yahoo Search. Yahoogle? Googlehoo? I told you this was a bizarre design.

Once you get past the oddities, using the BACKFLIP is very intuitive and fun.

Beneath the Bizarre Case is a Capable Smartphone

The BACKFLIP includes just about everything you would expect in a modern-day smartphone from AT&T, including a 5.0-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, global roaming capabilities and turn-by-turn GPS navigation. There are also a slew of neat software titles like AT&T Maps, AT&T Music, GoogleTalk, Google Maps, MobiTV and plenty more.

AT&T and Motorola boast that the included battery pack offers up to 6.5 hours of talk and as much as 13.5 days of standby time per full charge. As always, the key words here are “up to”. In real life light-to-moderate use (some voice, some messaging, some browsing, some apps, etc), expect to be able to squeeze a day’s worth of battery life out of your BACKFLIP.

Bang for the Buck

It looks like the best feature of the phone is its price. AT&T is selling the Motorola BACKFLIP for $99.99 with a two-year service contract (a voice contract, $30 per month data contract and any activation charges). According to the AT&T website that price breaks down to $199.99 minus a $100 online rebate.

Cell phones that sell for less than $100 fuel the cell phone industry, and the $99.99 price point could help make the Motorola BACKFLIP a big winner with customers. That should explain the overwhelmingly positive customer reviews of the BACKFLIP on AT&T’s website. Motorola BACKFLIP info

Typical price: $99.99 with a two-year agreement

           $349.99 with no contract

Pros: Odd form factor is fun to show off and confuse people with Magic sub-$100 price point MOTOBLUR is great for social networking addicts

Cons: Odd form factor makes excessive wear an inevitability Touch pad is confusing Old version of Android needs to be updated

Verdict: Motorola made an obvious attempt to differentiate the BACKFLIP from similar smartphones by reinterpreting the landscape clamshell form factor. It succeeded, though the cost was a bit too great. Flip phones flip closed so that the screen and keypad are protected, so placing these crucial elements on the outside of the flip is just silly. That said, the unique-factor and sub-$100 price point make the BACKFLIP a great entry-level smartphone for teens and tweens.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

More info: AT&T website