Motorola FlipOut � Is it a makeup compact, or is it a smartphone? Review

For a phone retailing for about Rs. 14,500 the FlipOut does work well when it comes to grabbing attention. While the likes of the HTC Wildfire, LG Optimus One and the Dell XCD series offer full touchscreen experience, the Android powered Motorola FlipOut offers a 2.8-inch touchscreen as well as a comfortable QWERTY keypad in such a small form factor.

Anyway, before I wander off into a parallel universe, I am getting back to the FlipOut smartphone review! Manufacturers have been trying for donkeys’ years to try and make their smartphone look different. Some designs have worked. Some haven’t. However, the FlipOut is one phone where the effort truly seems to have worked, at least in getting the attention. Not many people will remember the Nokia 7705 Twist smartphone, since it never actually made it to India. But the FlipOut looks a lot like that. This one has the Android 2.1 operating system pre-installed, with a full QWERTY and a touchscreen.

First Impression

The swivel technique implemented in the FlipOut has been seen on phones earlier as well, particularly the Nokia 7705 Twist. Some like it, while some hate it. Quite frankly, I do not like the swivel design on the phone. Simply, I am paralytically worried that the swivel mechanism won’t last very long under heavy use.

[RELATED_ARTICLE]When you look at the FlipOut at first, there is the 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen. 3 touch based keys below the screen- menu, home and return. On the panel to the right of the screen are the power/lock button and a 3.5mm audio jack. In this position, the volume buttons are currently on the top of the screen. The microUSB port is at the bottom. However, all these button and port placement positions change the moment you flip open the phone. The rear panel has the 3.15mp camera with a tiny portrait mirror next to it. The hands-free loudspeaker is also placed on this panel, but is so slim that it is hardly visible. If you are wondering where the memory card slot is- it can be accessed by opening the rear panel. However, you will not need to remove the battery for this task.

Read on to know about the performance and our verdict…

The 2.8-inch screen has a resolution of 320×240, which is not enough. Not only did the display look bereft of any sharpness, but the colors seemed a bit washed out at certain times. Like most screens, this one also does not work well in bright sunlight. You will literally have to make an effort to make out anything on the screen. The touch response works very well though, which is a saving grace. Response is instant, and sure. Despite a screen size of 2.8 inches, there still seems to be enough real estate on the screen that you do not click on something while attempting to click on something else.

Flip open the phone to reveal a full QWERTY keypad with a 4 way D-pad. It looks like it will be uncomfortable to use, with the bulged keys. However, it is surprisingly comfortable to use. What is the annoying bit is the ‘partition’ running down the middle of the keypad. It is plainly annoying if you are trying to type something really fast, because it just gets in the way. Alternatively, you can use the on-screen keyboard. Generally, navigating through the interface is generally much quicker when you have a keypad and a touchscreen combo, than one or the other individually.

The thing which worries me the most about this phone is the swivel hinge. Even though it feels solid at the moment and has a nice click sound to it, but how many open and close motions can it really go through? I am not very sure about the successful longevity of the mechanism. However, it looks good at the moment, and for most users, that’s what matters!

[RELATED_ARTICLE]The Android 2.1 operating system has been wrapped in the MotoBlur skin, akin to the HTC Sense on HTC phones. The minimalism and non-intrusiveness of the MotoBlur is what impresses me the most. This not only does not slow down the phone (Sorry HTC, but the SenseUI really needs to become less resource hungry.) but yet offers full flexibility with widgets and their placement. Motorola has made minor changes within the OS as well, like adding Battery Manager in the settings menu. None of them have slowed down the phone, which is crucial considering that the FlipOut has a 600MHz processor. No word on a 2.2 (Froyo) update either. But then again, if you do consider the fact that you are getting a full QWERTY and a touchscreen by sacrificing Froyo (for the moment, at least), we would think it’s not that bad a deal.

Speaking of the processor, the 600MHz processor is helped by 512MB of system RAM. This is the primary reason why the phone feels fast and does not slow down when multiple apps are open in the background. The phone’s 150MB storage space will be used by the apps (at least till Froyo comes along and allows shifting apps to memory card). The package will include a 2GB microSD card.

The call quality offered by the FlipOut is good. Even though I may have liked a louder in-ear speaker (need felt in certain noisy environments), the clarity was quite good nevertheless. Call drops was never an issue either.

The 3.15MP camera is a tad disappointing- both in terms of specs as well as performance. At this price, people will always expect a minimum 5MP camera. The performance of this 3.15MP clicker isn’t very great either. While the images clicked from this camera do have lesser noise than some of the other phone cameras, this is because of the artificially reduced sharpness. However, the detrimental effect of that is the fact that images look very soft and dull.

The battery life of the FlipOut is not any better than the other Android phones we have tested. With the brightness turned down to less than 50%, W-Fi and Bluetooth switched off and just basic voice and SMS use, the battery will last a day. Albeit with a bit of juice left at the end of the day. However, not enough to make you leave home the next morning without having charged the phone!

The phone retails currently for a price of Rs. 14,500 making it a steal deal. If you want to use a phone with this form factor, that is. The swivel design will considerably reduce the number of people who will buy this phone, either because some will find it inconvenient while others will plainly hate it. However, the fact is that this phone offers both the touchscreen and QWERTY in a tiny form factor. And is rivaled by phones which only offer touchscreen or QWERTY. For someone who wants the best of both worlds, this may well be the device. Android 2.1 at the moment, it may eventually get the Froyo update. But even at this moment, at this price, this is not a bad deal. If you like the design, that is!

• Quad Band GSM network
• 3G capable
• Android 2.1 OS
• MOTOBLUR UI skin
• 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen (320X240 resolution)
• QWERTY keypad
• TI OMAP3410 600MHz processor
• 512MB RAM
• 150MB internal storage microSD card slot
• 1130mAh battery

Ratings

Features: 4

Performance:4

Build:3

Value: 3

Overall: 3.5

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Vishal Mathur

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