Life’s A Blur With the MotoCLIQ; Hands-On and Review
By: Tariq Bamadhaj (Senior Editor)
The Droid and MotoCLIQ were released within days of each other yet, mention Motorola and Android in the same sentence, and chances are, you’ll hear more about the former than the latter. So was the CLIQ a dud that Motorola should have forgotten about? Or is it a raw diamond that’s just waiting to be held and enjoyed?
Hardware Design
The CLIQ is a looker. That dark chrome finish adds a touch of class and sophistication that you rarely see in a social device. I did wish that there were more buttons on the front, especially a search button as well as a DPAD or trackball but I guess that was more that I was used to having Android devices with those than anything else. After a while of using the CLIQ, I did learn to adapt to this new set up and work with it.
The built quality of the device is great. It does have a bit of a give when the phone the keyboard is hidden, but nothing that bothered me too much. The sliding mechanism is solid and gives you the impression that it can handle all the times you need to whip out the keyboard in a jiffy.
What I particularly liked was the Vibrate slider on the side. No longer do I need to get my phone out of standby and continuously press the volume rocker before going into the cinema or a meeting, just a quick slide and I am done. Even the buttons (e.g. Power and volume) which I initially thought did not come far enough was not an issue in my day to day use.
Keyboard
Here’s where I am sitting on the fence. On one hand, I have heard rave reviews about this aspect of the device and some of my friends who sport a CLIQ also swear by the keyboard. It does have amply-sized keys and that DPAD sure is useful which I’m sure are the reasons for the accolades.
On the other hand, I guess my indecision lies with the fact that I have been spoilt by the HTC Touch Pro 2 keyboard. Thus far, I have not come across a better keyboard than that of the TP2.
All that aside, I did like using keyboard on the CLIQ. It took a lot of getting used to, in fact, it was not until the second week of using it that I started getting used to it. The buttons have a nice feedback about them, making them a joy to type on. The fact that the top row of keys were not too close to the upper half of the device also ensured that experience.
One thing I Motorola could have done to further enhanced that experience was to maximize the space. Sure, each letter on a keypad had an accompanying symbol but that bottom row of 5 keys makes me wonder if they would have fared better converting it into a row of numbers. The position of the DPAD is also one that I find interesting. Most devices that I’ve encountered usually have this located on the right and to be honest, the CLIQ is the first that I came across that actually has it on the left. Like the keyboard, this doesn’t necessarily impact your experience in a negative way, just that it might take you some getting used to.
Camera
The camera on the CLIQ is rated at 5 megapixels, and coupled with its autofocus function, allows you to take some really shots. The camera launches relatively quickly and a small window at the corner shows you the last photo taken, a feature which I thought added a nice touch and provides quick access to your taken photos. Like most camera phones I encountered, the pictures look pretty good when zoomed out but upon closer inspection, you can make out some noise here and there. It gets even more pronounced for pictures taken in low lighting conditions, no thanks to the lack of flash on the MotoCLIQ. For those wondering how those photos turn out, here are raw images of them, just click on each to view the full version:
One thing I noticed, and I think this to be more of a software issue than anything else, was the black screen that I encountered the camera from time to time. Whether it was activating it from the app tray or pressing the camera button, that issue occasionally cropped up. I initially thought that to be because I was geotagging my photos but even turning off that option did not seem to help. Hopefully a software update will resolve this issue.
This is what makes the CLIQ tick and stand out from the rest. Android, in all its glory, still falls short in the social networking department but couple it with MotoBLUR and you have a killer combo. For the uninitiated, think of it like Palm’s WebOS that constantly connects to the web with the sole purpose of keeping you updated with your social networks, be it Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or all of them. No matter what time of the day it is, you no longer have to press refresh every time you launch your social network application of choice as motoBLUR does it all for you. And if you are one of those who update more than 1 social network consistently, you’ll love it’s ability to allow you to do just that.
But that’s not all when it comes to MotoBLUR. The widget on the homescreen is just the beginning. Thanks to Android being an open-source platform, Motorola has integrated this system into your Messaging and Contact application as well. You now have a universal inbox, similar to those found on the Blackberry, where you can view all your messages from all your social networks, emails as well as picture and text messages. If this sounds too overwhelming to you, fret not because you will also have the option to filter out to a specific service and focus on it.
The Contact application also some cool features up its sleeve. Sure all your contacts are loaded from your various networks (email, social, corporate) but what I found pretty nifty was the status updates, both current and recent, of those who are on it. So if you see that Jenna is mad because her assistant didn’t show up, you don’t have to go through hills and valleys to find out that she’s been waiting for almost 2 hours for him. And if your her assistant and have a MotoCLIQ, you’ll see her latest status and prepare yourself for the onslaught that is about to follow when her 36th call comes in. Truly a social networker’s dream phone isn’t it?
And if you thought that was cool, you should see what Motorola has done outside the device. They’ve created a portal for all MotoBLUR users where you can log in and manage your device. Say you’ve misplaced your phone and need to locate it, a quick visit to the portal will show you just where it is. What if you lost your phone? Well hopefully you have insurance to cover the replacement but Motorola takes it a step further and lets you wipe all the data on your phone, even if you don’t have your device password protected.
Battery Life
The social networker’s dream phone does come at a price. As highly rated as the 1500mAh battery is, it never lasted me a full day. There were heavy days when I had to charge it up to 4 times just so I could use it till I go to bed and there were days when a quick hour charge during lunch break was all that was needed when my usage was considerably lighter. While the battery was never dead when I had it charged 4 times that day, it did get low enough that my device would shut down if I didn’t do so in the next hour or two.
I was curious as to how the device would last if I just left it as is and let MotoBLUR do its job so I went to bed one night at 11pm with the battery at 50% and all my services set up: Facebook, Twitter, 1 Gmail, 1 email via IMAP and 1 corporate email. By the time I woke up the next day at 9am, the phone was already dead.
This reminded me of the days when I used the HTC G1 and while Android and manufacturers have improved considerably over the year, the addition of MotoBLUR takes that away, maybe even more. Sure, you could cut down on your networking, but that wouldn’t that defeat the purpose? If you’re looking to get the MotoCLIQ, be sure to have a spare battery handy, or a portable charger, or even both if you are a heavy user!
Reality Grade
The MotoCLIQ is truly a social networker’s dream. If you love keeping up to date with your friends on Facebook and Twitter, you can’t go wrong with it. Its tight integration with your contact and messages is well done though I would have loved for it to have filters and more options during the setup process. By that I mean allowing me to choose which updates I want to see (only those in my contacts and not everyone I follow) and how often I want it updated (once every hour is sufficient for me, and I don’t need any when I am sleeping). With such options, I feel that one would definitely be able to prolong the time between charges of their device.
If you are in the market for a device to keep tabs on your friends and have been wanting to get on Android for a while now, be sure to check out the MotoCLIQ. It’s keyboard will help your push out those updates and MotoBLUR will ensure you send it to all your services in the shortest time possible.
What I Like About It
- Great social network integration
- Inclusion of 3.5mm headset jack
- Free MotoBLUR service to help locate and wipe your phone if needed
- 5 megapixel camera
What Could Be Improved
- A newer version of Android (1.6 would be a nice start)
- More customizations and options when it comes to choosing which contacts to follow
- Addition of a DPAD or trackball on the front would have been nice
- A dedicated number row instead of a bottom row with only 5 buttons
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