Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) yesterday announced Cliq, its first phone incorporating the Android operating system. Motorola hails it as "the first phone with social networking skills." Hogwash.
Check out INQ Mobile for social networking. Cliq is a good, evolutionary product that builds upon other phones, including the Palm Pre and Apple iPhone.
Cliq features "Motoblur" (terrible name!), a graphical user interface (GUI) that overlays Android, for easily navigating and integrating information. The silly name notwithstanding (do you want blurry data?), Motoblur seems slick.
The Cliq employs widgets -- not a new concept -- for information updates and replies. "Happenings" tracks social-networking sites. "Messaging" is for, of course, messages. "News Feeds" is for RSS, and "Social Status" is for updating social-networking sites simultaneously or individually.
Cliq combines messaging services, corporate and/or personal, into one feed. You can view Gmail, SMS, etc. without opening individual applications. When you open a contact name to make a call, you can see the person's messages from email, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
This sort of "information combination" is useful, if it isn't too jumbled. Cliq is evolutionary. Palm Pre, for example, incorporates "Synergy" to combine messaging services.
Also, Cliq automatically saves its data to a server. If the phone is lost or stolen, the data can be wiped remotely, and re-downloaded to a new Cliq.
The phone is a good first step in Motorola's comeback efforts. It will be available in the U.S. this year on, at least, T-Mobile USA .
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