Phones

Motorola Cliq Quick Hands On

I got a brief chance to handle the Motorola Cliq Android phone—no pictures yet, unfortunately—and came away pleasantly surprised. The phone itself is around as tall as an iPhone, but it’s definitely thinner than most QWERTY sliders.

Compared to the G1 this thing is svelte, and the keyboard is aligned correctly with the screen so there’s no weird jarring going on when you’re typing. The addition of the D-Pad is going to be fantastic for gaming/emulation gaming, and works like a D-Pad when navigating the phone as well. Very useful.

The sliding mechanism feels solid and desirable, as in I want to open and close the thing all day just to hear the sound. The version I saw was white, and the finish was classy without being ostentatious, and definitely not cheap feeling. There’s a heft to it, but it’s definitely not heavy.

Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)

  • tehsquish - Still plays Ultima O

    Hooray! Maybe I don't have to tell my wife that buying Moto stock was a bad idea.

    tehsquish - Still plays Ultima Online

  • InfoMofo

    Looks exciting! Did you get to try the web browsing experience? Have they solved some of the interface issues like zooming that many people complained about on previous android phones?

  • TonyWonder

    looking good except there's so much real estate wasted on the face. Why couldn't they extend the screen more? Would it throw off the aspect ratio too much? That screen could easily be an extra half inch bigger imo

  • Lupus_Yonderboy

    What's the touchscreen like? Capacitive? Resistive?

    Lupus_Yonderboy

  • OCEntertainment

    Man, first chance I get, I'm going down to whatever store is gonna have a working demo and fiddling with this thing.

    Android is really starting to get super exciting.

  • TheSonOfKrypton

    Hey iPhone.....! Can you say C-c-c-c-c-c-c-combo breaker!!!!????

  • Dr.Jeckyl

    That D-pad is very welcoming. Is that a trackball in the middle of it?

  • jozen

    i hate that logo in the corner

    if you buy the phone, you probably know who its made by and everyone else can just ask

  • ready2mosh

    Did you get a chance to type on it? If so doesn't the dpad get in the way or the vorder buttons get in the way?

    ready2mosh

  • SigmundTheSeaMonster

    Motroid FTW!

    SigmundTheSeaMonster

  • dingus

    @Lupus_Yonderboy: With the touch controls placed seamlessly at the bottom it looks like it's capacitive on glass... but like the Touch Pro looks can be deceiving.

    dingus

  • asten77

    This looks pretty good to me. In playing with the "other" big smartphone out there, i found the lack of multitasking was just a hideous dealbreaker, aside from my ethical qualms about supporting apple. Can't wait for the other phones to be announced!

    asten77

  • MarcusMaximus

    All sounds great... except that it has the normal 528MHz Qualcomm processor. With all those crazy widgets, etc, this thing is gonna go slow as hell. (Source:[developer.motorola.com])

    MarcusMaximus

  • OCEntertainment

    @badasscat: *tries*

    .....

    Darn you.

  • badasscat

    I dare you to say "Cliq Quick" four times fast.

  • Russell Lynn

    @TheSonOfKrypton: Holy Crap! You just used a Killer Instinct reference!

    Win Win Win!

    Russell Lynn

  • adhir

    this may be the iphone-with-a-keyboard i've been waiting for. plus it's android, without apple's sketchy app-store approval process.... and to top it all off, it's not at&t! of course, it is t-mobile, which is sort of like, well, crappy. hopefully moto makes a version of this for verizon...

    adhir

  • elgringoguapo

    @Dr.Jeckyl: I don't think so. Just a select or enter kind of button.

    elgringoguapo

  • elgringoguapo

    @amlamarra: Verizon's problem is they would want to put their own UI over Moto's UI which is over the Andriod UI. That just doesn't sound like it would be effective.

    elgringoguapo

  • hfm

    @MarcusMaximus: I hear the latest patch for the hero's SenseUI sped that up a heap, so I have hope it wont suck.. and it supports Exchange ActiveSync out of the box it appears.. brilliant!

    hfm

  • Tmacfan4321

    @adhir: Sholes!

  • amlamarra

    Indeed. I wish Verizon were getting this phone.

    amlamarra

  • XanderCrews

    Uh oh. I though I was all set with the Hero, and now this? Maybe I'll just wait for the first android device with Snapdragon or Tegra - there has to be one in the works.

    XanderCrews

  • Tony Bostony

    @badasscat:

    why, you sonofabatch!

    Tony Bostony

  • Ambiguous Blob 2.0

    @sicknick: Surprisingly, every other site says it has WiFi?!?....

  • Ambiguous Blob 2.0

    @sicknick: Yes, it's as plain as day in the first photo...

  • Ambiguous Blob 2.0

    Color me intrigued, but this actually looks really really really cool. I can't believe I'm actually thinking of getting a Motorola phone for the first time in like, like, like ever... go figure. I was dead set on getting the Nokia N900 too after doing tons of research online about it since it's announcement... For the first time ever I feel like I finally have choices with Tmo. Yay me! I can't wait to see what the reviewers say about them both and what prices end up looking like this fall when all of this stuff finally hits!

    @ Jason, any indication of what the price on this beast is going to look like with a contract? What's the Multimedia and PIM syncing situation looking like with Mac and Adroid handsets btw, anyone? And before anyone mentions it, I don't want to share any of my personal information with Google, one of the main reasons I've avoided making the jump to Android yet..

  • sicknick

    @sicknick: Ok, answered my own question. Too bad about no WiFi. Nevermind. I need WiFi. I won't pay for a data plan when I'm always around WiFi.

    Boo.

    sicknick

  • sicknick

    Has anyone answered the question if it has a 3.5mm headphone jack? If so, it's pretty much perfect.

    Now if only AT&T would get it.

    sicknick

  • IMT00FIERCE

    what networks? If it makes it to verizon im getting it when my current blackberry contract expires

    IMT00FIERCE

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