First Looks: Motorola FLIPOUT
The Android 2.1 based Motorola FLIPOUT stands out with its unique square and compact design, but how does it fare against the many Android devices in the market? Hit the jump to find out.
Squaring it out
Experimenting with the form factor is usually taken lightly in the world of mobile phones and dismissed as a frivolous attempt to attract the fashionistas. The Motorola FLIPOUT seems to fit in this category, but should we take it more seriously than it looks? While the 'flip' concept isn't exactly groundbreaking and has been done before, Motorola definitely gets points for coming up with a square mobile phone.
Green is one of the four colors you can choose from to dress the FLIPOUT - the interchangeable covers are given in the box.
Lookin' Different
The Motorola FLIPOUT has a spunky square form factor that resembles more of a pocket MP3 player. The FLIPOUT is very short as a result - almost half the height of usual smartphones. It ends up hefty and bulky in comparison, and frankly speaking, we had some difficulty trying to squeeze it into our jeans' pocket. Likewise, it is slightly too wide to fit comfortably in our palms.
On flipping the top part out, you gain access to its five-row QWERTY keyboard. The buttons are a tad narrow and small, but they have good tactile feedback. We generally approved of the layout of the keys, with a few exceptions: the spacebar is too short for our liking and the placement of the directional keys at the bottom left didn't quite make for an ergonomic experience. Otherwise, messaging was adequately speedy and easy to get used to.
The five-row QWERTY keyboard.
As usual, buttons have been kept to a minimum on the FLIPOUT. There are three touch-sensitive buttons for Settings, Home, Back, all standards for an Android device, on a thin strip that is sadly prone to accidental touches when swiping across the touch screen. These are further complemented by three more touch screen buttons - Contacts, Apps Menu, Call - that are strangely positioned at the right of the screen, possibly due to the lack of space.
At the bottom (left to right): Settings, Home, Back. To the right (top to bottom): Contacts, Apps Menu, Call.
Features and Performance
The Motorola FLIPOUT comes with Android 2.1, and so far, nothing significant has been added or changed, so Android users should feel at home with it. Those wondering if the FLIPOUT will be getting a Froyo (Android 2.2) over-the-air update will be duly disappointed: no official announcement has been made so far. However, it is important to note that unlike most phones, the FLIPOUT's screen is longer on the vertical side, which can mess up the presentation and layout of certain apps or widgets not designed for such a screen orientation.
A couple of irregularities that we spotted while using the device for the review.
Navigating through the touchscreen was not extremely responsive or snappy, but adequate. The Internet experience was quite fast, but suffered from the small screen, unique orientation and low resolution.
The sound quality here was not much to shout about, with flat vocals and bass. The 3.1-megapixel camera gave dismal results, with fuzziness and discoloration spotted on all our photos. What made the experience worse was that there isn't any physical camera button and the menu appears drab and unintuitive. On the bright side, the camera has a few extra features like Kodak Perfect Touch (selectable after a shot is taken) that enhances your shot - colors appear brighter and more eye-catching along with a self-explanatory Panorama Assist function.
Conclusion
At $469, the Motorola FLIPOUT is suited for someone who sees a mobile phone more as a fashion accessory and likes standing out from the crowd. The phone itself is functional enough with a couple of bugs (e.g., orientation), but lacks credibility in the multimedia aspect due to its 2.8-inch, 320 x 240 pixel screen, lackluster camera, audio and video performance. The QWERTY keyboard does fine but its keys might be too small for some. But most of all, this Android 2.1 smartphone needs more than a unique form factor to keep it differentiated from the growing number of entry-level competitors that come with Android 2.2.
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.