I wanted to get a better understanding of just what the new Motorola Cliq was all about. We know that is an Android phone, but there is a growing number of Android phones out there. What would make the Cliq unique in the rapidly expanding smartphone universe? To find out, I started reading what the newspapers had to say.
In a Washington Post article about the Cliq, Motorola’s co-CEO and head of mobile devices,Sanjay Jha, said:
“I see this as a first step in a long journey where we develop the kind of products which are really relevant for consumers.” “I think for Motorola to retain its tech edge and reputation for engineering, it really has to hit a home run – not necessary with this particular phone, but with its phones in the coming year, including this one.”
A noble goal to be sure, and one that provides Google Android fans with another major device manufacturer in the mobile phone market. But what does it really do; besides making phone calls that is? How will the Cliq be different from T-Mobile’s other Android phone, the HTC Dream known as the G1? For the answer to that question, I turned to an article in the New York Times.
“[The Cliq] is meant for young people obsessed with social networks. Instead of the traditional menu of features, the Cliq’s home screen is an ever-changing mosaic of e-mail, Twitter tweets and status updates, superimposed over photos of the people sending those messages.”
The key to all the magic of this phone is Motorola’s Motoblur (video). Motoblur is essentially a technology that pulls data into your phone from multiple online sources such as your personal and corporate email account, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and more. It is Motorola’s answer to Palm’s Synergy technology that first appeared earlier this year in the Palm Pre’s webOS operating system.
So now it makes sense. The Cliq is Motorola’s and T-Mobile’s social networking smartphone for teens and 20-somethings. While T-Mobile hasn’t announced the price of the Cliq with a new subscription yet, the feeling from around the web is that the Cliq will run about $100. There is also talk of a more expensive version of the Cliq that is headed to Verizon Wireless later this year that will include additional features. That phone is expected to be available “for the holiday season.”