The Motorola Backflip hit AT&T on Friday and for most people the cost will be $99.99 with a $100 mail-in-rebate and 2-year contract. From the pictures I have seen the phone esthetically looks nice, but not exactly the phone I would put on AT&T to go head-to-head with the iPhone. Â Isn't this AT&T's first Android phone? Maybe that is why they chose something that absolutely would NOT compete with the iPhone, yet, still let them get their toe in the water, so to speak.
Rod's Crazy Opinion
It is interesting that, unlike the Motorola Droid and HTC Eris, the standard Android fixed keys are missing the search key. While it is on the flip keyboard it is not on the touch screen. I hope I am reading the Motorola site wrong, but it says the Backflip is running Android 1.5 and is upgradable to 2.1. Please give me a logical reason why Motorola and AT&T would release a phone today running an out-of-date operations system. This to me is beyond stupid. Imagine you're a stupid executive making a decision to release the Motorola Backflip on AT&T and you hear this idea, lets go against the strongest selling smartphone on the market today, the iPhone, with sluggish hardware and out of date operating system. Maybe it was not presented that clearly but even with sugar on top it's stupid. Screw that, keep your money in your pocket.
Rod's Rational Opinion
Not every phone is going to be able to run the latest Android OS, because it does require a certain level of hardware to really shine. Yes, those older phone models will probably get some semblance of 2.1, but it won't be full 2.1 if the hardware can't support the whole package. In every stable, there needs to be multiple entries, so that if the customer can't afford the higher cost of the latest phone, they can still play in the game at a lower level. Just because  I want the latest, doesn't mean that it's the right choice for everyone. Sometimes "tried and true" is also a valid choice, especially if it is virtually free (except those awful monthly fees!).
As always the choice is yours. Â Are you buying the backflip?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I like this post!
Thanks for helping flush out both sides of the argument.
I bought it and will be returning it promptly as, according to the Motorola support tech I spoke with, it does not have an “allow untrusted sources” (enables web installs) “due to carrier restrictions” Otherwise nice phone, but AT&T screwed it. Returning
I was just reading over on TechCrunch how AT&T has locked this down similarly to the iPhone where Apps can only be installed from Android Market.
Yeah, and being locked into using Yahoo Search? What’s up with that? I am going to buy a Google OS and use Yahoo search… Just doesn’t fly. Also, some reports seem to indicate that the fact that you can’t install from ‘untrusted sources’ takes away the possibility of backing apps up to SD Card and then reloading them later. If am app is pulled from Market, you are Sorry Out of Luck! Does AT&T think this is an Apple phone?