Some leaked images today revealed that Motorola is planning a new square-shaped Android-based smartphone called FlipOut, according to Gizmodo Brazil.
The new phone, originally codenamed Ruth, will be similar in style to the Nokia 7705 Twist, but will run the Android 2.1 OS with the MotoBlur UI overlay. This is in line with the aim that this phone will focus on social notworking and will be the first Android 2.1 phone to use the MotoBlur mod.
The new device will come in several colours, including black, green and pink, has a 2.8-inch screen, QWERTY keyboard, a 700MHz processor, 512MB internal storage, 256MB RAM, GPS, and a 3.1 megapixel camera. 3G and WiFi details have not yet been confirmed.
It's clear that Motorola is hoping to take a share of the cheap smartphone market, competing with the Nokia Twist and Microsoft Kin phones, among others. It will all depend on the price, however, as this entire range of phones is geared towards getting younger people to buy. The problem, of course, is that even if the initial purchase price is cheap, phone network deals are often pretty expensive for the limited data usage you get. As long as that remains the same these phones may never truly take off.
The release date is set for June.
Here's why.
The FlipOut is running Android 2.1, which is a very capable and mature OS, that has a huge app store of applications that the user is able to install. Android has some very good social networking apps, such as the Android Twitter app.
The Microsoft Kin is missing many features. No calendar. No predictive text. No IM. 15-minute message delays. It is hopeless, utterly hopeless at Twitter, being unable to send direct messages, retweet, and unable to upload photos to Twitter. You could call it dysfunctional. Worst of all, the Microsoft Kin does not allow you to load any apps that you choose.
So which would you choose? The FlipOut, that you can customize and load apps onto. Or the Kin, which is missing functionality, and doesn't allow you to load any apps? The choice is obvious.