Motorola Cliq
Phone Scoop Review
Oct 14, 2009 by Eric M. Zeman
Motorola comes out swinging with the new CLIQ, its first Android phone. The CLIQ uses MOTOBLUR to stream social networking content to the home screen. Does Motorola hit a home run, or a foul ball? read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Android is Amazing
My choice was between the CLIQ, iPhone and MyTouch. I'm so glad I got the CLIQ. Android is amazing and Motoblur is great.
PROS:
* Keyboard -- Most natural I've ever used. Very solid feeling and large keys for ALT, ENTER and SEARCH. D-Pad is very useful, especially on web page links.
* Motoblur -- I spend so much less time on Facebook and Twitter but participate so much more. Great feed of friends' statuses and photo gallery uploads. One click to comment on a status or picture. The "News" RSS feed widget is so convenient and very easy to add new feeds.
* Multitasking -- Constantly helpful. The switcher is very convenient.
* Camera -- 5 MP is amazing and has auto-focus.
* No Docking -- Automatically syncs with Google contacts and Google calendar.
* Delicious -- Delicious bookmarks integrates right into the "Share" menu of the web browser. Android gives apps power to integrate functionality within other apps.
* Buttons -- "Menu" and "Back" buttons really help.
* Silent Mode -- Dedicated button for enabling silent mode.
CONS:
* Battery Life -- Lasts about 4 hours on Pandora over 3G, 6 hours on Pandora over WiFi. Lasts about 20 hours with periodic usage. Let drain completely for 3 days to calibrate meter.
* Touch Sensitivity -- Sometimes has a hard time differentiating between swipe and click.
* Screen Size -- 3.1 in. is a bit smaller than iPhone 3.5 in. or Droid 3.7 in.
NOTEWORTHY:
* Hanging -- Hangs sometimes, but always snaps out of it quickly when I open and close the keyboard.
* Browser Rendering -- Unlike the iPhone, the CLIQ browser tries to fit the page to the screen. This has advantages and disadvantages. Some pages are easier to read, but some pages are crunched or funky unless you zoom way out.
* Multi-touch -- It would definitely help, but not a big deal.
* Camera Flash -- I had a phone with a camera flash, but it basically does nothing. The best thing to do is use the free Photoshop Mobile app to lighten the pictures--flash isn't really needed.
Cliq.. great phone
I have had a variety of different phones and besides all the iphone hype. I did not enjoy the iphone and I really didn't enjoy AT&T, but that is a completely different story. I love T-Mobile and I love the cliq. I was not real happy to hear that the cliq was not coming with 2.0 OS on board, but other than that this phone is amazing. It allows me to do things with a phone that I never thought possible. I love Moto Blur, and I really enjoy the interface. Motorola is a great company, a little weird about the whole OS thing, especially when the Droid came out 4 days after this phone. I think that the cliq is above and beyond anything you can possibly expect from a phone. The phone's interface is a little complicated, but that is one of the main things I like about it, it is not a easy to get used to, but after you get the hang of it, it will blow your mind. The processor is not the fastest one on the market, but well above popular phones. The one down fall that I can think of is that it does not run 2.0 or 2.1, which is a huge downfall, but GOOGLE has the best available OS on the market, in my opinion, if you do not get an ANDROID phone then you are living in the past because ANDROID phones and phones like it are the FUTURE. So MOTO great job. the cliq is done. 5 stars.
New Motorola Cliq First Impressions
Traded a Sidekick LX 2009 for the Cliq.
After about 4 days, so far so good. Also, cudos to Tmobile for a smooth transfer of a former Verizon number to the new phone.
Pros:
Super looking phone and the hardware appears to have a solid build quality.
Quick and responsive for web and email.
Great keyboard - a real feature.
Bright and easily readable screen.
Lots of interesting and useful applications (but see Con below).
Great speaker phone - can actually hear the thing.
Better as a phone than the Sidekick which is a death device is one tries to dial while......er driving!
Easy setup and seamlessly ported Gmail contacts and calendar.
Cons:
No intuitive way to stop running applications and exit. For example, the music player doesn't seem to have a stop or an exit feature, .
Can't easily determine how to download applications (at least those found at http://www.android.com/market/). Those within the TMobile Marketplace work ok.
Battery life - terrible, only lasting about 8 hours or so. Perhaps this is due to its constant updating of news, etc while on.
In summary, I'm not sorry to have bought the Cliq but do suggest being prepared for a different learning curve than what one may be used to with say a Windows Mobile phone.
luv it
i jus recently got his phone n i am pretty happy with it, i got the blkberry 8520 couple months ago but this was itching at me 2 get it along with it n it is def worth it,
Pros:
High Res screen
5mp cam
luv the big size(not much a fan of the small n flat)
Screen size is great
Android OS
Android Market
Motoblur is cool
Loud Speakers
Music Player is cool
Free memory card
Customizable
3G works wonderfully, this phone works where my blackberry doesnt!
The battery holds up waaaaaaaaaay better than wat people hve said.
Cons:
A bit of lag here n there especially wen u switch screens.
Calibrating the compass is kinda annoying, i guess i'm jus a lil slow on tht part,
Overall:
this phone is def a balla's phone, it is nice lookin, full of features, n Android is def keeper! im satisfied n happy, n i highly suggest this phone if u lookin 4 an alternative 2da Iphone. i gave it a 4.5 b/c i feel as if this was a great execution n woulda been better w/o the lag,
Not bad, but not for me
I owned the phone for 2 weeks and it was enough for me to realize I preferred my G1 better. They tell you that the processor is faster, but when you compare the specs, it's exactly the same. I'm not a social networking person, all that on my screen was just clutter for me. But if you are, you'll like that you can update your status right there on your screen and see your friend's status even in your contacts list, etc. But again, not a selling factor for me. Camera is nice, yes, but again, I really don't do anything with the pics I take on my phone except to text them to someone here and there. I have a camera I use to actually take family pics for. As of today I've sent the phone back and am trying the My Touch, if that fails, I'll gladly go back to my G1.
Pros: Networking options (if that's your thing, though it wasn't mine.)
Camera: Does take great pics and I liked having the zoom. But you can get that in an app on the market as well for the My Touch and G1.
Call Quality: Great along with speaker phone was very loud.
Headphone jack: 3.5 which a lot of people seem to rave about, but nothing I care about. Either is fine for me.
Cons:
Keyboard: I HATED the layout. The upper keys are far too close to the phone and it makes it very hard to use them without hitting the wrong key. I am a big txt msger so that was important to me. I'm a girl, and have never had that issue with my G1.
On screen keyboard: Mine was horrid. Dead spots all the time. Though I honestly believe that was just a matter of a "bad batch". I'm sure a replacement phone would have corrected that. (I hope)
Slot to charge the battery: This may sound odd, but I HATED where they placed the charging area. It made it hard to see the phone right side up when charging it, either at home or in the car.
All in all, it's all about preferences really. As far as the phone as a whole, it's a good phone. I just didn't care about the "perks" it had to offer. So back to the Google phones for me! :-)
Not too bad...
Finally! Another Android phone with a full keyboard! Overall, this phone is decent. Good slide action, nice screen, better touch screen keyboard. But is it enough of a jump from the G1 to make you buy now? Here is the break down:
PROS:
LOUD speaker- VERY LOUD
5 Megapixel Camera
Headphone jack!!! (Finally)
D-Pad, fun for videogame emulation
CONS:
Thick and Bulky
Heavy
Bad Keyboard Layout
MotoBlur makes no sense for someone who doesnât want to tweet or update their Myspace status.
Same Speed processor as the G1
Small Screen- NO improvement from Mytouch or G1.
Micro USB charging is a pain!
Trackball is missed for navigation!
Battery Life
NO 1.6 Android Update
Button Layout Inconvenient
Only a 2GB Micro SD comes with it. (4GB with MyTouch)
Overall, itâs nice to see another Android phone, but this is not what I had in mind. I was hoping for something that didnât have so many issues. The very first time I powered it on, the first that popped up was a force close. But who knows, maybe Iâm being too critical.
Good, and bad sides
Being my first android based device, I was pretty stoked to get the cliq. The motoblur feature is awesome, and the customization options of the android os are amazing. But my one major gripe is that less than three days after getting it, an accidental drop, and the whole display had spider web style cracks on it! Motorola should have really designed these things with a better quality screen. I'm now having to replace a device I paid retail cost for! Honestly people, if you're wanting an android based device, HTC's models may be the best bet.
Pros:
Android O.S.
Cons:
Battery life
Poor quality construction
A for effort,
I just upgraded my contract and had the option of getting the cliq or mytouch 3g. I went with the cliq for keyboard, 3.5mm jack, better camera, and a little bit more ram. However when I got the phone I thought it was the best phone ever but after using it for a few days I started to noticed some flaws. Some pros and cons are:
PROS:
5 customizable screens
Motoblur can have widgets that are streamed continuously
Fast interface
Loud Speaker
Can locate phone if lost, erase memory if lost, backup new phone from stored info if lost.
Qwerty keyboard
CONS:
Poor battery life (must charge everyday)
Poor design of slider (Feels flimsy like it's gonna break, reason why I returned it)
Kinda Big and thick.
Qwerty keyboard a little cramped.
Interface a little buggy (sometimes acts up and won't answer calls or hangs up)
Motoblur a little too much if you don't use social networks.
These are just a few pros and cons that I experienced using this phone but I can careless about motoblur because I'm not into social networking. I need something that is a phone FIRST and a toy second. Simple basic phone functions take getting used to and I switched to a mytouch 3g and am much happier with that. Try it for yourself and you may like it but it's just not for me.
What a great phone!!!!!!!
This phone is great!!!! Truly one on a kind!!! If you don't have this phone go out and get one........ Way to Go T-Mobile!!!!!!
Another MotoBOMB
Well, even before this phone came out, being a firm believer in motogarbage. I knew this phone would be horrible. The motorola rep said no its going to be great and have better battery life than the g1 or mytouch. Seeing motos track record of HORRIBLE devices I had no doubt it would be junk
Pros:
- Android
Cons:
-Motorola
-Android 1.5
-Keyboard its hard and difficult to use
-buttons are hard to press
-feels like its held on by dried grape jelly
-always hit enter when you want to hit delete
-many people have experienced the same problem i had, random restarts
-camera button works when it wants.
-battery lasts 6 hours when you send 1 text and make 1 phone call
-did i mention its a motorola
Stay away from this phone, there is plenty of great android phones out. Mytouch,g1,behold2. so far it has a return rate of 86%.
