Search for "backflip" - 4/5 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Found 41 articles

Aug

Motorola Updates Timelines For Android Updates, Good News And Bad News For MOTOBLUR Phones

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Android OS, Backflip, CLIQ / DEXT (Morrison), CLIQ XT (Zeppelin), Devour, Droid (Sholes), Droid 2, Droid X (Shadow), Eclair 2.1, Froyo 2.2, Motorola

No phone manufacturer is as fast with software updates as customers would like them to be, but Motorola has been particularly bad, especially with some of their MOTOBLUR phones which are still stuck on Android 1.5. But they do seem to be taking a step forward with a new timeline that lists when each of their phones around the world will be receiving updates to a later version of Android.

USA

BACKFLIP (USA)
Upgrade to Android 2.1 planned for Q3

CLIQ (USA)
Upgrade to Android 2.1 - testing in process, planned for late Q3/early Q4

CLIQ XT (USA)
Upgrade to Android 2.1 - testing in process, planned for late Q3/early Q4

DEVOUR (USA)
Will not have a software upgrade to Android 2.1

DROID by Motorola (USA)
Upgrade to Android 2.2 currently rolling out in phases

DROID X by Motorola (USA)
Upgrade to Android 2.2 planned for late summer.

Aug

Motorola Sage, AT&T-Bound QWERTY Slider, Leaks Out In Surprising Clarity

Posted by Brian O'Toole in AT&T, Motorola

Someone at Motorola’s marketing department is clearly convinced that letting out photos of forthcoming devices is the very best way of gathering hype.

The latest in the series is the Motorola Sage MB508 (or should that be SAGE?), a MOTOBLUR-running mid-range device with a landscape QWERTY keyboard and Android 2.1. Expected to land on AT&T as the replacement for the Backflip, Engadget's tipster says he has had his for over a month now, so it would seem that the phone is in the final stages of testing.

Click on the source link below for some more photos, for once lacking Mr Blurrycam’s trademark touch.

Jul

AndroidCentral Cooks Up A Program To Install Off-Market Apps To Devices That Can't (Cough AT&T Cough) - No Root Required

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Apps/Games, Development, Devices By Manufacturer, News

Normally, to sideload (install from outside the official market) an Android app, you need to enable the "Unknown sources" option in Settings > Applications, then copy the app anywhere on the SD Card, and install it via a file manager, such as Astro.

Unless, of course, a certain entity removes the whole option altogether, making it impossible to install off-Market apps unless you root. Aria, Backflip, Captivate, X10 all have this problem. There was a workaround with HTC Sync that "mistakenly" allowed sideloading, but that hole was patched by HTC shortly after.

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Jul

I Am Iron Meh: LG Ally Review

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Ally (Aloha), LG, Phone Reviews, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

If you’re a fan of a physical QWERTY keyboard, your Android options tend to be fairly limited. Your best bet would be to pick up the Motorola Droid, but if, for some reason, that phone doesn’t do it for you, you’re limited to either the Cliq or the Backflip – both developed by Motorola, and both gimmicky and under-powered. For some reason manufacturers seem to be avoiding high-powered QWERTY handsets like the plague, instead opting for touchscreen ‘superphones’, such as the EVO 4G, or the Nexus One.

Sure, these are nice handsets, but for those of us that just can’t get used to a touchscreen keyboard, QWERTY handsets are where it’s at.

Jul

HTC Aria Now Able To Side Load Apps Thanks To Sync Update

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Applications, Aria (Liberty), AT&T, HTC, News

Nobody was happy to learn that the HTC Aria would be locked down in the same way as its predecessor, the Backflip, and be unable to install non-Market apps. Fortunately, HTC has given Aria owners a sort of “fix” through an update in their desktop client.

The newest version of HTC Sync for Aria (which you can download for Windows here) gives users the ability to load an APK onto their phone, which means they now have access to a host of new apps that are not available on the Market. However, HTC did previously stress that the update would not include this feature, so you may want to update in case this feature is removed in the near future.

Jul

Motorola WX445 To Be Verizon’s New Bargain Bin Droid?

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless

Similar to devices being offered up by competing carriers – Sprint’s Intercept, AT&T’s Backflip and Aria, T-Mobile’s entire line-up – Verizon plans to introduce a cheaper, low-end alternative to pricier Android models. Engadget reports that the the Motorola WX445 runs Android 2.1 with some type of MOTOBLUR overlay (possibly the same version used on the Droid X), and sports a screen measuring somewhere between 2.5 and 3 inches.

The phone was also described as looking very “cheap,” and has been likened to a keyboardless Palm Pre. It goes without saying that this device probably won’t be the biggest hit in Verizon’s Android line-up.

Jul

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 To Receive OTA Update… That Isn’t Eclair Or Froyo

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia X10 (es209ra)

Last Updated: July 2nd, 2010

News for our European readers, this morning: Sony has announced that the Xperia X10 will receive a software update over-the-air (OTA) soon. To quote:

This update focuses on improving the general performance, speed and responsiveness of Xperia X10. For example, there are speed improvements in messaging tasks and camera UI. In addition we add a free back up and restore application so you’ll never lose your settings and information. In selected markets, PlayNow™ with premium apps and games will also be added.

It’s a pretty safe bet that the update isn’t to Android 2.2 (FroYo) or even 2.1 (Eclair) – if it were, they would definitely mention it.

Jun

AT&T To Customers: You Can Have Any Android You Want, As Long As It Sucks

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Aria (Liberty), AT&T, Backflip, Carriers, HTC, Motorola, News

If you’ve been paying attention to the news releases regarding the HTC Aria, you know that AT&T will once again be locking down the apps users can install by restricting unofficial app downloading. If you’ve been paying attention for a while now, you also know that they did the same thing to the Motorola Backflip – the only other Android phone they offer.

Both phones already feature smaller, lower def screens, when compared to their Android brethren available on other networks. They both also have significantly slower processors than most Android phones. What gives?

Now granted, I’m no expert, but that just seems like bad business to me.

Jun

HTC Aria Coming June 20th To AT&T, Initial Hands-On Impressions Surface

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Aria (Liberty), AT&T, Carriers, Devices By Manufacturer, HTC, News

Last Updated: June 17th, 2010

Good news, AT&T customers – starting June 20, AT&T will begin selling its first HTC Android device, the Aria. A few days ago, they (accidently?) released a video showing the HTC “Liberty” being tested. At the time, we speculated that it might actually be the HTC Aria we’d heard about before. Turns out we were probably correct, as various news outlets have been receiving the Aria to play around with, and they look to be one and the same.

The phone isn’t quite as high-end as other recent HTC outings on other networks (such as the EVO or Incredible): it offers a 3.2” display running at 480 x 320, as well as a 5 megapixel camera (sans flash).

Apr

XPERIA X10 Coming To AT&T This Summer - Will AT&T Cripple It Like The Backflip?

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in AT&T, News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia X10 (es209ra)

A supposedly trusted source told Engadget that Sony Ericsson's XPERIA X10 Android phone, which already got released in Canada on April 15th, would be coming to America under AT&T's wing this July or August.

The device, which is currently running Android 1.6, has a 4" screen, an 8MP camera, a beefy 1GHz Snapdragon processor, and Sony's own "Rachael" UI.

AT&T has the worst track record for crippling the only Android device that dared enter its network so far - the Motorola Backflip, most likely due to pressure from Apple. The Backflip cannot install non-market apps, has Yahoo as its search engine, runs an obsolete Android 1.5 OS, and is pretty much goes against all Android's open principles.