The Motorola Backflip is a touchscreen

Touchscreen

A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...

 smartphone

Smartphone

A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...

 released to the U.S. for the AT&T Mobility network on March 7, 2010, and for other countries on Telus

TELUS

Telus is a national telecommunications company in Canada that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voice, entertainment, video, and satellite television. The company is based in Burnaby, British Columbia, part of Greater Vancouver...

 and Optus

Optus

SingTel Optus Pty Limited is the second largest telecommunications company in Australia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications...

 networks. It runs the open source Google

Google

Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...

 Android software.

General features

• The phone is built on the Android platform 1.5.Motorola features Motoblur
  Motoblur
  Motoblur is an Android UI replacement and push-based service focused on social networking developed by Motorola. It aims at functional similarity to Palm's Synergy, including such features as Remote Wipe...
  
  , which integrates multiple social network service
  Social network service
  A social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities. A social network service consists of a representation of each user , his/her social...
  
   sites on the homescreen. This cannot be uninstalled or disabled unless the phone is modified.

• It has a full QWERTY keypad with a "reverse flip" design. When the device is closed and the screen is visible to the user, the reverse side is the keypad itself. Opening the device causes the screen to flip so that it rests above the keypad.

Hardware

• Screen size: 3.1-in.
• Screen resolution: HVGA (320 x 480 pixels)
• Weight: 4.7 oz
• Size: 53.0 x 108.0 x 15.3 mm
• Input devices: QWERTY keyboard, touchscreen, Backtrack navigation pad behind screen
• Battery: 1400 mAh Li Ion
• Talk time: 350 min, 6 hrs
• Standby time: up to 315 hrs, 13.5 days
• Processor: 528 mHz (overclockable to 768 MHz via root and overclock kernel
  Kernel
  -Computer science:* Kernel , the central component of most operating systems** The Linux kernel, from GNU/Linux operating systems** The Windows 9x kernel, used in Windows 95, 98 and ME...
  
  )
• RAM: 256MB
• ROM: 512MB
• Memory: up to 32 GB microSD
• Wi-Fi: 802.11b/g
• Bluetooth: 2.0 + EDR and A2DP
• GPS receiver, accelerometer
• Dual microphone with noise cancellation
• Five megapixels
  Pixel
  In digital imaging, a pixel, or pel, is a single point in a raster image, or the smallest addressable screen element in a display device; it is the smallest unit of picture that can be represented or controlled....
  
   with 4x digital zoom
  Digital zoom
  Digital zoom is a method of decreasing the apparent angle of view of a digital photographic or video image. Digital zoom is accomplished by cropping an image down to a centered area with the same aspect ratio as the original, and usually also interpolating the result back up to the pixel...
  
  
• LED
  Light-emitting diode
  A light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...
  
   flash and automatic focus
• Video capture rate of 24 fps
  Frame rate
  Frame rate is the frequency at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. The term applies equally well to computer graphics, video cameras, film cameras, and motion capture systems...
  
  

Applications

Users may customize their phones by installing apps through the Android Market

Android Market

Android Market is an online software store developed by Google for Android OS devices. Its gateway is an application program called "Market", preinstalled on most Android devices, allows users to browse and download mobile apps published by third-party developers...

; however, some carriers (AT&T) do not give users the option to install non-market apps onto the Backflip (a policy they have continued with all of their Android phones). This has created some controversy with users, as the non-market apps are often seen as a useful way to expand a phone's capabilities. Users can circumvent this limitation by manually installing 3rd party apps using the tools included with the SDK while the handset is connected to a computer.

Reviews

Michael Oryl, of "Mobileburn.com," likes the "Backtrack" trackpad on the back of the phone, but points out that large hands often activate it accidentally which can certainly be a problem. Victor Godinez, of The Dallas Morning News, suggests that the phone is aimed towards social networkers, and points out that the price may be a bit much when compared to the memory of other options like the iPhone

IPhone

The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...

.

System upgrades

On November 9, 2010, a downloadable update, Android OS 2.1 (Eclair) and a compatible version of MotoBlur was released by Motorola for AT&T Backflip customers, U.S. only. The update is unavailable over-the-air

Over-the-air

Over-the-air has several meanings, depending on context. *Generally, over-the-air is synonymous for wireless.*Specifically, over-the-air can have the following meanings or is used in the following contexts:...

 (OTA).
Since then Eclair is available for phones outside U.S. that are rooted http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooting_(Android_OS)| with custom recoverieshttp://modmymobile.com/forums/566-motorola-backflip-roms/555774-recovery-j_r0dd-mb300-v2-0-2-7-11-a.html installed and radio updated. CyanogenMod

CyanogenMod

CyanogenMod is an after-market replacement for the firmware of over sixty cell phones and Internet tablets. Based on the Android mobile computer operating system, it offers features and options not found in the official firmware distributed by vendors of these devices.Features supported by...

 7.1 (Android 2.3.7) is available though official nightly builds and a stable release. . Other custom roms are also available.

Overclocking

Overclocking

Overclocking

Overclocking is the process of operating a computer component at a higher clock rate than it was designed for or was specified by the manufacturer, but some manufacturers purposely underclock their components to improve battery life. Many people just overclock or 'rightclock' their hardware to...

 has been made possible on the backflip via overclocking kernels and direct overclocking

Multitouch

Since this phone lacks the multitouch feature, a patch was made available for the froyo rom. However many testers have reported problems with the touchscreen which becomes jerky and eventually ceases to operate.