Motorola’s kerrrr-azy looking Flipout mobile has been officially launched, with specs and videos served up for folks looking to fit a square shaped phone into their rectangular lives.
The Android 2.1-powered Flipout sports 2.8-inch, 320 x 240 screen , slide out (and onscreen) QWERTY keyboard, a 3 megapixel camera, four way navigator keys and “one-touch” uploads to Facebook, MySpace and photo-hosting sites.
“Flipout merges Motorola’s design heritage with Android to deliver a new take on the typical smartphone form. In an incredibly compact square, Flipout fits neatly in your palm, purse or small pocket, making it fun and easy to stay connected while on the go,” frothed Ralf Gerbershagen, vice president and GM, Mobile Devices, Western Europe, Motorola.
Widgets galore
An updated version of Motorola’s Motoblur interface is on board, overflowing with resizable widgets, battery info, feeds, push corporate email and the like ( call us cynical but we don’t imagine too many high powered execs slamming these puppies down on the boardroom table).
It’s set for an imminent European launch – possibly by the end of the month – and, depending on country, will be available in a delightful set of colours like Licorice, Fairway Green, Raspberry Crush, Brilliant Blue, Poppy Red, Saffron or boring ol’White.
Read on for the press release, specs and official video:
BASINGSTOKE, UK – June 2, 2010 – Motorola (NYSE: MOT) today announced Motorola FLIPOUTTM with MOTOBLUR™, a stylishly square and compact smartphone that’s as individual as its users.
Launching in Europe from Q2 2010, FLIPOUT runs on Android™ 2.1 and features an innovative square pivot design that opens to reveal a five-row QWERTY keypad with a separate row for numeric keys. FLIPOUT features up to seven customizable home screens, live wallpapers and added security for exchange server users. It also offers enhanced MOTOBLUR features making it easier to follow who and what really matters to you.
“FLIPOUT merges Motorola’s design heritage with Android to deliver a new take on the typical smartphone form. In an incredibly compact square, FLIPOUT fits neatly in your palm, purse or small pocket, making it fun and easy to stay connected while on the go,” said Ralf Gerbershagen, vice president and GM, Mobile Devices, Western Europe, Motorola. “For fans of social networking, FLIPOUT also features enhancements to MOTOBLUR, allowing users to connect with their networks however they want.”
FLIPOUT’s array of colors will be country-specific and could include Licorice, Fairway Green, Raspberry Crush, Brilliant Blue, Poppy Red, Saffron or White.
Enhanced MOTOBLUR
MOTOBLUR is Motorola’s exclusive Android experience that syncs contacts, posts, messages, photos and much more – from sources such as Facebook®, MySpace, Twitter™, Gmail™, work and personal e-mail, and last.fm – and automatically delivers them to the home screen. MOTOBLUR automatically backs up contacts, log-in information, home screen customizations and e-mail to a secure server and provides remote data wipe for lost or stolen devices. One username and password restores contacts, messages and connectivity to prior networks and email providers.FLIPOUT offers enhanced MOTOBLUR functionality and features, including:
• Happenings and Messages widgets – filter by social networking account, by contact(s) or by contact group to only see the information you want
• Screen customization – move and resize preloaded widgets on up to seven home screens
• Battery Manager – manage battery consumption by operating in one of three performance modes
• Data Manager – monitor data usage from the home screen to better manage pay-as-you-go and limited data plans
• Personal and Corporate e-mail – pushed directly to the device
• Re-tweet capabilitiesHear and be heard
FLIPOUT includes CrystalTalkTM PLUS which improves a caller’s voice quality while filtering out background noise for better conversations. Building on Motorola’s proprietary microphone and speaker configuration, CrystalTalk PLUS adds a second microphone to provide even clearer voice quality, while cutting down background noise.Web & Multimedia
FLIPOUT brings optimal web and photo browsing to the palm of your hand with multi-touch pinch to zoom, and is Adobe® Flash® enabled which provides access to most content-rich websites.For music fans, FLIPOUT’s connected media player offers full screen lyric support, integrated song ID and a social solution for knowing what people around you are listening to.
Additional multimedia features include a 3MP camera with digital zoom and KODAK PERFECT TOUCH technology for better, brighter pictures and gallery mode for tagging and labeling of photos. One-touch uploads to Facebook, MySpace, Picasa and Photobucket make sharing your images quick and easy. Also included are video capture, playback and streaming options along with Bluetooth®1 capabilities for wireless calls and music.
FLIPOUT features full Google™ services including Google Search™, Google Maps™, Gmail™ and access to thousands of apps on the Android Market.
Availability
Motorola FLIPOUT with MOTOBLUR will be introduced to Europe from Q2 2010. For more information about availability, please contact your local Motorola representative. To learn more about the device visit YouTube™ or here. To experience MOTOBLUR, please visit www.motorola.com/motoblur.FLIPOUT with MOTOBLUR™
Talk and Standby Time: 275mins / 377 hrs WCDMA, 357mins / 365 hrs GSM
Bands/Modes: WCDMA 900/2100, GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps (Category 7/8) EDGE Class 12, GPRS Class 12, HSUPA 2.0 Mbps, eCompass/aGPS, Version 2.1+EDR
Weight: 120g
Dimensions: 67.00 x 67.00 x 17.00 mm
Size: 76 cc
OS: Android 2.1
Battery: 1170 mAh
Connectivity: 3.5mm headset jack, USB 2.0 HS, Wi-Fi, NGP
Display: 2.8 inch display 320 x 240 pixels, QVGA TFT
Messaging/Web/Apps: MMS, SMS, Email (Corporate Sync, POP3, IMAP, Push Email), Instant Messaging
Audio: FM Radio Receive, AAC, AAC+, AAC+ Enhanced, AMR NB, MP3, WMA v9
Video: Capture/Playback/Streaming, H.264, MPEG4, WMV v9
Camera: 3 megapixel, digital zoom, fixed-focus
Browser: Android HTML WebKit, Adobe® Flash® enabled
Memory: 512MB internal memory with removable 2GB Micro SD card (included); supports up to 32GB MicroSD (optional)
Form Factor: Rotator QWERTY
Antenna: Internal
Address Book/Calendar: MOTOBLUR aggregates Facebook®, MySpace, TwitterTM and GmailTM; Syncs and merges your work contacts, email and calendar
Location Services: aGPS (assisted), eCompass
