We spent a few minutes with the just-announce Backflip and, well, it’s a Moto Cliq with weird swivel keyboard. Really, everything about the device feels the same as the Cliq. Even the love-it-or-hate-it MotoBlur interface is still in place. But depending on the price and carrier, it could be a popular product.
The device is different and that’s important these day. The Backflip’s claim to fame is that there is touchpad on the backside of the screen. It allows users to interact with the phone without their fat fingers getting in the way. Controlling the phone this way wasn’t exactly instantly intuitive during our hands-on, but it was certainly.
But the interface is somewhat clunky and laggy just like the Cliq. It doesn’t have the power or the grace of the Droid — or the keyboard or the solid feel or the 5MP camera.
The Backflip isn’t anything that will change the Android landscape like the Droid or Nexus One. It’s just a solid entry-level Android device that tweens and geeks on a budget will probably dig.