Motorola Intros Flipout with Android 2.1, Flash, Motoblur

The Motorola Flipout, a pivoting smartphone with Android 2.1, Adobe Flash and support for Microsoft Exchange, was formally introduced June 2. Motorola shared details of the of the phone along with the news that the Flipout will begin shipping "in certain regions around the world"-although likely not the United States-in the second quarter of 2010.
 
Measuring 2.6 by 2.6 by 0.7 inches, the Flipout features a 2.8-inch-diagonal, 320-by-240-pixel multitouch display that pivots to reveal a five-row QWERTY keypad of nearly equal size.
 
Motorola said the Flipout runs a new, enhanced version of Motoblur, which syncs updates from social-networking sites such as Facebook with e-mails, messages, Twitter feeds and more, giving an efficient look at what friends are up to. With "Happenings" and "Messages" widgets, users can also filter out the types of messages and updates they don't want to see. Users can also customize up to seven home screens, moving and resizing widgets and applications to their tastes.
 
Also new in Motoblur is a battery manager, for keeping an eye on the juice; full integration with GPS tracking and an e-compass; and the ability to have corporate e-mails pushed to the handset. The Data Manager option allows users to back up, store and remotely wipe data-handy features, should the Flipout be lost or stolen.

The smartphone comes with an Android browser, a suite of Google services such as Google Maps and Gmail, and easy access to the Android Market. CrystalTalk Plus, also included, is not a diet beverage but a "proprietary microphone and speaker configuration" designed to improve voice quality and filter out background noise.
 
Motorola has also thrown in 512MB of internal memory and a removable 2GB MicroSD card that can be swapped out for up to 32GB of additional memory. The 3-megapixel camera has "digital zoom and Kodak Perfect Touch technology for better, brighter pictures," as well as a "gallery mode for tagging and labeling photos" before uploading them.
 
The Flipout, which has a silver front, will be available with its back battery cover in cheery choices of saffron, raspberry or a lime green. Information on which carriers will offer the smartphone, and at what price, however, is yet to be released.