Handset maker Motorola announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the release of Quench, its latest handset powered by Google’s Android open-source operating system.
The touch-screen smartphone, which offers capabilities such as pinch and zoom and a touch pad, also features Motoblur, Motorola’s Android-powered content delivery service, which organizes messages and synchronizes contacts. The handset also includes Adobe Flash Lite support. It will be available in the first quarter of 2010 in the United States, the company said, where it will be known as the Cliq XT and offered through T-Mobile USA.
Motorblur syncs contacts, posts, messages, photos and 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. Content is fed into user-friendly streams to help keep information organized. Quench also offers Swype, a feature that makes responding to messages and entering text easier. Contact information, such as e-mail addresses, profile pictures and phone numbers, is automatically synced whenever the details change online, removing the need to manually update.
“As we continue to expand Motorola’s portfolio of Android-powered devices, we remain committed to delivering more of what people want from their handheld devices in easier ways,” said Sanjay Jha, co-CEO of Motorola and CEO of Motorola Mobile Devices and Home business. “Quench with Motoblur showcases Motorola’s design heritage by offering a compelling differentiation from the traditional Android experience, giving people an easier way to have more messaging, more Web and more music.”
The connected media player on Quench is not only connected to the Internet but to a user’s social networks. Quench connects users to their music with a style of media player that lets users buy and download music from an MP3 store while integrating third-party apps such as TuneWiki, SoundHound, GoTV and YouTube. The music search feature makes finding songs easy while synchronizing lyrics in any language the user chooses.
The handset enables clear calls using dual microphones and noise cancellation technology, while a 5.0-megapixel camera with auto-focus and LED flash enables large pictures. Finding information online or within the device is updated with voice-activated search, available in English only. Users say what they are looking for, and the phone will find contacts, serve up Google Web search results based on location or launch applications.
Android Market provides access to more than 20,000 apps and widgets. In addition, Quench offers extras such as 3G and Wi-Fi access, aGPS and stereo Bluetooth. Lost devices can be located from a secure personal information portal and even remotely erased if necessary. Then, one user name and password brings back your contacts, messages and connectivity to your previously configured networks and e-mail providers.