It was a fine day in October and everything was humming along as usual. Then, a leak happened.

In October this year, an internal roadmap was leaked which showed Motorola’s plans for the next two quarters. It had the Sholes on it and the Motus too. Thus far, that leak has turned out to be quite accurate. [read]

And then, a day came early this month when a new Motorola phone hit the FCC. Of course, it made its way to the blog world like all other big findings before it. It is a triband HSPA device and it carries the name Motus. As we all know by now, the Droid was already already looming over us at that point. [read]

Then yesterday, we had the first leaked photo. So lets take a close look at it. It is a typical candybar smartphone with a slide-out full QWERTY keypad. The keys look flatter than even the Droid’s keys if anything. It reminds of the chemically etched keypads of the RAZR days. They used to be pretty flat out too. The picture is quite hazy, so there isn’t much more to talk about, except that it somehow looks pretty thin. [read]

And just a while ago, we had more news of this. The details have been leaked and it is apparently heading for AT&T. It is triband alright – 850/1900/2100MHz, 7.2Mbps HSDPA, 3.1” capacitive touchscreen display with 480×320 resolution. There’s also an expansion slot supporting microSD cards and a Qualcomm CPU clocked at 528MHz. And this is an Android phone. Motorola is on a roll here. I wonder what the Zeppelin is going to be like.

it also has been named as the Backflip, probably. There has been a tip off that the phone includes features such as a reverse flip keypad and rear directional touch pad. With all this ‘rear’ I wonder what it will look like in person. [read]

Still, I think Motorola has gotten stuck in a rinse-repeat routine. They are constantly bringing out phones that are not really all that different from each other. Some are just better made with better features (like the Droid) and some are simply stripped down versions of those better ones. The overall design concept remains the same – put in candybar form factor, add slideout keypad, use Android OS, decide on how expensive it will be, done. Droid, Cliq, Dext and now Motus/Backflip.

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Overall, the reviewers have liked it and from what I have seen of it, I like it too. But whether that liking will germinate into a purchase is completely up to the individual and I can’t really advise for or against it. To me it is a mixed bag and you have to take your pick.

Here are reasons for choosing it.

That Display

You gotta admit it, that 854×440 display looks really great compared to the iPhone’s puny 480×320 display. And the screen looks positively gorgeous. If I wanted a great smartphone to watch movies on, I would definitely choose this.

Google’s Got Your Back

When you have a company like Google making applications for you, you know you will have things to like. Google’s minimalist approach, tight online integration and great web presence makes it the perfect giant to have backing you up in your connected life.

One of the main features of new Android OS is the Navigation feature on Google Maps. People liked it so much that everyone predicted it being the future and the death of all standalone devices and expensive apps. Best of all, the service is free and integrated with Google Maps. It does have some hiccups but I am sure they will be cleaned out soon enough.

iPhone’s lack of an integrated Instant Messenger app really lets it down and the presence of the very same thing lifts up the Droid. From what I read about the user experience on the Droid regarding this and other Google apps, you folks are going to love ‘em to death.

And if there’s one thing that we all love about Google, it is Gmail. It is what I use for my personal account and it is also what I use on my own domain through Google Apps. Gmail on the Android 2.0 is like a perfect little version of the actual Gmail, complete with full labels and threaded emails. If you like Gmail, you will like it on Droid.

Also, the Wave is coming and the Android might have something special for the Surfers.

NOT AT&T

Not having to put up with AT&T’s finicky (and frustrating) network and working on the best network in the country will really help you love the Droid. Imagine a (almost) headache free network experience… makes me feel all fuzzy inside.

It’s Android!

Some people will choose it simply because it is the first Android 2.0 phone and has the best Android experience so far. Some will also choose Android because of Android’s (mostly) open source philosophy. But that is not a very practical reason. The multi-tasking however, is a very practical reason and Droid does it quite well thanks to Snapdragon and Android.

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And now for the other side of the debate.

Multimedia Meh

If you want agreat multimedia experience, stay on the iPhone. It’s not like the Android cannot play media but the experience is just not the same. It’s like the latest Linux and the Mac OS. One does it and the other does it well.

iTunes Baby!

I refuse to believe anyone who claims that they have it better without the world’s largest mobile app and digital music store. Not to mention movies and the other things that are rumored to be coming. If you have used it, you will miss it on Android and there are no comparable replacements for this. Nothing compares to iTunes.

Show Me 10,000 Apps And I Will Show You 100,000

The Android Marketplace over 10,000 apps and there are quite a few apps there which the iTunes Store does not have. But the iTunes has ten times as many apps at over 100,000. Do you still need me to spell it out for you?

Also, since the Droid runs a standard Android install, it does not do much out of the box You will have to download various apps for doing things like viewing PDFs and different mail attachments, etc. Sure the apps are free but you have to find them and install them. With the iPhone, you can hit the ground running.

Other customized Android phones come with these apps pre-installed though.

Security

You cannot lock the screen with a pass code. There is also no support for a remote wipe. You can get that through another app but nothing as integrated as the Find My iPhone Feature. Plus, you can install apps from sources outside the Marketplace.

That’s a good thing right? Yes but you will also be vulnerable to malicious apps that can cause some serious damage. You will receive a warning if you try to install from outside the Marketplace but it can be done.

Tough Keyboard, No Multitouch

One of the few complaints with the physical parts of the phone is the keyboard. Reviewers and users have been reporting having a tough time with the keyboard. As for the virtual keyboard, it is all good except for the fact that there’s no multitouch. Multitouch has been intentionally disabled on the Droid as per agreements between Motorola, Google and Verizon.

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So there you have it, the most popular pros and cons laid out for you. Choose for yourself and choose wisely.

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If you want to know more about the iPhone, head over to this week’s Saturday Apple Pie at Otaku Gadgets.

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Currently, it is pretty evident from all the pictures and rumors that the Droid is heading for the Verizon Wireless (and may be other places too). The real question is when does it get here. Logic would suggest that making a grand entry before the imminent holiday season is the best way to go. And indeed, it looks like that is exactly what will happen.

MobileCrunch has posted a conversation where an official from VZW reveals that the Sholes is coming soon. The conversation took place on twitter of all places! I mean I can see a non-descript meeting at an undisclosed public place and the usual “this conversation never took place” deal. But twitter? Seriously?

Anyway, there have been a lot of rumors around this device and a quite a few spy shots have been posted on the Internet. What is interesting to note is that there is no consistent source for this, except for may be the Boy Genius Report blog. They have been putting up a lot of Sholes/Droid spy shots and screenshots lately. But other than them, you have such varied places as motofan , Engadget Mobile, Mobile Crunch and there was also the Verizon Google announcement where the CEO’s of the two company held out unannounced phones and did not say a thing about them. Pretty much everyone caught that one.

About the specs, we know very little. From what the rumor mill has churned out, it seems like the phone will be powered by an ARM Cortex A8 chip and there are some who think it will be the Qualcomm Snapdragon. If it indeed is the Snapdragon, then we are likely to see a pretty snappy Android phone. The kind that we are yet to experience. This article from Anand of AnandTech explains why the Android phones have been sluggish and why it is about to change as of 1.6 (Donut).

All in all, it is quite likely that this Android phone will blow your socks off with its speed and performance. And that is not the only thing that is pulling people to this new offering from Motorola. This is going to be a ‘Google Experience’ phone. That means this phone is not going to have any bit of that MOTOBLUR UI that has hurt the CLIQ more than it has helped it. The Droid will instead have the pristine elegance that Google intended for the Android.

Looking at the screen shot from BGR that shows the official name of the phone, there seems to be scope for another speculation that is tied in with the device. It shows the firmware version as 2.0. That means it is already running Android 2.0 AKA Éclair, right? I would like to remind you folks that a giant foam Éclair was delivered to the Google lawn only recently.

So if the Droid is around the corner and it is running the Éclair release and the said Éclair was already delivered to Google HQ, does that mean 2.0 for the rest of us isn’t very far away? We’ll see. Meanwhile, enjoy this video of the Droid booting, complete with robot voice.

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That’s bad for the environment either way as you end up with two different phone chargers or two similar ones as they are always sold with cell phones. It is also bad if you need to recharge the battery of your cell phone at a friends house only to find out that the phone charger is not compatible with your cell phone.

Cell phone suppliers like Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Apple, Motorola and LG have agreed to produce cell phones that are compatible with standard charging devices in Europe. First cell phones are expected next year which is expected to reduce the waste that phone chargers produce each year. About 180 million cell phones are sold in Europe each year which also means the same amount of phone chargers.

According to the New York Times only data-enabled phones (which will account for about 50% of all cell phones sold in 2010) will be compatible with the new chargers which are in the beginning sold with the cell phones. Plans are to remove the cell phone chargers later on and sell them separately. It is likely that other countries will join the initiative.

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Microsoft Phone Data Manager is not a full blown backup solution like the software that comes from the mobile phone company directly which can backup data like sms, games or protocols. It is a beta product on the other hand that could see those features implemented in later versions.

The major advantage of using the Phone Data Manager is that it works with phones from different mobile phone manufacturers. That is handy for a family that possesses different phones but only one computer and basically everyone else who is using phones from different cell phone manufacturers.

The list of working mobiles include phones from Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. About 30 mobiles in total are listed on that page that have been tested and are working with the Microsoft Phone Data Manager but there are also a few that are not working. Most cell phone owners will probably have to try and find it out for themselves if their mobile phone is not listed on that page.

Microsoft has posted a user guide on their website that walks the user through the process of installing and working with the Phone Data Manager.

It supports and can identify bluetooth and usb cable connections. While it lacks on features it could be a viable alternative for users with multiple phones from different manufacturers.

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