Two Week Update – Motorola Backflip

Getting Familiar

I have spent a lot of time just playing with the Backflip since I got it two weeks ago. I have the phone in a state now that is pretty close to how it will be configured for daily use in the long run. Well, at least until/if Motorola and AT&T update Android.

I will write up more in depth articles about the applications and widgets mentioned in this article as I get time.

It’s a phone first

Call Quality

Call quality has been great for me. The speaker phone works fantastic and I have had great results with the blue tooth in my vehicle radio.

Call Controls

I miss dedicated answer and hang up buttons. I also hate that the phone returns to the dialer when you end a call. This is something I have to get used to.

Dealing with limitations

Every device has limitations and the Backflip is no exception. The beauty of an Android phone is that you can usually find an app or a widget to address the limitations.

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Search engine default

The use of Yahoo as the default search on the Backflip has been lamented far and wide. Many of the comments include “The user should have a choice!”. I want to know, can you remove Google as the default search on the Nexus One or Droid?

I have my browser home page set to Google, I tap a shortcut on the home screen and I can search Google. I still get Yahoo if I press the magnifying glass key on the keyboard. I just don;t press it.

Text Messaging

The standard text messaging application is too restricted. My solution is to use Handcent.

Handcent has so many options that I am still exploring them after using it for ten days. But I can make it work the way I want it to work.

E-Mail

The standard email app does not support IMAP idle, which is a way for IMAP servers/clients to do push email. This means that the e-mail app has to poll the server at set intervals. You can not set different intervals for different accounts. Your I got to get it now! account and your I check it once a day account get polled just as often.

I use a replacement application called K-9 Mail. Besides the Dr. Who reference K-9 supports IMAP idle, so the server tells K-9 there is new stuff and K-9 tells you. I am hoping that the developer adds a setting to adjust font size on the preview screen, but otherwise K-9 fits the bill for me.

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Home Sweet Home

There are a bunch of apps that replace the default home application. I tried dxTop, Open Home, PandaHome, and GDE. I liked dxTop and PandaHome the best, but in the end I reverted to the standard home app.

I did not like GDE at all. OpenHome really made the phone slow.

dxTop and PandaHome caused the phone to, seemingly, run a bit slower and the benefits that came with them did not, IMO, outweigh the negatives.

None of the home replacements implement the three tab design of the standard app. I like the dialer and contacts being available from every home screen. dxTop and PandaHome provided ways to get around this, but I did not like the solutions as much as the three tab setup.

Both dxTop and PandaHome let you hide icons in the application tray. So the stuff you don’t use or want to hide an extra tap or two away from prying eyes can be placed out of sight. Take that AT&T bloatware!

If you are into theming, PandaHome themes flood the Android market.

I paid for dxTop and OpenHome and will revisit them in the future, but I am staying home for now.

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Virtual keyboard

The virtual keyboard on the Backflip, especially in portrait mode, won’t win any contests. The two keyboard replacements that I like best are SlideIt and Better keyboard, with SlideIt getting the edge. You really should search the net for reviews of these and try them yourself.

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Applications I Love and Need

In no particular order.

Aurora Search

This app provides a search box to search the contents of your phone. You contacts, calendar, music, and downloads can be quickly found. I needed to know the date of a meeting with someone, typed their name into Aurora and the meeting date(s) and contact information for the person was found.

Here you can see I have two image files with ‘drop’ in them and two songs with ‘drop’ in the title.

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Mobisle Notes

If you create lists and want to manage them you want Mobisle Notes. You can create lists, check off the items that are done, delete done items or the whole list, and send your lists by text, e-mail, or social network.

As you can see when you check off an item it becomes grayed out. Tapping the trashcan icon brings up a sub-menu:

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Opera Mini

Probably the best browser for any kind of phone.

Applications I Love

It isn’t always about need. These are the applications that I wouldn’t want to give up, but I don’t need them.

Ring Toggle

See my longer article on Ring Toggle

AnyCut

Make shortcuts to stuff you didn’t know you had and to stuff you want quick access to.

AnyCut allows to to create direct call and direct text shortcuts to any of your contacts. It also allows to to create shortcuts to activities. Click for an example

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Volume Control

An app to view and set all of the different volume settings available on one screen.

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Is It On

Is It On shows you the status and allows you to toggle that status of WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and screen brightness. I may not need it, but I like it.

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Brightness Level by Curvefish

This widget allows you to set the screen brightness to 5 pre-sets with two taps or to et the brightness with a slider bar. The icon on the home screen shows the current brightness value.

Smooth calendar

This widget offers either a detailed view of your next calendar event or a quick view of your next three events. Tapping on it brings up your calendar. I just like the way it looks.

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Owner

This app puts you contact info on the lock screen, so if you lose your phone there is a better chance that you’ll get it back. If you use a security lock someone finding your phone will see the info you set up for display on the lock screen.

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Battery Indicator Pro

This application displays an icon in the notifications bar showing the state of the battery charge as a percentage. If you open the notifications tray you can view the temperature and voltage.

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Summary

This has turned into a favorite apps overview. This is actually a good thing. I have had no hardware problems with the phone. All of my efforts have been geared toward customizing the phone to suit me and to learning how to get the most out of the phone.

The biggest negative about the phone is the battery life. I charge the phone each night. I can probably go one and a half days on a charge. Double that to three days and I would have zero complaints about the phone.