AT&T To Expand Android Selection To 8

By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 10/18/2010

DALLAS – iPhone carrier AT&T will roll out three new Motorola-made Android phones starting in October, bringing the iPhone carrier’s Android selection to eight models.

The 3G models, priced from $79 to $129, run the Android 2.1 OS and feature the latest version of Motorola’s Motoblur social-network aggregation service. In an unusual move, AT&T is pricing the phones through its channels without rebate, matching the practice by large CE chains such as Walmart, Best Buy and RadioShack.

All three also feature 802.11b/g Wi-Fi with access to AT&T’s 23,000 U.S. hot spots, corporate email syncing, FM radio, MicroSD card slot with capacity to 32GB, stereo Bluetooth 2.1 with enhanced data rate (EDR), 3-megapixel camera and Adobe Flash Lite.

The first model to become available is the $79.99 Motorola Flipout, due Oct. 16. It is a square model that pivots open to reveal a QWERTY keyboard below the 2.8- inch 320 by 240 QVGA TFT touchscreen. The keyboard has a dedicated fifth row for numbers. The camera is fixed-focus with digital zoom. Dark sapphire and saffron battery covers are included in the box. Processor speed is 720MHz. Memory capacity consists of 512MB of embedded memory and included 2GB MicroSD card. The device will be available Oct. 16.

The Flipside at $99.99, due in time for the holidays, steps up to add full-size slide-from-the-side QWERTY keyboard, 3.1-inch 320 by 480 HVGA touchscreen with pinch-to-zoom gesturing, laptop-like trackpad to navigate with fingers off the screen, camera image editing, full push corporate email, support for Microsoft Exchange, and unified inbox and such IT-compliance features as remote wipe and password enforcement.

The $129 Bravo, also due in time for the holidays, steps up to an 800MHz processor, 3.7-inch 480 by 854 FWVGA touchscreen, and Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) certification to stream video to certified networked PCs and TVs.

The latest iteration of Motorola’s Motoblur service, like before, syncs contacts, posts, messages, and photos from favorite social-media sites, work and personal email, and Last.fm, and then automatically delivers them to the phones’ home screen. Motoblur service also locates and remotely wipes lost or stolen devices as well as automatically restores a user’s contacts, log-in information, home screen customizations and email via one user name and password.

The enhanced Motoblur services adds such new features as social-networking filters and message widgets, enabling users to filter social-network accounts by contacts or contact group. Another new feature is screen customization, letting users move and resize preloaded widgets on up to seven home screens. It also has a battery manager, personal and corporate email pushed directly to the device, and additional social-networking functionality, such as Re-tweeting and Facebook comments.