John Walton – of PhoneDog fame – received a tip about someone’s friend’s dad’s son’s friend who supposedly got their hands on a blocky-looking handset sporting MOTOBLUR. The story behind how this photo came to light is very reminiscent of a big fake lie, but check out the image to the left and the quote below to draw your own conclusion:

“My source says his buddy’s dad works for Motorola and let his son take the phone to school, who, in turn, lent the phone to my source to be used as a calculator on a math test.”

Yea, I’m just as skeptical as you are right now reading this.  At first glance, this looks like a sure-fire legitimate device, but check out the area where the arrow for the app drawer normally is: I don’t know about any of you, but that looks nothing like the MOTOBLUR I know. Also, if you want to be picky, the on-screen widgets don’t look very convincing (especially considering the very ugly font being used to display whatever information should be showing up there).

I could be wrong, however, and this device could actually exist somewhere in the wild. The actual hardware does present some Motorola-esque overtones, and it would take a good amount of work to craft something in Photoshop that looks this believable. On another note, it’s entirely possible that this  could be an old prototype of Moto’s first MOTOBLUR offering (which could probably explain the unfinished-looking UI).

Let me stop grasping at straws, though. If you want to check out the original post, you can’t: John was asked to remove the post by the original tipster. What about you guys? Do you think this mystery device is real? If so, what do you think it could be? Voice your opinion in the poll below, and be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts for good measure!

Like a number of other Nextel handsets, the i1 features a sturdy design and meets Military Specifications 810f so it can withstand dust, shock, vibration, rain, humidity, fog, and more. To really drive home the idea of the phone’s ruggedness, Moto and Sprint invited Mike Rowe, host of Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs,” to introduce the Motorola i1. Rowe’s show takes a look at some of the toughest and dirtiest jobs in the nation; jobs in which people need rugged phones.

The phone indeed feels strong, and we’re thrilled to see an iDEN device that offers a sleeker design and such advanced features as a touch screen, a decent Web browser, and a 5-megapixel camera. Of course, we wish it was running something a little more than Android 1.5. That said, we also have to wonder, will the Motorola i1 be too much for the traditional Nextel customers?

Motorola i1

The Motorola i1 is the first ruggedized Android device.  Equipped with Push-to-Talk functions, this is also their first iDEN radio for Nextel customers.  Other key features include WiFi, 5MP camera with video capture and LED flash. 

Like a number of other Nextel handsets, the i1 features a sturdy design and meets Military Specifications 810f so it can withstand dust, shock, vibration, rain, humidity, fog, and more. To really drive home the idea of the phone’s ruggedness, Moto and Sprint invited Mike Rowe, host of Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs,” to introduce the Motorola i1. Rowe’s show takes a look at some of the toughest and dirtiest jobs in the nation; jobs in which people need rugged phones.

The phone indeed feels strong, and we’re thrilled to see an iDEN device that offers a sleeker design and such advanced features as a touch screen, a decent Web browser, and a 5-megapixel camera. Of course, we wish it was running something a little more than Android 1.5. That said, we also have to wonder, will the Motorola i1 be too much for the traditional Nextel customers?

You can upgrade your Motorola DROID manually with latest version of Android 2.1. So, updating the Motorola phone with Android 2.1 is possible. There is no need to wait for OTA. By following certain steps, you can easily update your smartphone with this new Android based Operating System. The process of updating the handsets with new version of Android based OS is quite simple.

The Mobile Crunch has come up with below instructions which can be used for updating the Motorola DROID with Android 2.1 Operating System. Download the official version of Android OS on your own risk. If you desperately want to install this improved version of Android 2.1 update manually in your mobile phone then you have to follow certain steps. With the help of these steps, you will be able to download latest build of Android 2.1. As per news reports, you need to download update file from Google, rename the file and save it on a microSD card inserted in your smartphone. Now, reboot your Motorola handset in to recovery mode and apply update.zip file.

By updating your stylish Motorola handset with Android 2.1, you will get voice-to-text entry, a 3D gallery layout, live wallpapers, free Yahoo Mail support, an updated Google Maps app, a night mode for Google Maps Navigation” as per the reports circulating around the web. In addition to that, the Motorola Droid comes with Google’s servers.

As per news reports, ‘the Motorola DROID is a CDMA mobile phone equipped with QWERTY keyboard. The fully fledged slider phone comes with high resolution 5 mega pixel camera along with DVD-quality video, image stabilization, real-time color effects, scene modes, location tagging, Dual LED, 4 times digital zoom, cropping, rotating, geo tagging. The feature rich smartphone encompass with Arm® Cortex™ A8 processor 550 mHz plus Android 2.1 OS, Wi-Fi and more.

The bad: Sluggish at times and spontaneously rebooted once during our review period; device is only running Android 1.5; small screen; keyboard’s durability in question since it’s exposed on the back.

The bottom line: The Motorola Backflip offers a unique design, but it’s rather lackluster in the features and performance department. It’s a decent choice if you’re upgrading from a feature phone, but anyone looking for speed and power should look elsewhere.

We can’t say this was a complete surprise, but AT&T made it official in February and introduced the Motorola Backflip as its first Google Android device. The Backflip made its grand debut at CES 2010, where we awarded the smartphone with our Best of CES award in the cell phones and smartphones category for its unique design, which includes a rear-facing QWERTY keyboard and a trackpad behind the display.

Unfortunately, after now spending some time with the device, this seems to be the only real highlight of the phone. The Backflip suffers from performance issues and runs Android 1.5, making it a rather disappointing Android debut for AT&T. It’s OK if you’re upgrading from a feature phone, but with four other Android devices expected in the coming months, we’d wait to see what else is out there.

Design

The most memorable thing about the Motorola Backflip is its design. You wouldn’t necessarily know it by looking at the phone straight on, since it doesn’t have any notable traits. In fact, it largely resembles the Motorola Dext with a rectangular shape and rounded edges, but with a slightly smaller footprint at 108 x 53 x 15.3mm.

Unlike the Dext, however, the Backflip is a flip phone instead of a slider and this is where it gets interesting. When closed, the keyboard is actually located on the back of the phone, so when you swing it open, the keyboard sits right beneath the display. The layout makes sense and the hinge is strong but we just worry about the long-term durability of the keyboard. Though Motorola says the keyboard is rugged enough to withstand the exposure, we’re curious to see what condition the phone will be in after an extended amount of time placing it down on a surface or mixing and mingling with other objects, like keys, in a pants pocket or bag.

As far as the keyboard itself, we found it quite good. It’s spacious and the square buttons are a good size, minimizing mispresses, but we do wish they were a bit more domed like the Dext’s keyboard. The keys provide a nice springy feedback. The number and symbol keys (marked in blue) are doubled up with the letters (marked in white), and a nice, bright backlight makes it easy to see whether you’re in a dark room or outdoors. There are a handful of shortcuts along the bottom row and left side for quick access to the Web, search, messages, as well as to the home and menu screens. Also, tucked away into the corner of the keyboard is the camera lens and flash.

Flipping back to the front of the phone, you’ll find a 3.1-inch HVGA (320 x 480) capacitive touchscreen. It displays 256,000 colors, but lacks the vibrancy and sharpness of some of the other Android devices, such as the Motorola Milestone and Nexus One. The Backflip’s screen is also on the smaller size, so it’s a bit of strain on the eyes when viewing emails and Web pages.

There is no pinch-to-zoom support, but you can double-tap the screen to quickly zoom in on a point. The screen also has a built-in accelerometer that works in certain applications, such as the browser and maps, so you can get a wider picture in landscape mode. However, there can sometimes be a noticeable lag, including when you open and close the phone, and scrolling through lists stutters occasionally. The delays aren’t crippling but you also get the feeling that the Backflip is underpowered (see Performance for more).

That said, you don’t always have to rely on the touchscreen to navigate. Behind the display you will find what Moto calls the Backtrack navigation pad. It works just like a trackpad, letting you move between home screens and photos and scroll through lists and apps with the swipe of a finger. The idea is that using the Backtrack gives you an unobstructed view of the display, since your fingers are out of the way. Frankly, we don’t find this to be a huge issue; you swipe to your destination, tap to launch, and remove your hand. Done. That’s the whole purpose of having a touchscreen in the first place, right?

The Backtrack isn’t a bad idea. It works as advertised and at times it offers smoother scrolling experience. Ultimately, though, it doesn’t really add a ton of value to the device. Part of the problem may be the location of the trackpad. Having it behind the display makes it a bit awkward to reach and use, but perhaps we just need more time with it. We definitely give Moto props for trying something different, but maybe it tried a bit too hard to be different.

Some final notes about the phone’s design: There’s a volume rocker, a micro-USB port, and a camera activation/capture button on the right side. On top, you will find the 3.5mm headphone jack and power/lock button, while below the display, there are touch-sensitive controls for the menu, home screen, and back button. The microSD expansion slot (supports up to 32GB cards) is located behind the battery door, which sits opposite to the Backtrack.

AT&T includes only the essentials in the sales package: An AC adapter, a USB cable, and reference material. One accessory you probably won’t have to get is a desktop dock. Opening the Backflip to a 90-degree angle sends the phone into media mode much like the Milestone when it’s docked into the multimedia station, so it will display the date and time, weather, and alarm clock. You can also launch a slideshow and have the Backflip act like a digital photo frame. For more add-ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and home page.

Features

Similar to the Dext and the Motorola Devour, the Backflip uses Motoblur software, which helps merge contact information from various email accounts and social networking sites, including Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Exchange, Twitter, and Picasa, into a master list. In addition, emails (aside from Gmail) are combined into a universal in-box and appointments are also combined into one calendar.

To help you distinguish between accounts, a small icon is displayed next to each message indicating which account it came from and calendar entries are color-coded. We had no problems syncing up our Exchange (via Outlook Web Access), Gmail, Yahoo, Facebook, and Twitter accounts to the Backflip. Gmail messages arrived almost instantaneously, though appointments took a few minutes to show up on the phone. Outlook messages were retrieved every 15 minutes, just as we programmed it to do.

Motoblur goes beyond contact management, though. It also offers various widgets that can be added to the phone’s five home screens that show new status updates, messages, and other happenings. It’s definitely overwhelming at first, but once you learn to customize it to your needs, it can be a great resource. You can read more about Motoblur in our full review of the Motorola Dext.

Beyond Motoblur, the Backflip doesn’t hold many surprises in the features department. In fact, it’s a bit behind the times since it’s only running Android 1.5, so you’re not even getting some of the benefits of 1.6. Motorola said the Backflip will be upgradeable to Android 2.1 and supports over-the-air updates, but would not comment on release details at this time.

For now, you get all the Android staples–Android Webkit HTML browser, Android Market, Amazon MP3 Store, Gmail, Google Talk, Google Maps, and YouTube. Interestingly, the default search engine on the Backflip is Yahoo instead of Google, and from what we could see, there’s no way to change it back to Google. The QuickOffice suite allows you to view but not edit or create Microsoft Office documents.

As an AT&T phone, the Backflip also ships with a number of the carrier’s services and other extras, including AT&T Music and Video, AT&T Navigator, AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots, AllSport GPS, Yellow Pages Mobile, and Mobile Banking. In addition, to quad-band world roaming, the Backflip features voice dialing, a speakerphone, noise reduction technology, and 3G support. The Backflip is also outfitted with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and aGPS.

For more of an entry-level phone, we were pleasantly surprised to see that the Backflip was equipped with a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash. Unfortunately, some of that enthusiasm faded when we saw how it performed. Not only was picture quality a bit hazy and washed out, there was also quite a bit of lag when starting the camera, and it also caused the phone to spontaneously reboot at one point during our testing period.

Performance

We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; WCDMA 950/1900/2100) Motorola Backflip in New York using AT&T service and call quality was mixed. On our end, we enjoyed crisp, clear audio with no trace of background noise or voice distortion, and we had no problem using an airline’s voice-automated response system. Unfortunately, the same didn’t hold true for our callers, as they reported static on their end but only during lulls in the conversation. Surprisingly, the speakerphone provided even better sound quality on both sides of the conversation. There was no hollowness to the calls and voices sounded rich and full. Friends also praised the speakerphone audio for being pristine. Finally, we had no problems pairing the Backflip with the Logitech Mobile Traveller and Motorola S9 Bluetooth Active Headphones.

AT&T’s 3G network provided reliable and speedy coverage throughout Manhattan. CNET’s full site loaded in an impressive 19 seconds, while CNN and ESPN’s mobile sites loaded in 8 seconds and 7 seconds, respectively. YouTube and AT&T Videos buffered in just a couple of seconds. YouTube video quality varied, but clips from AT&T Video were almost unwatchable since the picture was so murky. We had better luck with an MPEG4 movie trailer, as the image was smooth and we nearly fell out of our chair after hearing the blaring audio. The Backflip has one of the most powerful speakers we’ve ever heard on a phone, and we’re not just talking volume. The sound is rich and full, not tinny, and it’s the same whether you’re listening through the phone or through a pair of headphones.

The Backflip is equipped with a 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7201A processor and it just doesn’t have the stamina to keep up. The smartphone lagged and struggled at times with even the simplest tasks, such as switching screen orientation or merely pulling up an email. As we mentioned earlier, the camera app also crashed our phone. Though we’d like to see Android 2.1 on this device, we’re wondering if the Backflip can even handle it.

The Backflip ships with a 1,400mAh lithium-ion battery with a rated talk time of 6 hours and up to 13.5 days of standby time. We are still conducting our battery drain tests but will update this section as soon as we have final results. According to FCC radiation tests, the Backflip has a digital SAR rating of 1.37 watts per kilogram. 

Design

The most memorable thing about the Motorola Backflip is its design. You wouldn’t necessarily know it by looking at the phone straight on, since it doesn’t have any notable traits. In fact, it largely resembles the Motorola Dext with a rectangular shape and rounded edges, but with a slightly smaller footprint at 108 x 53 x 15.3mm.

Unlike the Dext, however, the Backflip is a flip phone instead of a slider and this is where it gets interesting. When closed, the keyboard is actually located on the back of the phone, so when you swing it open, the keyboard sits right beneath the display. The layout makes sense and the hinge is strong but we just worry about the long-term durability of the keyboard. Though Motorola says the keyboard is rugged enough to withstand the exposure, we’re curious to see what condition the phone will be in after an extended amount of time placing it down on a surface or mixing and mingling with other objects, like keys, in a pants pocket or bag.

The Motorola Backflip features a unique flip design where the keyboard is located on the back.

As far as the keyboard itself, we found it quite good. It’s spacious and the square buttons are a good size, minimizing mispresses, but we do wish they were a bit more domed like the Dext’s keyboard. The keys provide a nice springy feedback. The number and symbol keys (marked in blue) are doubled up with the letters (marked in white), and a nice, bright backlight makes it easy to see whether you’re in a dark room or outdoors. There are a handful of shortcuts along the bottom row and left side for quick access to the Web, search, messages, as well as to the home and menu screens. Also, tucked away into the corner of the keyboard is the camera lens and flash.

Flipping back to the front of the phone, you’ll find a 3.1-inch HVGA (320 x 480) capacitive touchscreen. It displays 256,000 colors, but lacks the vibrancy and sharpness of some of the other Android devices, such as the Motorola Milestone and Nexus One. The Backflip’s screen is also on the smaller size, so it’s a bit of strain on the eyes when viewing emails and Web pages.

There is no pinch-to-zoom support, but you can double-tap the screen to quickly zoom in on a point. The screen also has a built-in accelerometer that works in certain applications, such as the browser and maps, so you can get a wider picture in landscape mode. However, there can sometimes be a noticeable lag, including when you open and close the phone, and scrolling through lists stutters occasionally. The delays aren’t crippling but you also get the feeling that the Backflip is underpowered (see Performance for more).

The Backtrack sits behind the display and acts as a trackpad. We’re not completely convinced of its usefulness.

That said, you don’t always have to rely on the touchscreen to navigate. Behind the display you will find what Moto calls the Backtrack navigation pad. It works just like a trackpad, letting you move between home screens and photos and scroll through lists and apps with the swipe of a finger. The idea is that using the Backtrack gives you an unobstructed view of the display, since your fingers are out of the way. Frankly, we don’t find this to be a huge issue; you swipe to your destination, tap to launch, and remove your hand. Done. That’s the whole purpose of having a touchscreen in the first place, right?

The Backtrack isn’t a bad idea. It works as advertised and at times it offers smoother scrolling experience. Ultimately, though, it doesn’t really add a ton of value to the device. Part of the problem may be the location of the trackpad. Having it behind the display makes it a bit awkward to reach and use, but perhaps we just need more time with it. We definitely give Moto props for trying something different, but maybe it tried a bit too hard to be different.

Some final notes about the phone’s design: There’s a volume rocker, a micro-USB port, and a camera activation/capture button on the right side. On top, you will find the 3.5mm headphone jack and power/lock button, while below the display, there are touch-sensitive controls for the menu, home screen, and back button. The microSD expansion slot (supports up to 32GB cards) is located behind the battery door, which sits opposite to the Backtrack.

AT&T includes only the essentials in the sales package: An AC adapter, a USB cable, and reference material. One accessory you probably won’t have to get is a desktop dock. Opening the Backflip to a 90-degree angle sends the phone into media mode much like the Milestone when it’s docked into the multimedia station, so it will display the date and time, weather, and alarm clock. You can also launch a slideshow and have the Backflip act like a digital photo frame. For more add-ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and home page.

Features

Similar to the Dext and the Motorola Devour, the Backflip uses Motoblur software, which helps merge contact information from various email accounts and social networking sites, including Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Exchange, Twitter, and Picasa, into a master list. In addition, emails (aside from Gmail) are combined into a universal in-box and appointments are also combined into one calendar.

To help you distinguish between accounts, a small icon is displayed next to each message indicating which account it came from and calendar entries are color-coded. We had no problems syncing up our Exchange (via Outlook Web Access), Gmail, Yahoo, Facebook, and Twitter accounts to the Backflip. Gmail messages arrived almost instantaneously, though appointments took a few minutes to show up on the phone. Outlook messages were retrieved every 15 minutes, just as we programmed it to do.

Motoblur’s software allows you to stream content, such as status updates and RSS newsfeeds, right to your home screen.

Motoblur goes beyond contact management, though. It also offers various widgets that can be added to the phone’s five home screens that show new status updates, messages, and other happenings. It’s definitely overwhelming at first, but once you learn to customize it to your needs, it can be a great resource. You can read more about Motoblur in our full review of the Motorola Dext.

Beyond Motoblur, the Backflip doesn’t hold many surprises in the features department. In fact, it’s a bit behind the times since it’s only running Android 1.5, so you’re not even getting some of the benefits of 1.6. Motorola said the Backflip will be upgradeable to Android 2.1 and supports over-the-air updates, but would not comment on release details at this time.

For now, you get all the Android staples–Android Webkit HTML browser, Android Market, Amazon MP3 Store, Gmail, Google Talk, Google Maps, and YouTube. Interestingly, the default search engine on the Backflip is Yahoo instead of Google, and from what we could see, there’s no way to change it back to Google. The QuickOffice suite allows you to view but not edit or create Microsoft Office documents.

As an AT&T phone, the Backflip also ships with a number of the carrier’s services and other extras, including AT&T Music and Video, AT&T Navigator, AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots, AllSport GPS, Yellow Pages Mobile, and Mobile Banking. In addition, to quad-band world roaming, the Backflip features voice dialing, a speakerphone, noise reduction technology, and 3G support. The Backflip is also outfitted with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and aGPS.

Picture quality wasn’t all that great, and the camera app is quite sluggish.

For more of an entry-level phone, we were pleasantly surprised to see that the Backflip was equipped with a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash. Unfortunately, some of that enthusiasm faded when we saw how it performed. Not only was picture quality a bit hazy and washed out, there was also quite a bit of lag when starting the camera, and it also caused the phone to spontaneously reboot at one point during our testing period.

Performance

We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; WCDMA 950/1900/2100) Motorola Backflip in New York using AT&T service and call quality was mixed. On our end, we enjoyed crisp, clear audio with no trace of background noise or voice distortion, and we had no problem using an airline’s voice-automated response system. Unfortunately, the same didn’t hold true for our callers, as they reported static on their end but only during lulls in the conversation. Surprisingly, the speakerphone provided even better sound quality on both sides of the conversation. There was no hollowness to the calls and voices sounded rich and full. Friends also praised the speakerphone audio for being pristine. Finally, we had no problems pairing the Backflip with the Logitech Mobile Traveller and Motorola S9 Bluetooth Active Headphones.

AT&T’s 3G network provided reliable and speedy coverage throughout Manhattan. CNET’s full site loaded in an impressive 19 seconds, while CNN and ESPN’s mobile sites loaded in 8 seconds and 7 seconds, respectively. YouTube and AT&T Videos buffered in just a couple of seconds. YouTube video quality varied, but clips from AT&T Video were almost unwatchable since the picture was so murky. We had better luck with an MPEG4 movie trailer, as the image was smooth and we nearly fell out of our chair after hearing the blaring audio. The Backflip has one of the most powerful speakers we’ve ever heard on a phone, and we’re not just talking volume. The sound is rich and full, not tinny, and it’s the same whether you’re listening through the phone or through a pair of headphones.

The Backflip is equipped with a 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7201A processor and it just doesn’t have the stamina to keep up. The smartphone lagged and struggled at times with even the simplest tasks, such as switching screen orientation or merely pulling up an email. As we mentioned earlier, the camera app also crashed our phone. Though we’d like to see Android 2.1 on this device, we’re wondering if the Backflip can even handle it.

The Backflip ships with a 1,400mAh lithium-ion battery with a rated talk time of 6 hours and up to 13.5 days of standby time. We are still conducting our battery drain tests but will update this section as soon as we have final results. According to FCC radiation tests, the Backflip has a digital SAR rating of 1.37 watts per kilogram.

Motorola Backflip

The Motorola Backflip, announced at CES 2010, and now available through AT&T (see below for prices), is an unusual design for a cell phone.  It has a full physical flip out keyboard, but unlike most phones with keyboards, when the two halves of the phone are folded together, the screen is exposed on one side, the keyboard on the other.

The keyboard can flip all the way over so that it is usable below the screen.  When used that way, the appearance is similar to the Motorola Droid, which uses a slide out keyboard.  Most observers prefer the feel of the Backflip keyboard, believing that it feels sturdier.

What the Backflip provides that the Droid does not, is that the half with the keyboard can be held in place partially opened.  This allows the keyboard half to serve as a stand for the phone.  The phone can be placed on a flat surface, and the screen used as an alarm clock, or as a viewer for videos, photos, or monitoring of incoming messages and e-mail.

Which brings us to another feature of the Backflip.  Motorola’s MOTOBLUR.  This provides a streaming service for your e-mail and social networking sites.  E-mails and social site updates are immediately displayed on your Backflip screen.  Information delivered this way is always backed up on a MOTOBLUR secure server, providing security that your information will not be lost.

The Motorola Backflip will use Google’s Android operating system, version 1.5.  Updates to the newest version, 2.1, have been promised by Motorola.  Android is a relatively new cell phone operating system, positioned by Google as a competitor to Apple’s iPhone.  Android brings with it the significant advantages of being an open platform, that is being widely supported by third party developers, resulting in a rapidly growing body of available applications.  Google hosts an “app store” where these can be easily obtained.

Other Google services to be included include Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Talk.

The Backflip comes standard with WiFi, Blutooth, and a 5 megapixel camera.  A 2 GB memory card is also standard.  Up to a 32 GB hard drive is available   To some, the screen’s 320 x 480 3.1 inch screen seems a little crowded for the sophisticated interface.

AT&T is offering the Backflip without any service contract for $349, or for $199 with a new 2 year contract for $199 and a $100 mail-in rebate bringing the cost to only $99.   A $30/month data plan is required with the Backflip, as is common for many smart phones, including the iPhone.

Now with the release of the Motorola Backflip, AT&T has a foot in all of the major camps when it comes to smart phones.  If the advantages of the Android platform is appealing, along with a keyboard, the Backflip may be the phone for you.

In a statement late Wednesday, Motorola and Microsoft announced a deal to put Bing on handsets. Bing will first launch in China in the first quarter via an over-the-air update for existing handsets. New Android devices will have Bing preloaded.

The news comes as Google is nearing a decision on whether to stay in China amid security and censorship issues.

Motorola will give its users a pre-loaded Bing bookmark and search widget. Motorola says the Bing deal is about choice, but it’s really about a distribution deal with Microsoft. And if Google’s search is somehow hampered in China, Motorola needs a backup.

Microsoft’s Bing has been on a tear as it has taken market share from search partner Yahoo for months. Here’s a look at the latest search market share standings from comScore.

Motorola DEVOUR

With 20-plus smartphones on tap for 2010, Motorola has a busy year ahead. Its first 2010 release: the Devour, a Google Android-powered handset that will launch on Verizon Wireless in mid-March. Like Motorola’s Droid and Cliq phones, the Devour melds a touch-screen with a physical Qwerty keyboard. But the Devour differs from its siblings in a few key ways:

Devour = Droid with easier access to Twitter and Facebook Devour is the second Motorola Android phone Verizon has picked up, but the first that runs Motorola’s social networking application, MOTOBLUR. Verizon views MOTOBLUR, which pulls social networking updates to the phone’s home screen, as the chief difference between the Devour and Droid. “You can do Twitter and Facebook on both phones, but Devour gives more instant access,” says Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Boyd Raney. Devour is also the first Motorola Android phone that can wireless synch photos and videos to DLNA-certified devices, such as TVs and game consoles. Motorola has said it will expand MOTOBLUR to include music, media and gaming, so think of this multimedia synching feature as the future of MOTOBLUR.

Devour runs Android 1.6–but it’s upgrade-able

The Droid was, famously, the first phone to launch with an advanced version of Android, called 2.0, and has since been updated to the latest version of Android, 2.0.1. The Devour, meanwhile, will hit stores running 1.6, a comparatively outdated version of Android. Motorola says it plans to upgrade the phone to a more recent Android build, but declined to say when the update would be released. It may take a while; the Cliq, which is based on Android 1.5, has only received a minor update since its October debut.

Yes, you can get Google Maps Navigation

Even without Android 2.0, Devour owners will be able to use Google’s free navigation application, Google Maps Navigation. The phone will ship with Verizon’s navigation application, VZ Navigator, and regular Google Maps, built in, but users can download the navigation-equipped version of Maps onto their phones.

You can buy the Devour at Best Buy or Verizon

As a Verizon phone, the Devour can naturally be purchased at Verizon stores. But the impatient and thrifty may want to get it at Best Buy, which will begin selling it sooner than Verizon (on Feb. 25) and $50 cheaper ($99 versus $149).

You can use it for work–but that’s not really the focus

Like the Cliq and Droid, the Devour has QuickOffice software pre-installed that can be used to view Microsoft files (Word, Excel) and PDFs. Work messages, contacts and calendars can be managed through MOTOBLUR.