Switched On: How Motorola's CLIQ could start to drag
By Ross Rubin 
posted Sep 15th 2009 7:46PM
posted Sep 15th 2009 7:46PM
Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
All smartphones must decide where they want to integrate and where they want to provide a platform for innovation. RIM, for example, has integrated what is still the best e-mail management application into the BlackBerry (although its lack of HTML email and IMAP support are real drawbacks these days) and Apple has integrated both its own Safari browser as well as services such as Google Maps. But now companies such as Palm and Motorola are integrating social networks, and that could have some downsides. Social networks would seem to be a natural point for integration into handsets. As a utility they address a longstanding contact management problem of keeping up to date with changes in contact information -- new phone numbers, new employers, even things that most address books wouldn't consider recording such as relationship status. Second, they are a communications conduit. Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are all messaging systems that provide for group or even individual messaging.
The BLUR philosophy is that people should be able to focus on the people with whom they are connected rather than the medium with which they are being connected. But that is not always so simple in the world of social networks. For example, Twitter's message length restrictions aren't anything new to the wireless market, which has used similarly restricted SMS for years. But with Twitter, one can send a direct message only to someone who is following you. Twitter's direct messaging is not, then, like e-mail or SMS, and it creates a barrier to fluid communications because it is a hybrid between a micropublishing medium and a communications conduit. Best-of-breed Twitter applications reflect this; BLUR may not.
And then there's the question of how willing the likes of Facebook will be to being assimilated as another communications channel that turns it into a Facebook without a face. The megasite used to call itself a "social utility" but is now striving to be the host for applications that are stripped away when one use it as a mere substitute for e-mail and short status updates. Social networks are one of the most dynamic areas of development and investment. And while it would likely take some time for one to reach the scale and vibrancy of Facebook, it wasn't that long ago that Facebook itself stood in the shadow of MySpace.
As discussed in a previous Switched On, handset companies can use widgets to circumvent the app store arms race that Apple is trying to goad them into. Motorola has bubbled functionality up to the top with BLUR, but indiscriminately shoving all communications activity creates chaos, not connection. Motorola may be challenged to create the kind of Internet osmosis in its smartphone operating system that Palm is seeking with its Synergy architecture, but a strength of Android is that customers probably won't have to look far to find alternatives if they feel BLUR has yet to come into focus.
Ross Rubin is director of industry analysis for consumer technology at market research and analysis firm The NPD Group. Views expressed in Switched On are his own.
For many celebrities, 2009 continues to be a year of endings, but at least two handset pioneers have pinned their hopes on rebirths this year. Following Palm's return to its roots with a homegrown operating system earlier this year, Motorola has committed to a new smartphone direction with Android and its BLUR social contact architecture. Motorola's first announced Android device, the CLIQ, is less distinctive than Palm's Pre or Pixi, but advances the horizontal keyboard slider form factor that provided a successful launchpad for the T-Mobile G1. With high-volume competitors Samsung and LG also planning to release Android devices and HTC marrying Android to its Sense user interface, though, Motorola has incentive to differentiate with software.
All smartphones must decide where they want to integrate and where they want to provide a platform for innovation. RIM, for example, has integrated what is still the best e-mail management application into the BlackBerry (although its lack of HTML email and IMAP support are real drawbacks these days) and Apple has integrated both its own Safari browser as well as services such as Google Maps. But now companies such as Palm and Motorola are integrating social networks, and that could have some downsides. Social networks would seem to be a natural point for integration into handsets. As a utility they address a longstanding contact management problem of keeping up to date with changes in contact information -- new phone numbers, new employers, even things that most address books wouldn't consider recording such as relationship status. Second, they are a communications conduit. Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are all messaging systems that provide for group or even individual messaging.
The BLUR philosophy is that people should be able to focus on the people with whom they are connected rather than the medium with which they are being connected. But that is not always so simple in the world of social networks. For example, Twitter's message length restrictions aren't anything new to the wireless market, which has used similarly restricted SMS for years. But with Twitter, one can send a direct message only to someone who is following you. Twitter's direct messaging is not, then, like e-mail or SMS, and it creates a barrier to fluid communications because it is a hybrid between a micropublishing medium and a communications conduit. Best-of-breed Twitter applications reflect this; BLUR may not.
And then there's the question of how willing the likes of Facebook will be to being assimilated as another communications channel that turns it into a Facebook without a face. The megasite used to call itself a "social utility" but is now striving to be the host for applications that are stripped away when one use it as a mere substitute for e-mail and short status updates. Social networks are one of the most dynamic areas of development and investment. And while it would likely take some time for one to reach the scale and vibrancy of Facebook, it wasn't that long ago that Facebook itself stood in the shadow of MySpace.
As discussed in a previous Switched On, handset companies can use widgets to circumvent the app store arms race that Apple is trying to goad them into. Motorola has bubbled functionality up to the top with BLUR, but indiscriminately shoving all communications activity creates chaos, not connection. Motorola may be challenged to create the kind of Internet osmosis in its smartphone operating system that Palm is seeking with its Synergy architecture, but a strength of Android is that customers probably won't have to look far to find alternatives if they feel BLUR has yet to come into focus.
Ross Rubin is director of industry analysis for consumer technology at market research and analysis firm The NPD Group. Views expressed in Switched On are his own.
This will put the final nail in Windows Mobile coffin, now that a slew of
handset makers have finally abandoned Windows Mobile.
I agree. Wouldn't it be FANTASTIC though if Zune HD, which is bring games and apps soon, could make phone calls and handle e-mail on a telephony stack?
Introducing the Microsoft Sidekick Android Edition!
The only thing that will put the final nail in Windows Mobile's coffin, is Windows Phone
I don't understand how the original comment here has anything to do with the article. The article is saying Blur's reliance on social networks to differentiate the Cliq from the competition won't hold it's own in a matter of no more than a couple years, due to the constant evolution of social network popularity, and the web apps themselves. If anything, he is saying Windows Mobile has a better chance of living past Blur, because it doesn't rely on what is a rapidly changing environment to find its uniqueness.
@EGOvoruhk: Ohhh how I hate that name change, I't makes it sound so dumb. . .Windows. . . Phone? It makes it sound like a KiRF handset, or some dumb person's description of a windows mobile phone.
You said exactly the same thing in the android 1.6 sdk article. Stop trolling.
Quite the opposite really. I'm using one of HTC's recent TouchFlo 3D updates on my Touch Diamond, and it includes Facebook integration/synchronization with the main address book. Indeed the phone is running 6.5 which would make it a "Windows Phone" by default. Twitter runs in the background and sends notifications whenever there is an update.
Nothing is new, just the way it is packaged, and all platforms seem to be moving towards the unification of regular messaging and social networking. Pick your poison.
Much like the guy who wrote this article, this commenter doesn't know what they're talking about. I know it's an opinion piece, but this guy has NO CLUE what the final revision of BLUR will be like, not to mention he's saying things like Blackberry lacks IMAP and html support. Yes it is not _FULLY_ supported, but to make a sweeping generalization like this makes him instantly lose all credibility to me. To be honest, he sounds like he's biased towards iphones to me.
twitter and facebook. sigh.
Why? it looks cool for most of the users.
yoda - http://onioning.com/yoda
I honestly think that the Motorola CLIQ will initially be marketed as the social networking Android phone but as Motorola/T-Mobile will see the potential with it (a la iPhone and Pre) they will (hopefully) try to cater to a more adult audience including the average business worker.
I agree - I'm getting the phone to used for the social media aspects of my business, not because I need lots of TMI stuff from my friends.
Has this reviewer actually used this phone, or is this all just speculation?
It's not a review - it's an Opinion piece.
It just seems the opinion is based on an unexplored idea rather than first hand experience. Actually looking through the interface, it looks very polished and intuitive. If it wasn't headed for t-mobile I'd be seriously considering this phone. I've been waiting for some piece of mobile software to do this for a while now. The complaint that stuck out most in my mind was about twitter, and my only response "duh?" the fact that they made twitter feeds easier to access and reply to doesn't necessarily mean that they intend for people to use them for full on conversations, chances are, if they're not meant to be used that way, people won't be using them that way... I don't see what the issue is.
All in all, i guess i would expect this post from engadget, I guess it really is just another blog in the end, kind of dissapointing.
it's not based on the device, it's based on the history of social networks. Note the comparison of Facebook to MySpace. Facebook grew leaps and bounds in a very small amount of time. What I got from the article, is that the UI and apps that make up Blur are based on something that rapidly changes. In other words, what happens when something beats Facebook? Or if something took the place of Twitter? All of a sudden, Blur is not only outdated, but not usable. Where other handsets become outdated because the competition surpasses it, Blur will actually move backward in a sense, because it will LOSE functionality as the social networks change.
So it's not about how good the phone is now, it's about the lifespan of the OS' unique features, and how those unique features might be what leads to its failure. But it's just an opinion.
"...what happens when something beats Facebook? ...Blur will actually move backward in a sense, because it will LOSE functionality as the social networks change."
You're assuming that BLUR can't keep up with the changes in both the social networking communities that are available and the functionality that each community provides. That's a big assumption. Take another look at the BLUR announcements and you'll see that it's very flexible.
Is it going to popup every time someone I'm following tweets? That would get old. Can I set it to only alert me to certain people/mentions/DMs?
I got really excited to see another MOTOBLUR/CLIQ article pop up in my RSS feed, since it's my new phone of choice and I'll be picking one up ASAP. However, after reading this, I'm left with one question:
Why?
What, exactly, was the goal for this post? I'm not trying to be mean or to troll, so please don't take it as such, but the entire content of the post can be summed up as "Motorola chose to target the Social Networking section, and this might not be a perfect implementation."
I don't think anyone thought it would be, but I'm struggling to figure out why this should be a revelation to anyone? I am absolutely in love with the CLIQ and everything it stands for, and even I know it will have a variety of flaws.
I read it to say that overemphasis on the use of social networking applications as a primary means of communication may unintentionally limit the phone's abilities to the features offered by those networks. Seems like a reasonable concern to me.
Last time I checked (a few minutes ago), my blackberry has HTML email... The browser still is horible though...
But you don't have IMAP support like the integral gmail client with Android.
@gerrrg IMAP isn't exactly exclusive to Android.
The Gmail app for BB is quite excellent, having used it for the past two weeks I'm very happy. If you're on a Blackberry Enterprise Server (most BB users are), you don't need IMAP support since it tracks message reads and syncs automatically.
It is a shame the device doesn't support HTML better, but then again it does a good job of stripping content out and displaying it for easy reading, so I don't often miss it.
Its not going to be any different then having notifications turned on, with facebook twitter apps in the market now. Generally it doesn't check but every 5-15 minutes and the notifications stack or show up in the widget stacked, so really you will only get 1 notifications per app. Plus i am not sure that it was designed to have popup for twitter, if so you can turn it off and just use the notifications window.
That was meant for @Russ
Jesus Christ, Grandma. Social networking integration is all upside. Tremendous upside!
There are various hands-on reviews on YouTube of the CLIQ. The Social networking (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) are just default apps loaded, which integrate with other functionality on Android. If you don't like/use them, you can just chuck them in the trash like any other app. In other words, it's just pre-configured for ease of use; it's not set in stone.
that's what i was thinking. i don't give a shit about Twitter and only check Facebook occasionally. I'm interested in the Cliq because it's a cheap Android phone with decent specs. I don't care how Motorola markets the phone, provided they don't tie down the rest of Android's capabilities/apps. If they leave the rest of the OS functionality untouched, I'll buy it.
If you're really interested in the phone, the Motorola website has a complete walkthrough of the social network functionality.
With an increasing number of people updating their profiles via mobile devices, I think there will be a shift in the way people use these sites. I find FB being used more like twitter. How long until people start jumping off the FB wagon like they did MySpace? What is next?
I agree with the post.
The Cliq could start to drag. I see what you did there.
The whole post was written like it was meant for some cheesey TV anchor to read from the teleprompter. click...drag. blur...focus. blech
This phone wont get many customers beyond those who trade their sidekick in for this. after all it pretty much is aiming at the same people. Honestly i think this phone would do better if it were standard android with a few motorola-specific apps and widgets.
I think you hit the nail on the head. Even back when this phone was known as "Morrison" it was looked at as "kiddie" version of an Android phone, and that is exactly what it seems to be. A device, based on Android, that could swoop in and steal SideKick and similar types of customers.
It may be a niche... but it is a niche that spends and buys a lot of phones these days (after all kids tend to be careless with their phones), and one that they can be less concerned with competing with "everything else" out there. They just need to be better than a SideKick or other low end smart (and semi-smart) phones.
It pretty much is a standard android phone with a few specific apps. These are just widgets and apps, which are likely easily disabled.
@Tim: yup, on that camp you described. The hardware looks good, the skin also looks good. However, I wonder if I can hide all the social network icons, or it's stuck in the home page? and will keep annoying me to "sign in so you can see all the cool things your friends are doing". I was on my space, facebook but got bored. It's not for me, it's wildly popular, but not for everyone. So, is there a way to remove/hide all that from the phone? Even when I was on, I was ok with just checking why my amigos were doing a couple of times a day when I was at my pc. I don't kneed to know what everyone is doing every second.
"For many celebrities, 2009 continues to be a year of endings"
Weak. Not even funny, or relevant.
You fuckers need to hire me on to do some work for you... get the readership up.
> For many celebrities, 2009 continues to be a year of endings. . .
WTF is that supposed to mean, and why is that the into to an article about phones that integrate with social websites? Gawd your writers are awful so much of the time. . .
seriously. It's come to the point where I skip the article entirely, as the comments (trolls aside) tend to give me the information I want. Engadget should have a separate Op-ed page and leave the rest of the site as gadget news only.
do android, pre or ipone have a decent SSH client? sort of a mobile version of putty.
the ones i tried on winmo sucked major balls..... :(
Yes, Connectbot is an excellent, free software, actively-maintained ssh client for Android.
What's the deal with this phone!
Seriously.
It's just another shoddy Motorola with some widgets.
On T-Mobile! For that matter.
Just because Moto slapped Android on this thing last minute.
Please.
So what if Twitter and/or Facebook isn't relevant in a couple of years...by then people will be looking for their next phone anyway. It is a layer on top of Android... so the "next" edition can be, well... whatever is "in" a year or two from now... there is no reason that MotoBlur has to be a "drag" on this (or any other) phone.
that's not even a sentence, CLIQ could start to drag? Please send the editors at engadget to english class. Guys it's okay to fix the grammar of linked articles. If you don't clarify all you do is confuse. I didn't even read all of your articles because I felt my life slipping before me and I tried to read it.
IRONY.
Perhaps you should join them in English 101.
What is up with having the D-pad on the LEFT?
Can't Motorola do anything right?
Yeah, because, you know, after people playing games with a D-pad on the left since the days of the NES, you'd think that someone already perfected that some time ago and that people are used to it already.
The big drawback with the promotion of the social aspects of the Motorola's Cliqu will be the fact that there are many potential customers that really couldn't care any less about the "social" features. Having a phone also serve as a platform for playing music and videos, for e-mail, and for general Internet browsing is great. Functions for integration with cheesy sites like Facebook (which has taken the crown from AOL) are just a waste of time.