Storage

With all the MotoBlur system has to offer, the Cliq needs to have some serious storage. Although 256MB is nothing to sneeze at, it's also not the hefty memory amount a person would expect from a phone that handles so many messages thanks to MotoBlur and has the potential to hold a lot of applications thanks to the Android platform.

There's room to store the basics on the Cliq, but loading up on music, documents, messages and applications on the phone will be hard to do without using the microSD memory card. Thankfully, the card comes with the phone.

Connectivity

Connecting a computer to the Cliq via a micro USB 2.0 chord allows users to sync all kinds of information, from social networking site information to songs, contacts, mail, documents and calendar items.

The handset also connects to the Internet on a mobile or Wi-Fi network. It also connects to Bluetooth stereo headsets and hands-free devices and supports advanced audio distribution and remote control of audio and video programs profiles.

The Cliq has it covered when it comes to syncing items, but its Bluetooth options are few.

Conclusion

The Motorola Cliq stands out for its first-of-its-kind MotoBlur technology. Social networking fans that can't get enough of their friends and the emails and text, instant and multimedia messages they send will enjoy being able to see all of that communication in one place without having to log in and out of various places one at a time, which can become a real time-waster.

Users won't save all that much time, though. They'll still have to keep up with making sure everything in their combined inbox is checked regularly or risk missing the next big news delivered in real time.

The Android platform also sets the Cliq apart and promises to deliver plenty of applications from independent designers in the coming months and years. How good and successful the applications will be is yet to be seen. Sometimes a filter is for the best.

The Cliq has plenty of instant, text, multimedia and email messaging options, so staying in touch shouldn't be hard. The Internet is fast, can be connected to in numerous ways, and offers full HTML and video streaming capability.

The camera takes great pictures, but the camcorder, like most on phones, has room for improvement. There are many ways to sync items from other sources on the phone, but connectivity comes up short when it comes to how short the list is of supported Bluetooth profiles.

The fact that a microSD card comes with the phone is a cost-saving bonus, but also a near necessity given the limited amount of memory on the Cliq (at least limited for a smartphone).

Entertainment isn't the first thing that pops to mind with the Cliq. It isn't going to replace a video game program or music player in your life. But it will accomplish its mission of keeping you entertained by friends.

There's numerous audio and call feature options, a big, colorful screen (although it could stand to be wider), and numerous Google programs. The design of the phone isn't great -- the keypad is organized in an odd fashion and the back panel is hard to snap into place.

There's a risk of clutter on the screen with so many home page options. Documents can be viewed, but which ones is limited.

The Cliq is a good phone for people that want to stay in touch with friends and don't want to bother with switching between sites and applications but don't mind checking their phone often and scrolling through long lists of messages. It's not for people looking for a laptop-style QWERTY keypad or those that don't like messing with touch screens, and anyone looking to use their phone as an entertainment center more than a message center shouldn't bother with this model.

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