The Droid, Cliq, & Backflip aren’t the only Motorola Android devices around. There’s also the XT800 and MT710. Confused? Yeah, it’s okay. We’ve seen these China-only devices previously but have heard very little since. At CES, we actually got a brief hands-on with both devices and came away pretty impressed. Surprisingly, these devices are extremely well built–definitely better build quality than the Cliq and perhaps even better than the just announced Backflip.
The MT710 (pictured above) runs China’s custom Ophone UI which skins Android into big pressable buttons–it’s hardly recognizable as Android. The shape is a little odd, resembling more of a book than anything else. Specifically, one side is covered in the ridged orange metal while the other is the smooth stainless steel/chrome-type finish. It comes with a stylus (which means a resistive touchscreen), supposedly because it’s easier to write Chinese characters with. You can find the specs of the MT710 here.
The XT800 is actually a very impressive device. The hardware is round where the Droid is square. It’s very light in the hand and the back has a snakeskin-esque backing. It’s a Dual-Sim device, packs HDMI, and runs Android 2.0.1. The pictures don’t fully capture how well-built this device is. We would absolutely love if the XT800 made its way to the States.
We have no idea if we’ll ever see these devices in the US but we’re hopeful. Regardless, we’re just glad that Motorola is making devices for Android now.
