MotoBlur: Talk about socialized

MotoBlur brings all the social networks to the home screen.

(Credit: Motorola)

After months of waiting, we finally got an official look at Motorola's first Google Android phone, the Cliq. The actual hardware offers little to get excited about, since it features the same CPU we have seen in every Android phone currently available. Yet, Motorola has developed MotoBlur, which brings a ton of new social features to the Android platform. It looks pretty cool, though we couldn't help but notice that it bears more than a passing resemblance to Palm's Synergy.

The following are some of the highlights from MotoBlur. Motorola has confirmed we will see these features across multiple Android phones.

Home Screen
Just like HTC did with its Sense UI, Motorola has created several new widgets for the Android desktop. Most focus on aggregating your social networks, RSS feeds, and messages directly on the desktop. This creates a live home screen that is automatically updated, which can is faster than opening up individual applications.

The featured widget is Happenings which collects the latest updates from Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and more. Other widgets allow you to get live feeds for weather, sports, and entertainment.

Motorola also has squeezed in new shortcuts for the dialer and contacts applications. These new buttons are squeezed in at the bottom of the home screen on both sides of the regular app drawer.

Social Networking
If you use social networking sites, MotoBlur was made for you. Users enter their account information once during the initial phone setup and then never have to log in again. Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace are directly connected to many of the phone's core functions. This provides a much more detailed contacts application than what is currently offered on the G1 or the MyTouch 3G.

Contacts
Android currently provides the ability to sync your phone contacts with a Google account, but Motorola takes it to the next level by allowing your to sync your contacts with all of your social networks. ... Read more

Originally posted at Android Atlas